Midsummer, the middle of summer, is the hottest time of summer. The Tang Dynasty poet Fan Xun's "Midsummer" described: "In the midsummer of Jiangnan, it rains like a river. Lu orange hanging golden bullet, sweet banana spit white lotus. "What was the view of summer in ancient times?" How did the ancients cool off? We can see this from the ancient paintings.
The view of summer
"The green trees are shady in the summer, and the terrace is reflected into the pond. The crystal curtains are blowing in the breeze, and the shelves are full of roses and a courtyard of incense. The late Tang Dynasty general Gao Biao's "Summer in the Mountain Pavilion" describes the summer scene. In summer, everything is full of beauty, beautiful mountains and rivers, and beautiful scenery. Qiu Ying's "Pavilion Summer Map" depicts the green and vibrant landscape of Qingfeng. Dong Bangda's "Summer Mountains Desire rain picture scroll" depicts the scene before the wind and rain, the smoke clouds are swirling, the trees are singing and flying, and the boats are returning to fishing.
The Northern Song Dynasty painter Zhao Lingyong created a long-scroll silk color painting "Huzhuang Qingxia Tu" in the third year of Yuan Fu (1100). The picture depicts a small scene of the rivers and lakes, the open volume is the shore of the lake village, the trees on the embankment slope are upright, the weeping willows are blowing the stream, the wild grass is weeping, the lotus leaf field in the river pond, the ducks are playing, and the smoke and water in the distance are misty. A small bridge connects the fields to the depths, where the trees are lined with trees, surrounded by several houses, and behind the house is a forest, shrouded in smoke, stretching horizontally, hidden from time to time, with a sense of winding paths and full of dreamlike poetry. The close-up at the end of the volume depicts three large trees of different shapes, echoing the trees at the beginning of the volume. "Lake Zhuang Qingxia Map" shows the meaning of the silence and coolness on the lake at the beginning of the summer rain. The painting style is beautiful, the pen and ink are soft, the smoke trees are confused, the beauty is idyllic, like a dream, and the scenery is pleasant.
Yuan Wang Meng Xia Shan Gao Hidden Chart Axis
The Yuan Dynasty painter Wang Meng's "Xiashan Gao Hidden Map" is another kind of scenery. The upper part of the painting is lofty and mountainous, with layers of mountains and mountains, waterfalls hanging alone, and thousands of trees. The middle of the mountain is verdant and leafy, and during the shadow of the Fanyu Monk's Building, it looms. The streams below the mountain are babbling, the forests are dense, the huts are staggered from side to side, and a wooden bridge lies across the mountain stream to connect the two houses. On the right side of the house, a grass eaves roof, an indoor hermit tall man holding a lupine fan sits on the bed, a boy holds a plate to serve left and right, and a boy outside is training cranes; on the left is a peasant grass house, the door is hanging bamboo curtains, the house is furnished with two stools, a woman sits in the house as if doing needlework, a man outside the house takes a basin to the stream to get water, and a dog lies quietly in front of the courtyard stone bench, and the atmosphere of life is rich. "Xiashan Gao Hidden Map" technique ink Qinghua, penmanship freely, pen and ink wet, using part-time writing brushwork, fine portrayal, ink is thick; although the composition is dense, but the author skillfully uses the method of seeking virtuality in reality and dense contrast, arranged in an orderly manner, can be described as the fine works of Wang Meng landscape painting. The whole width is magnificent, a quiet and quiet mood, it is really a good place to live and swim. The upper right title reads: "Xiashan Gaoyin, until April 17, 25, Wang Meng, a native of The Yellow Crane Mountain, painted a painting for Yanming Zhengshi in the residence of Wumen." The twenty-fifth year of zhizheng was 1365, and Wang Meng was 57 years old. This was the peak of his work, a period in which he painted a large number of works with the theme of seclusion. Wang Meng (1308-1385), courtesy name Shuming, was a native of Wuxing (present-day Huzhou, Zhejiang). Gong poetry calligraphy, good at painting landscapes, is one of the "Four Greats of the Yuan".
Flowers and fruits in summer
Song Lu Zonggui Xia Hui Xiao Fang Tu
In the summer, the temperature is high, the moisture is sufficient, all kinds of flowers and trees grow vigorously and vigorously, and the morning glory, lingxiao flowers, lilies and other flowers in the fields are in full bloom. The Southern Song Dynasty painter Lu Zonggui's "Xia Hui Biao Fang Tu" focuses on depicting several kinds of flowers. This illustration depicts three common summer flowers: pink and bright marshmallows, white and flawless gardenias, and tender yellow and elegant flowers. In the warm summer wind, the purple and red, the group of fragrant flowers, or plucking blooms, or the buds want to bloom, fragrant and fragrant, floral fragrance, refreshing. The flowers and leaves are varied, the flowers are gorgeous and colorful, interspersed before and after, Gu Pan is covered, beautiful and harmonious in a clear and fragrant mood, adding a lot of color to the hot summer, and also sending people a fragrance and refreshing, cleaning the heat, pleasing to the eyes. The Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty wrote a poem of five words specifically for this figure: "Xia Huifu is famous, but it contains the most reasonable." White and red, yellow and happy. Five thousand, the beginning of an unnamed name.".
