He Liangjun 何良俊 (1506–1573), On Painting

In The Collected Sayings from the Four Friends Studio, the sixteenth-century author He Liangjun's two chapters on painting provides a detailed picture of how literati critics continued to construct artistic lineages and shape hierarchies of criteria for evaluating painting prior to Dong Qichang (1555­­–1636). Although this text has been widely quoted by art historians, its use has been highly selective, obscuring the larger textual context for He's remarks. This annotated translation presents the sections on painting found in The Collected Sayings in its entirety. While He Liangjun's discussion of painting can be repetitious, asynchronous, contradictory, and contains abrupt transitions between topics, clear themes and agendas emerge and are pivotal for the development of later painting theory and criticism.Keywords: He Liangjunpainting criticismSiyouzhai congshuo Notes1 Translator's Note: The text used for this translation is found in He Liangjun, Si you zhai cong shuo 四友齋叢說, (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1997), pp. 255–269. In my translation of He Liangjun's On Painting, I have tried to adhere as closely as possible to the author's original language. Unfortunately He often uses different names (formal [ming 名], style names [zi 字], and various sobriquets [hao 號] for the same painter throughout his text), making it confusing even for readers familiar with pre-modern China. For the sake of consistency, in cases where an artist is mentioned more than once in the text, I have used that person's formal name throughout, but include a footnote indicating the name found in the original. The first mention of an artist also has a footnote with the person's dates and brief biographical information. Throughout the citations, I refer to Yu Jianhua, ed., Zhongguo meishujia renming cidian (Shanghai: Shanghai renmin meishu chubanshe, 1985) as ZMRC. While I strove to make the translation as clear as possible in English, I also tried not to deviate too far from the original Chinese grammar; as a result, the overall style of the prose reflects this inevitable compromise. I would like to thank Ann Waltner, Rivi Handler-Spitz and all of the various members of the classical Chinese reading group based at the University of Minnesota and Jennifer Purtle of the University of Toronto for their patient reading of the text and my translation. While they critiqued my various draft translations and provided helpful advice and suggestions, any errors or omission remain my own.2 He Liangjun (1506–1573), was a native of Huating, Songjiang prefecture was born into a wealthy landlord family and inherited the estate of his uncle. Highly educated, he nonetheless failed to pass the provincial level examinations (juren) and devoted most of his career to scholarship. The Si you zhai cong shuo 四友齋叢說 is named for his studio, "The Four Friends Studio" which alluded to the philosopher Zhuangzi, Vimilakirti, the disciple of the Buddha, the Tang dynasty poet Bai Juyi, and himself. See L. Carrington Goodrich and Chaoying Fang, eds., Dictionary of Ming Biography (DMB), (New York and London: Columbia University Press, 1976), pp. 515–17.3 Dong Qichang 董其昌 (1555–1636), jinshi 1590, has a towering reputation as the high-ranking official, calligrapher, painter, collector, connoisseur and theorist whose works had an immense impact on the art of painting, its criticism and history from his own period on to the present day. The body of secondary scholarship on Dong's life, career and art is huge; for an overview of his painting, calligraphy and artistic theories in English, see Wai-kam Ho and Judith G. Smith, eds., The Century of Tung Ch'i-Ch'ang 1555–1636, 2 vols., (Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1992).4 He Liangjun calls Huang by his sobriquet, Shangu. Huang Tingjian 黃庭堅 (1045–1105), jinshi 1067, is one of the most influential poets and calligraphers of the Northern Song period. He is considered one of the Four Great Masters of Song calligraphy, along with Su Shi (see note 9 below), Mi Fu (see note below) and Cai Xiang 蔡襄 (1012–67). For a discussion of his career as a poet, see William H. Nienhauser, Jr., ed., The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature, (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986), pp. 447–8. Also see, ZMRC, p. 1150. This phrase 能撲面上三斗俗塵者comes from "書嵇叔夜詩與姪榎" in Huang Tingjian quan ji, 4 vols. (Chengdu: Sichuan daxue chubanshe, 2001), p. 1562: "叔夜此詩豪壯清麗,無一點俗氣。