He Liangjun 何良俊 (1506–1573), On Painting : An Annotated Translation

AbstractIn 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 zhuzi suoyin,), ICS Concordances to the Works of Wei-Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, (Hong Kong: Institute of Chinese Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001), p. 118.28 All three painters mentioned here were high ranking officials at court and famous painters who specialized in depicting figures. Gu Kaizhi 顧愷之 (ca. 344–406) lived during the Jin dynasty noted for his illustrations of narrative texts, especially Confucian texts such as the Admonitions of the Imperial Instructress and the Biographies of Exemplary Women. He was also a talented poet and calligrapher. He wrote three books about painting theory: On Painting (畫論), Introduction of Famous Paintings of Wei and Jin Dynasties (魏晉勝流畫贊) and Painting Yuntai Mountain (畫雲台山記). See ZMRC, p. 1544. Yan Liben 閻立本 (ca. 600–673) lived during the Tang dynasty and was known for his portraits, as well as images of rulers and dignitaries past and present. See note 57 below. Ma Hezhi 馬和之 (active mid twelfth century) was active at the Southern Song court in Hangzhou. He also painted classical themes and some of his illustrations of poems from the various books of the Shijing 詩經 are still extant in collections such as the Palace Museum, Beijing, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. See ZMRC, p.768.29 Dong You 董逌, active ca. 1120, was a late Northern Song dynasty critic whose Painting Colophons from Vast Rivers records titles of paintings along with his own colophon essays that deal primarily with the subject matter of the works. See Hin-cheung Lovell, An Annotated Bibliography of Chinese Painting Catalogues and Related Texts, (Ann Arbor: Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan, 1973), pp. 5–6.30 This is a quotation from the Doctrine of the Mean (Zhong yong 中 庸), Chapter 28. See James Legge, The Chinese Classics, with a Translation, Critical and Exegetical Note, Prolegomena and Copious Indexes, Vol. 1/2, (New York: Agency Publications, 1967) p. 424.31 The Song emperor Huizong (1082–1135) compiled several catalogues of his collection of art and antiquities, the Xuanhe huapu 宣和 畫譜, Xuanhe shupu 宣和 書譜, and Xuanhe bogu tu 宣和 博古圖. The latter was the illustrated catalogue of antique bronzes and ritual objects. For a major study of Emperor Huizong’s collecting activities, see Patricia Ebrey, Accumulating Culture: The Collections of Emperor Huizong, (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2008).32 The Three Dynasties are the Xia 夏, Shang 商 and Zhou 周.33 Emperor Huizong, born Zhao Ji 趙佶, (1082–1135) was well-known not only for his love of ancient bronze vessels, but also ancient and contemporary painting and calligraphy. See Ebrey (2008).34 Commissioner Tong is Tong Guan 童貫 (d. 1126) who was the eunuch military commander, one of the most important figures in the shaping of Song military policy. See Song Biographies, pp. 1090–7. Commissioner Cai is Cai Jing 蔡京 (1047–1126), the Northern Song calligrapher and government official who has been vilified as the corrupt minister who was responsible for the fall of the Northern Song dynasty. When Huizong abdicated in 1125 in favor of his eldest son the Qinzong emperor, Cai was stripped of his official post and banished to Guangdong where he died en route. See ZMRC, p. 1369.35 He Liangjun is referring to the “Ranking of Painting (Hua pin 畫品) by Xie He (fifth century). For an annotated translation of Xie He’s Hua pin, see William R. B. Acker, Tang and Pre-Tang Texts on Chinese Painting, (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1954), pp. 3–4.36 The translation of the first of Xie He’s “Six Methods,” 氣韻生動, has been much debated. For studies of the translation and meaning of the first