The most common in summer is the lotus flower, "the lotus leaves are infinitely blue, and the lotus flowers are different from the sun", which blooms their beauty in the sweltering heat and becomes the object of the songs of the literati of the past generations. Ming Dynasty painter Chen Hongshou's "Lotus Flower Mandarin Duck Picture Axis" depicts the lotus character of "out of the sludge without staining, mao green lotus without demon". This figure is 183 cm long and 98.3 cm wide. The four lotus flowers in the painting are beautiful, or the buds are waiting to be released, or the buds are just blooming, or the dew is rising, or the competition is blooming, and the image richly shows the different forms of the lotus flowers opening, and the style is exquisite; the lotus leaves are also different in shape, some are like jasper trays, some are as big as umbrellas, some float on the water, and the crystal dewdrops roll on it, which are colorful; the lake stone is majestic, hun mu simple, dignified and deep; a pair of mandarin ducks look at each other, playing with the lotus, breaking the tranquility of a pool of blue water; a frog is lying on the lotus leaf behind the stone. It seems to have spotted nearby mosquitoes, waiting for an opportunity to prey, adding a little life and interest to the picture; two colorful butterflies flew in, one danced in the air, and one landed on the flower. From this, we can see the painter's careful observation and subtle ingenuity. Chen Hongshou loves lotuses and also loves to paint lotus flowers, and once named himself "Old Lotus".
Qing Yuan Jiang Sketch of vegetables and fruits
In the summer, various melons and fruits have matured successively, and flower samples are abundant, and the Qing Dynasty painter Yuan Jiang's "Sketching Vegetables and Fruits Picture Page" shows a variety of fruits and vegetables. This figure is colored on silk, 32 cm in length and 22 cm in width. "Sketching Vegetables and Fruits" is a two-page, one page depicts a ripe watermelon, green skin and red, full of shapes and spirits, which is mouth-watering. The yellowing in the green of the melon skin is a sign of ripening. The melon pickers keep the melon fresh, leaving a section of melon vine and a few melon leaves; a page of purple tomato, white eggplant and green pods, the vine flowers are white, the green leaves are verdant, and they look elegant and fresh. These sketches are painted in a boneless way, lifelike, realistic images, especially some details are in place, which shows the author's delicate and unique observation of life.
Cool off in nature
In the hot summer season, how did the ancients without air conditioning cool down? Most people still use the natural environment to walk into the mountains and rivers, listen to the flowing water between the springs, and blend into the green trees and bamboo, and their hearts are calm and natural. Its cooling method is not only environmentally friendly and low-carbon, but also full of fun and poetic. For example, Tang Yin's "Stone Forest Summer Elimination Map" and Wen Zhengming's "Na Liang Map" are all with the help of the natural environment, calming the mind and dispelling the heat. The Song People's "Acacia Shade Summer Map" and "Willow Shade GaoshiTu" are both in the shade of the tree, lying on their backs on the cool bed, or sitting on the cool mat, closing their eyes and recuperating, or lazily flipping through the books in their hands, or drinking a few glasses of wine to pass the summer heat.
The Song Dynasty court painter Su Hanchen's "Lotus Pond SummerIng" depicts beautiful women cooling off by the lotus pond. The lotus pond in the painting ripples, lotus leaf fields, hibiscus blooming, red lotus burning, white lotus, pink lotus yingying; weeping willows on the shore, branches playing the water, pavilions towering, brocade embroidery, carved fence jade, the scenery is pleasant. The two ladies are dressed in plain clothes, looking at the lotus by the railing, while cooling off, while feeling the lotus character of "out of the mud without staining, mao clear lotus without demon". "Lotus deep water wind is wide, rain over the fragrance of hair", a gust of hot wind through the lotus pond from the water surface, suddenly become very cool, and accompanied by lotus fragrance, people are pleasant. On a difficult day in the heat, go to the lotus pond to cool down and watch the lotus. Yang Wanli said in the poem "Summer Hot Lotus on the Pool": "The grass shakes its head and ignores the nong, and the shawl stops a west wind." The lotus flowers are still hot in the twilight, and the low side is hidden in the green umbrella. "This poem is written intriguing fashion, not only people are afraid of heat, but also lotus flowers are afraid of heat, hiding under the lotus leaves like umbrellas to cool off. The Northern Song Dynasty poet Qin Guan visited a summer shelter that was absolutely free from the heat, that is, on the side of the lotus pond lined with green willows on the south bank of the Painting Bridge, he installed a bed and reclined on it, enjoying the leisurely and leisurely enjoyment of the cool. The flute of the boat girl lingers on the surface of the water, and the blooming lotus flowers flutter in the wind, refreshing the heart. He couldn't help but write a poem called "Na Liang": "Carry the willow to chase the willow outside the cool, and paint the bed on the south bank of the bridge." The moonlight boat flute is jagged, and the wind is fixed and the pond lotus is fragrant. ”
Song Anon
Ming Dynasty painter Qiu Ying's "Pavilion Summer Elimination Map" depicts the scene of summer in a pavilion in the mountains. The picture is surrounded by lofty mountains, green peaks and white clouds, just like a fairyland. Above the gazebo, two people dressed in official clothes sat by the railing, tasting tea and talking, as if listening to the waves of pine in the mountains, and as if watching the blue water in front of them, a boy stood aside. "Pavilion Summer Map" is dominated by green and cool tones, green mountains and green water, full of vitality, and the view of the sudden feeling is cool and pleasant. From the inscription point of view, this painting was made on July 26, 1531, the year of Jiajing Xin (1531) of the Ming Dynasty, and the inscription of his friend Wen Zhengming on the right is: "There is a house of immortals, and the depths do not count the years." Pine cedar nest white crane, pavilion gushing green lotus. Outside the wild lonely clouds, the moss fell in front of it. A few more earthly dreams, to this point a leisurely. (Text/Zheng Xuefu)
(The author is a scholar of literature and history)
Source: Fine Arts Newspaper