凡學作詩者,不可不成誦在心。想見其人,雖沈於世故者,暫而攬其芳,便可撲去面上三斗俗塵矣,何况探其意味者乎?故書以 付榎, 可與諸郎皆誦取, 時時諷詠, 以洗心忘倦. 余嘗為諸子弟言: '士生 於世, 可以百為, 唯不可俗, 俗便不可醫也.' 或問不俗之狀, 余曰: '難言也。視其平居無以異於俗人,臨大節而不可奪,此不俗人也。' 士之處世,或出或處,或剛或柔,未易以一節盡其蘊,然率以是觀之。"5 He Liangjun uses Wen's sobriquet Hengshan here. Wen Zhengming 文徵明 (1470–1559), original name Bi 壁, was a very influential scholar and painter from Suzhou. One of the leading figures of the later named Wu School of painting, Wen wielded enormous influence on artistic circles of the greater Suzhou region and late in life he was well acquainted with He Liangjun. For a study of Wen and He Liangjun's writings about him, see Craig Clunas, Elegant Debts: The Social Art of Wen Zhengming, (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2004).6 The term used here fashu 法書 means calligraphy but has more of the sense of "model calligraphy"; in other works examples of calligraphy by masters worthy of emulation or study.7 He Liangjun refer to Yang by his style name Shaoshi, Yang Wanli 楊萬里 (1127–1206), jinshi 1154, was one of the four great poets of the early Southern Song dynasty, as well as a noted calligrapher. He passed the jinshi examination in the same year as his friend Fan Chengda (see note 10 below). He was also a friend of the poet Lu You (see note 9 below). Yang's poetic style was known for its liveliness and vividness. See Herbert Franke, ed., Song Biographies, Münchener Ostasiatische Studien Band 16, 1, (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1976), pp. 1239–45.8 Here He Liangjun refers to Su Shi as Su Changgong. Su Shi 蘇軾 (1037–1101), jinshi 1057, is considered the greatest poet of the Song dynasty and one of the Four Great Calligraphers of the Song (see note 4 above). As an official, he was aligned with the conservative faction at court, and as result of the factional struggles was banished repeatedly throughout his career. In addition to his accomplishments in poetry and calligraphy, Su was one of the major theorists of literati painting during the eleventh century. See Franke, Song Biographies, pp. 900–68.9 He Liangjun uses of one of Lu You's many sobriquet, Fangweng. Lu You 陸游 (1125–1209), jinshi 1162, was from a family of Song dynasty officials and was famous as a poet. His poetry was noted for its exploration of all facets of everyday life, as well as the theme of the loss of northern China to the Jin. Lu was also a prolific prose writer and was the author of an influential travel diary, Record of a Journey to Shu. See Franke, Song Biographies, pp. 691–704.10 Fan Chengda (1126–1191), jinshi 1154, was considered one of the Four Great Masters of Southern Song shi poetry along with his friends Yang Wanli and Lu You (see notes 3 and 5 above), as well as You Mou 尤某 (1127–94). Fan's poetry is characterized by an objective, detailed description of nature and rural life. See Nienhauser, The Indiana Companion, pp. 372–3. Here He calls him by his sobriquet, Shihu.11 Su Xiang 蘇庠, zi Yangzhi, was the son of the poet Su Jian 蘇, zi Bogu, who was a good friend of Su Shi.12 Zhao Mengfu 趙孟頫 (1254–1322), native of Wuxing in Zhejiang province, was a member of the Song imperial family who was called to serve the court of the Yuan emperor Kublai Khan. One of his most frequently used sobriquets was Songxue. Zhao served in a number of posts including as an official in the Ministry of War. He is best known as a painter and calligrapher who revived archaistic styles of the past and thus is considered an early master of the literati painting tradition. See James Cahill, Hills Beyond a River: Chinese Painting of the Yuan Dynasty, (New York: Weatherhill, 1976), pp. 38–46 and ZMRC, p. 1281.13 This phrase alludes to the Jin dynasty calligrapher Wang Xizhi 王 羲之 (303–61) who is said to have practiced calligraphy so diligently that the clear pond of his home turned black from dipping his inky brush in it so many times. Here it means that, because of infirmities due to old age, He Liangjun is unable to assiduously practice this art.14 Zong Bing 宗炳 (375–443), zi Shaowen, was from a family of officials in Nanyang, Hubei province. However, he refused to serve in office and lived as a recluse. Zong was a devout lay Buddhist and late in life is said to have become a landscape painter. He wrote a well-known essay on landscape painting that is best preserved in Chapter 6 of Zhang Yanyuan's Record of Painters from Successive Dynasties. For a discussion of this text, see Susan Bush, "Tsung Ping's Essay on Painting Landscape and the 'Landscape Buddhism of Mount Lu'," in Susan Bush and Christian Murck, eds., Theories of the Arts in China, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981), pp. 144–146. The quotations here come from Zong's biography in the Song shi (History of the [Liu] Song Dynasty): "有疾還江陵, 嘆曰:老疾俱至,名山恐難偏覩,唯當澄懷觀道,臥以游之。