method, see Alexander C. Soper, “The First Two Laws of Hsieh Ho,” The Far Eastern Quarterly, Vol. 8, No, 4 (August 1949), pp. 412–23; Acker, Tang and Pre-Tang Texts on Chinese Painting, pp. xxi–xlv; James Cahill, “The Six Laws and How to Read Them,” Ars Orientalis, Vol. 4 (1961), pp. 372–81; Wen Fong, “On Hsieh Ho’s ‘Liu-fa’,” Oriental Art, Vol. 9, Issue 4 (Winter 1963), pp. 242–5 and “Ch’i-yün-sheng-tung: ‘Vitality, Harmonious Manner and Aliveness’,” Oriental Art, vol. 12, Issue 3 (Autumn 1966), 159–64; John Hay, “Values and History in Chinese Painting I: Hsieh Ho Revisited,” RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics, No. 6 (Autumn 1983), pp. 72–111; and Victor H. Mair, “Xie He’s ‘Six Laws’ of Painting and Their Indian Parallels,” in Cai Zong-qi, ed., Chinese Aesthetics: The Ordering of Literature, the Arts and the Universe in the Six Dynasties, (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2004), pp. 81–122 .37 The “Three Faults 三病” are first mentioned in Guo Ruoxu, Tuhua jianwen zhi 圖畫見聞志, “On Virtues and Faults in Using the Brush,” juan 1, p. 13; see Soper, Kuo Jo-hsü’s Experiences in Painting, p. 16. Soper translates the terms more literally as: “The first is described as being like a board; the second as being like an engraving; and the third as being like a knot.”38 This is the second of Xie He’s “Six Methods,” 骨法用筆.39 The two preceding sentences are taken almost word for word from the Yuan dynasty text on painting, Tuhui baojian by Xia Wenyan. See note 123 below.40 The quotation is taken from Guo Ruoxu (active 1060–1080), “On Virtues and Faults in Using the Brush.” He Liangjun misquotes in the last phrase substituting shen 神 (spirit) for bi (brush). The term shen cai 神采 specifically means the appearance of the spirit or essence – Soper translates it as distinctive personal character – Soper, Kuo Jo-hsü’s Experiences in Painting, p. 16.41 The story of the wheelwright Bian from the Zhuangzi was invoked by many painting theorists as early as Yao Zui 姚最 (active 557–89) in his Xu Huapin 續畫品. For the story, see Burton Watson, The Complete Works of Chuang’tzu, (New York: Columbia University Press, 1968), pp. 152–3.42 From “when one fails to attain naturalness 失於自然而後神” until the end of this sentence, “as the standards for evaluating painting,” is taken almost word for word from Zhang Yanyuan, Lidai minghua ji (歷代 名畫 集), chapter 2, section 3, “On Painting Materials, Tracing and Copying.” See Acker, p. 186.43 Zong Bing was also a famous qin player. These two quotes are found in Zong’s biography in the Qin shi 琴史, written by Zhu Changwen 朱長文 (1038–98) in 1084. See Xu Jian, Qin shi chubian, (Beijing: Remin yinyue chubanshe, 1982), pp. 40–2.44 See note 14 above.45 A kalpa is a unit of time in Buddhist and Hindu cosmology that equals 4 billion years, but more generally means an eon.46 Lu Tanwei 陸探微 (active 465–72) was a painter at the court of the Liu Song dynasty. Xie He ranked him as the top painter of all time. See ZMRC, pp. 976–7.47 Han dynasty paintings on shells are still extant. For one study, see Sherman Lee, “Early Chinese Painted Shells with Hunting Scenes,” Archives of the Chinese Art Society of America, Vol. 11 (1957), pp. 68–75.48 Shen Bianzhi 沈辨之, was a native of Suzhou and lived during the Jiajing era (1522–66). He was the owner of the Wild Bamboo Studio 野竹齋 publishing house. His name, origin, and name of his studio are listed as the publisher for a Jiajing edition of Han Ying (fl. 150 BCE), Shi wai zhuan 詩外傳, 10 juan.49 “Spring pictures” is a euphemism for erotic or pornographic pictures.50 The term that I have translated as “naïve” is zhuo 拙. This term is often translated as “awkward” within the context of literati painting theory, where zhuo is a positive value.51 The mirage of Dengzhou refers to the place on the Shandong peninsula where a mirage of mountainous islands appeared in the sea. It is also the place from which Emperor Qin Shihuangdi sent five hundred boys and girls in a boat to find Penglai, the mountain islands of the immortals.52 Xing Zicai refers to Xing Shao 邢 邵 (496–561?), zi Zicai,子才, was a poet and government official under the Northern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties. This line comes from the text simply called “Elegy (哀策)” and can be found at the beginning of the text: 皋路啟扉．