Ching Hao’s Pi-fa-chi: A Note on the Art of Brush, published by Artibus Asiae Publishers of Ascona, Switzerland,, 1974. A scholarly translation and annotation of a foundational Chinese text on painting theory by the distinguished Japanese art historian Kiyohiko Munakata . This publication presents for the first time in English a significant critical edition of the Pi-fa-chi, written by Ching Hao (also known as Jing Hao), an important painter and theorist active during the Five Dynasties period, approximately from the late ninth to the mid-tenth century.
The original Pi-fa-chi, or “Record of the Method of the Brush,” stands as a landmark in Chinese aesthetic thought, articulating profound principles of landscape painting that would influence generations of artists. Munakata’s edition provides not merely a translation but a carefully annotated scholarly interpretation, making this complex and subtle text accessible to Western readers while preserving its philosophical depth. His introductory material and notes illuminate Ching Hao’s concepts of pictorial essence and the spiritual dimensions of brushwork, placing the work within the broader context of Chinese intellectual and artistic history .
The physical book itself reflects the scholarly seriousness of its content. Published as Supplementum 31 to the journal Artibus Asiae, the volume measures 32 centimeters in height and runs to vii, 56 pages . This large-format presentation, with its substantial page dimensions, allows for the clear presentation of both the translated text and Munakata’s critical apparatus. The edition bears the Library of Congress Control Number 75301901 and has been acquired by major research institutions including the Huntington Library, the New York Public Library, the China Academy of Art, and numerous university collections across North America and Europe . For scholars of Chinese art theory and the history of aesthetics, this 1974 edition remains an essential resource.