凡所游履,皆圖之於室。"15 He Liangjun calls Zhao Mengfu by another sobriquet, Jixian. See note 12 above.16 Gao Kegong 高克恭 (1248–1310), hao Fangshan, was a high ranking official from the Western Regions (non-Chinese origins) and a close friend of Zhao Mengfu. He was noted for his landscape paintings in the style of Mi Fu and ink bamboos in the style of Wang Tingyun. See ZMRC, p. 998.17 The Four Masters of the Yuan are Wu Zhen 吳鎮 (1280–1354), Huang Gongwang 黃公望 (1269–1354), Ni Zan 倪瓚 (1301–74) and Wang Meng 王蒙 (ca.1308–1385). Wu Zhen, native of Jiaxing in Zhejiang province, never attempted the civil service examinations but instead earned his living as a diviner. Later in his career, he lived as a recluse and painted. Wu painted landscapes in the style of Juran and ink bamboo in the style of Wen Tong. See Cahill, pp68–74. ZMRC, p. 317. Huang Gongwang was a native of Changshu in Jiangsu province and early in his career worked as a legal clerk. After a brief imprisonment for irregularities in tax collection, Huang retired from official life. He worked for a while as a professional diviner in Songjiang and finally retired to the Fuchun Mountains in Zhejiang province where he lived as a recluse and painter. See Cahill, Hills Beyond a River, pp. 85–8 and ZMRC, p. 1136. Ni Zan was a native in Wuxi in Jiangsu and came from a wealthy family. He was a collector and bibliophile who lived a life of leisure at first on his estate in Wuxi and later adopted a wandering life to dodge tax collectors. Like Wu Zhen, he specialized in landscape and ink bamboo painting. See DMB, pp. 1090–3. Wang Meng was the grandson of Zhao Mengfu and served in a minor provincial post. In the 1340s he lived as a reclused at the Yellow Crane Mountain near Hangzhou. He became acquainted with Huang Gongwang and Ni Zan. After the establishment of the Ming dynasty, Wang served as the prefect of Tai'an in Shandong province. In 1380 because of a casual association with an official who had been condemned as a traitor, Wang Meng was put in prison, where he died five years later. See DMB, pp. 1392–5.18 Shen Zhou 沈周 (1427–1509) was a scholar, painter and poet from Suzhou who was later identified as the founder of the so-called Wu School of painting. Here He uses the artist's most well-known sobriquet, Shitian. Shen was from a wealthy family in Suzhou and never entered official service, but instead devoted himself to painting and writing. He was a close friend of the famous statesman Wu Kuan 吳寬 (1436–1504) and the teacher of Wen Zhengming (see note 2 above). See DMB pp. 1173–7.19 Yun 韻 means rhyme or resonance. It is a difficult term to translate into English, but is nonetheless a key term in aesthetic criticism from the Six Dynasties period on. In the visual arts such as painting and calligraphy it conveys the sense of artistic achievement that resonates with the emotions of the viewer.20 The six types of script (六書) are: 象形、指事、會意、形聲、轉注、假借. The earliest reference to the six types or aspects of calligraphy is in the Rites of Zhou (Zhou li) – Chapter Di guan, but there is no explanation of the term. The earliest explication is found in the Seven Epitomies (Qi lue 七略) by Liu Xin 劉歆around 6 BCE: "六書,謂象形、象事、象意、象声、轉注、假借,造字之本也."It is also found in the History of the [Former] Dynasty (Han shu 漢書), "Records of Art and Literature (藝文志)" of 111 CE.21 The Books of Yu (虞書) form Part II of the Classic of History (書經 or 尚書). This phrase is not actually in the Books of Yu; however He Liangjun paraphrases concepts found there.22 Illustrated Compendia of the Three Ritual Classics (三禮圖) was variously compiled from the Han through Tang periods by Zheng Xuan 鄭玄, of Han, Ruan Kan 阮湛 of Jin and Zhang Yi 張鎰of Tang, but is no longer extant in its original form. The Song dynasty work, 三禮圖集注, in 20 juan, with over 380 illustrations exists in several editions. The Three Ritual Classics (三禮) comprised