輴菆弛殯．八校案部．六卿且引．攀蜃輅而雨泣．仰穹蒼而撫心. For the entire text, see https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=gb&chapter=464652&remap=gb.53 Wang Yun 王筠 (481–549) was the son of the Liu Song dynasty poet and official Wang Sengda (423–58). He was admired as a poet during the Liang dynasty. See Anne Birrell, trans., New Songs from a Jade Terrace: An Anthology of Early Chinese Love Poetry, (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1982), p. 360–1. Crown Prince Zhaoming was Xiao Tong 蕭統 (501–31) was the eldest son of Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty. He was a noted poet and is most famous as the compiler of the Wenxuan. See Nienhauser, The Indiana Companion, pp. 891–2.54 Jiang Zong 江總 (519–94) served as an official under three dynasties – Liang, Chen and Sui. He was a poet who helped to develop the palace style under the Liang dynasty, especially the yue fu 樂府 genre. Emperor Xuan of the Chen dynasty reigned from 569–82. See Nienhauser, The Indiana Companion, pp. 266–7.55 Xie Tiao 謝朓 (464–99) was one of the foremost poets of the Southern Qi court and is best known for his landscape poetry. See Nienhauser, The Indiana Companion, pp. 430–1.56 In all of the words describing the funeral carriage, the character for clam (蜃) was used.57 Wang Yinglin 王應麟 (1223–1296), jinshi 1241, was a prolific and brilliant scholar-official of the Southern Song and early Yuan period. He was a compiler of encyclopedic works that served as tools of instruction for the scholar-bureaucracy. Among his many influential writings are the Three Character Classic 三字經 and the encyclopedia Yuhai 玉海. See Nienhauser, The Indiana Companion, pp. 882–3.58 Zeng Zigu is Zeng Gong 曾 巩 (1019–83), jinshi 1057, who was a scholar and historian and a support of the New Classical Prose Movement. He was also known for his work of geography, You Xinzhou Yushan xiaoyanji 游信周玉山小岩記. For an overview of Zeng’s career, see Nienhauser, The Indiana Companion, pp.799–801. For the Hymn of the Western Narrows, see note 60 below.59 Shao Bo 邵博, zi 公濟, (d. 1158) was the son of Shao Bowen 邵伯溫 (1057–1134) and grandson of the philosopher Shao Yong 邵雍 (1011–1077). 60 Li Xi 李翕, zi 伯都, (ca. 170 CE) lived during the Eastern Han dynasty and was a native of Jingning in Gansu province. He was known as a virtuous and effective official and his life was memorialized in a stele inscription on a mountain cliff side called the Hymn of the Western Narrows 西狭颂. Wang Zhizi 王稚子 (d. 105 CE) also lived during the Eastern Han period. Outside of his tomb in Sichuan province is a pair of stone gate towers (que) upon which are inscribed Wang’s official titles. The calligraphy used in the inscription is clerical script. Gao Guanfang 高貫方 has not been identified but clearly had a funeral stele that Shao Bo had seen.61 He Liangjun refers to Wu Daozi 吳道子 (active 710–60) as Wu Daoxuan. Wu was a famous painter who lived during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. He specialized in figure painting and was considered the greatest painter of all time by Zhang Yanyuan and other Tang dynasty critics. His painting was characterized by dynamic use brush and ink and lacked careful attention to detail. Legends about the painter recount the almost supernatural force and energy of his images. He had a reputation as a muralist for Buddhist and Daoist temples and eventually was appointed to the court by the emperor. See ZMRC, p. 306.62 Shao Bo邵博 zi Gongji公濟 (ca. 1122) was a native of Luoyang and the second son of Shao Bowen 邵伯溫 (1057–1134), who was friends with such luminaries as Sima Guang, Lü Gongzhu, and Fan Chunren. His father was part of the anti-reform faction who opposed Wang Anshi. Bo was the grandson of Shao Yong, the philosopher. Shao Bo lived before and after the Northern-Southern Song transition. Nothing is known of his life, but he is the co-author with his father of 邵氏聞見後錄 in 27 juan which states: ‛觀漢李翕、王稚子、高貫方墓碑，多刻山林人物，乃知顧愷之、陸探微、宗處士輩尚有其遺法。至吳道玄絕藝入神，然始用巧思，而古意少減矣。He Liangjun has taken the quote directly from this work. See also Franke, Song Biographies, pp. 846–963 Yang Shen 楊慎 (1488–1559), hao Sheng’an 升庵, was the eldest son of Grand Secretary Yang Tinghe 楊庭和. He was a brilliant scholar and poet who particularly wrote about the nature and culture of Yunnan province, where he was exiled as a result of the Great Rites Controversy of 1524. He placed first in the metropolitan examinations in 1511 and served as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy. He was one of the one hundred thirty-four officials who were publicly flogged for their opposition to the emperor’s elevation of his father to full imperial status. See DMB, pp. 1531–35.64 Wang Xiangzhi, 王 象之 (1163–1230), zi Yifu, jinshi 1154, was a native of Jinhua in Zhejiang province and at one time served as magistrate of Jiangning county in Jiangsu province (Nanjing), as well as in Sichuan.65 This text, Yu di ji sheng 輿地紀勝 (Record of All Places in the Empire), was compiled unofficially by Wang Xiangzhi during the Southern Song and is comprised of 200 juan. It deals with the geography within the borders of the Southern Song empire and has detailed information on customs and habits, landscape and territory, touristic spots of interest, eminent officials, eminent personalities, eminent monks, tombstones with inscriptions, monasteries, etc.. As a privately book it is very informative and to some extent fills a gap in official historiography. It therefore soon attracted the attention of scholars and officials because of the accurateness in its treatment of the primary sources Wang had used. There is a collection of maps appended, called Yuditu 輿地圖, in 16 juan, which are especially precise for the region of Sichuan where Wang Xiangzhi had served as a prefect. The Yudi jisheng is especially valuable for it quotes sources which are otherwise lost, like the Gaozong shengzheng 高宗聖政, Xiaozong shengzheng 孝宗聖政, or Zhongxing yishi 中興遺史. See Chen Zhen 陳振, “Yudi jisheng 輿地紀勝,” in Zhongguo da baike quanshu 中國大百科全書, Zhongguo lishi 中國歷史, (Beijing/Shanghai: Zhongguo da baike quanshu chubanshe, 1992), vol. 3, p. 1419. The Yudi jisheng was already printed during the Song period. During the Ming period 明 (1368–1644) the tombstone inscriptions were extracted and separately published, as Yudi beiji 輿地碑記 in 4 juan. At that time there were already 7 juan of the Yudi jisheng missing.66 The pair of que of Ding Fang is currently extant and is located in front of the Shrine to the King of Ba outside the eastern gate of Zhongxian in Sichuan province. They date from the later part of the Eastern Han period and are approximately seven meters high.67 Yunyang county 雲陽縣 is currently Danyang city 丹陽市 in Jiangsu province.68 The original text can be found in Yang Shen, Taishi Sheng’an wen ji, edited by Yang Youren in juan 66, “Han Painting”: 王應麟云曾子固跋西狹頌謂所畫龍鹿承露人嘉禾連理之木漢畫始見於今邵公濟謂漢李翕王稚子高貫辺墓碑刻山林人物乃知顧愷之陸探微宗處士輩尚有其遺法至吳道玄 絕藝入神始用巧思而古意稍减矣今於盤洲所集隸圖見之慎又按王象之輿地紀勝碑目載夔州臨江市丁房雙闕高二丈餘上為層觀飛簷車馬人物又刻雙扉其一篚微啟有美人 出半面而立巧妙動人又雲陽縣漢處士金延廣母子碑初無文字但有人物漢畫之在碑刻者不止如應麟所云而巳. The paragraph above this one by He Liangjun from “Wang Yinglin … ” until the end also comes from this passage by Yang Shen. See also this same text under the title “Hua pin 畫品” in M