the Zhou li (周禮), Yi li (儀禮), and Li ji (禮 記). This passage is a summary of Guo Ruoxu, Tuhua jianwen zhi (Record of My Experiences in Painting), juan 1, from Alexander C. Soper, trans., Kuo Jo-hsü's Experiences in Painting (T'u-hua chien'wen chih): An Eleventh Century History of Chinese Painting Together with the Chinese Text in Facsimile, (Washington, D.C.: American Council of Learned Societies, 1951), p. 10.23 Cao Zhi 曹植 (192–232), son of Cao Cao 曹操 and prince of the state of Cao Wei, was an accomplished poet.24 Bird script was also known as bird seal script. The earliest textual reference to the term appears in the Hou Han shu, in which Emperor Ling calls several people who excelled in bird seal script to the court. In addition to bird script, a serpent seal script existed. Both styles were used from the end of the Spring and Autumn period through the Warring States period. Many weapons from the Wu and Yue kingdoms, as well as bronze vessels from the states of Chu, Song and Qi, have inscription in bird script. One of the most famous examples of bird script is found on the sword of King Goujian of the state of Yue, now in the Zhejiang Provincial Museum. See Nakata Yukiro, Chinese Calligraphy, (New York, Weatherhill, 1983), pp. 162–3.25 Empress Ma (40–79) was the wife of Emperor Mingdi (r. 58–75) of the Eastern Han. For her biography, see Hou Han shu, juan 10 上, p. 24.26 They are the daughters of Emperor Yao who were given in marriage to Shun.27 Prince Chensi of the Wei dynasty is Cao Zhi (see note 23). See also Nienhauser, Indiana Companion, p. 790–1. This passage comes from his "Encomium on Painting (畫贊)," and the last line is: 故夫畫,所見多矣。上形太極混元之 前,卻列將來未萌之事。He Liangjun repeats the first part, but then moves on to a comparison of Jin through Song dynasty painters. Cao's text can be found in A Concordance to the Works of Cao Zhi (Cao Zhi ji to the Works of and the Northern and Southern of Chinese The Chinese University of 2001), p. mentioned here were high ranking officials at court and famous who specialized in lived during the Jin dynasty noted for his illustrations of such as the of the and the of He was also a poet and calligrapher. He wrote about painting On Painting of of Wei and Jin Dynasties and Painting Mountain See ZMRC, p. lived during the Tang dynasty and was known for his as well as of and past and See note Ma was at the Southern Song court in Hangzhou. He also painted classical themes and of his illustrations of from the various of the are extant in such as the the of and the of See ZMRC, Dong You was a late Northern Song dynasty whose Painting from of paintings along with his own that with the of the See An of Chinese Painting and for Chinese University of pp. This is a from the of the Chapter See James The Chinese with a and and (New York: p. The Song emperor compiled several of his of art and the and The was the of and For a major study of Emperor see The of Emperor University of Washington Press, The Three Dynasties are the and Zhou Emperor born Zhao was well-known not for his of bronze but also and painting and See is who was the one of the most figures in the of Song See Song Biographies, pp. Cai is Cai the Northern Song calligrapher and official who has been as the who was for the of the Northern Song in in of his son the Cai was of his official and banished to where he died See ZMRC, p. He Liangjun is to the of Painting by He For an annotated translation of He's see William Tang and on Chinese Painting, pp. The translation of the first of He's has been For of the translation and of the first see Alexander C. Soper, "The of The Eastern 4 pp. Tang and on Chinese Painting, pp. James Cahill, "The Six and to 4 pp. Wen 4 pp. and and 3 and History in Chinese Painting Ho and 6 1983), pp. and H. He's of Painting and in Cai ed., Chinese The of Literature, the Arts and the in the Six (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, pp. The are first mentioned in Guo Ruoxu, Tuhua jianwen zhi and in the juan 1, p. see Soper, Kuo Jo-hsü's Experiences in Painting, p. the more "The first is as like a the as like an and the as like a This is the of He's The two are for from the Yuan dynasty text on painting, by See note The is from Guo and in the He Liangjun in the last phrase for The term means the of the or – it as – Soper, Kuo Jo-hsü's Experiences in Painting, p. The of the from the was by many painting theorists as early as Yao in his For the see The Works of (New York: Columbia University Press, pp. one to the end of this the for evaluating is for from Zhang ji Painting and See p. Zong Bing was also a famous two are found in Zong's biography in the shi by in See shi (Beijing: chubanshe, pp. See note A is a of in Buddhist and that 4 but more means an Lu was a painter at the court of the Liu Song He him as the painter of all See ZMRC, pp. Han dynasty paintings on are For one see Chinese with of the Chinese Art of pp. Shen was a native of Suzhou and lived during the He was the of the His and name of his are as the for a of Han Shi 10 is a for or The term that I have as is This term is often as the context of literati painting where is a The of refers to the on the Shandong where a of in the It is also the from which Emperor five and in a to the of the refers to zi was a poet and official the Northern Wei and Northern This line comes from the text called and can be found at the of the For the text, see Wang Yun was the son of the Liu Song dynasty poet and official Wang He was as a poet during the See trans., from a An of Chinese p. Prince was was the son of Emperor Wu of the He was a noted poet and is most famous as the of the See Nienhauser, The Indiana Companion, pp. Zong served as an official – and He was a poet who to the style the dynasty, the Emperor Xuan of the dynasty from See Nienhauser, The Indiana Companion, pp. was one of the poets of the Southern court and is best known for his landscape See Nienhauser, The Indiana Companion, pp. In all of the the the for was Wang jinshi was a prolific and of the Southern Song and early Yuan period. He was a of works that served as of for the his many influential writings are the Three Classic and the See Nienhauser, The Indiana Companion, pp. is jinshi 1057, who was a scholar and and a of the He was also known for his of You For an overview of career, see Nienhauser, The Indiana Companion, For the of the Western see note zi was the son of and grandson of the philosopher Li zi lived during the Eastern Han dynasty and was a native of in province. He was known as a and official and his life was in a inscription on a called the of the Western Wang also lived during the Eastern Han period. of his in Sichuan province is a of which are official The calligraphy used in the inscription is script. Gao has not been identified but had a that had He Liangjun refers to Wu as Wu Wu was a famous painter who lived during the of Emperor He specialized in painting and was considered the greatest painter of all by Zhang and other Tang dynasty His painting was characterized by use brush and ink and to about the painter the and of his He had a reputation as a for Buddhist and and was to the court by the See ZMRC, p. zi was a native of and the son of who was friends with such as and Fan His was of the faction who Wang was the grandson of the lived and the Song is known of his life, but he is the with his of in juan which Liangjun has the from this See also Franke, Song Biographies, pp. Yang Shen hao was the son of Yang He was a scholar and poet who wrote about the nature and of province, where he was as a result of the Great Rites of He first in the examinations in and served as a in the He was one of the one officials who were for their to the of his to imperial See DMB, pp. Wang 王 zi jinshi 1154, was a native of in Zhejiang province and at one served as of in Jiangsu province as well as in This text, Yu ji (Record of in the was compiled by Wang during the Southern Song and is comprised of It with the the of the Southern Song and has detailed on and landscape and of with As a it is very and to a in official It the of and officials because of the in its of the Wang had is a of called in juan, which are for the region of Sichuan where Wang had served as a The is for it which are like the or See Zhen in Zhongguo Zhongguo Zhongguo chubanshe, p. The was during the Song period. the Ming period the were and as in 4 that there were juan of the The of of is extant and is in of the to the King of the of in Sichuan province. They from the later of the Eastern Han period and are is in Jiangsu The original text can be found in Yang ji, by Yang in juan The this one by He Liangjun from the end also comes from this passage by Yang See also this same text the in

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