Wen Zhengming's father and son's "appreciation" and "collection" of ancient calligraphy and painting

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Wen Zhengming's father and son's "appreciation" and "collection" of ancient calligraphy and painting

—Wang Zhaoyu—

Wen Zhengming (1470-1559), one of the "Four Masters of the Ming Dynasty", was extremely accomplished in calligraphy and painting, and the famous American art historian James Cahill (1926-2014 AD) said that he "had the most far-reaching influence and was the most widely imitated for the literati painters in Suzhou in the 16th century", and "gave Suzhou painting a special charm and charm in this period, which is unparalleled in contemporary times". Gao's remark is not an exaggeration, and it is self-evident, compared with Shen Zhou, Tang Yin, and Qiu Ying, Wen Zhengming is the most prominent in terms of the comprehensiveness of his talent and his influence on later generations. As a representative of the Wumen School of painting, Wen Zhengming's artistic achievements involve calligraphy, painting, literature and connoisseurship and many other fields, and his influence has lasted for hundreds of years, making the relevant research of Wen by later generations of scholars lush and spectacular, so that no matter which field or research angle we start from, we can almost chew out a new "Wen Zhengming". In Ye Qianyu's artistic creation, Chinese paintings with drama and dancing characters as the theme fully reflect his artistic achievements, which can be called a model of creation with the times and brush and ink with the times. As Yang Lizhou commented: "Ye Qianyu's theatrical characters and dance figures are the peak of Chinese freehand figure painting in the 20th century. ”

Scholars generally believe that the middle of the Ming Dynasty in the 16th century was the most prosperous period for the collection and appraisal of ancient Chinese paintings and calligraphy, and Mr. Liu Jinku believes that "they (the group of calligraphy and painting connoisseurs) already owned more than 95% of the collection of ancient paintings and calligraphy at that time, and it was in the process of appraisal and collection that they gradually formed a relatively fixed 'concept and system of calligraphy and painting appraisal', which had a huge impact on later generations." During the Jiajing and Wanli periods of the Ming Dynasty, a large number of ancient calligraphy and painting works poured into the corner of Taihu Lake in the south of the Yangtze River, and connoisseurs and calligraphy and painting brokers frequently participated in the trading of calligraphy and painting. Wen Zhengming and his sons Wen Peng (1498-1573 AD) and Wen Jia (1501-1583 AD) are among the outstanding representatives, and their father and son are all "eye-catching" in the appraisal of calligraphy and painting.

In the Ming Dynasty, Wen Zhengming was known as the "Great Law Eye" and "Gu Eye", and the famous calligraphy and painting connoisseur Zhan Jingfeng (1532-1602 AD) recorded such a conversation in his book "Dongtu Xuanlan": "Xiang (i.e., Xiang Yuanbian) is Yu: 'Who has two eyes today?'" Wang's Ermei (i.e., Wang Shizhen, Wang Shimao brothers) is a blind man, and Gu's Erru (i.e., Gu Ruhe, Gu Ruxiu brothers, Jiajing period people) squint. However, Wen Zhengzhong has two eyes, and he has been dead for a long time. Who has two eyes today? I want me to call it with my eyes. And I replied slowly: 'The four seas and Kyushu are so wide, and the people in the world are so numerous, I can't see all the sages in the world, and I can see the eyes of the world." Xiang Yin said: "Today, the eyes are only the feet and the ears." Yu Xiao said: "You are good at yourself." If you go, you can't bear to say that you have your own eyes, nor do you dare to say that you don't have eyes. Husband, it is difficult to appreciate, a thorn is also, this is a treasure, he thinks it is a stone. A swallow stone also, he thinks it is a treasure, this is a stone, but it is a unique thing. Xiang Yuanbian (1525-1590 AD) may seem like a madman's words, but it makes sense, because he was the largest merchant, collector and connoisseur of the Ming Dynasty. Strictly speaking, the Ming generation of calligraphy and painting connoisseurship, the collection of rich and eye-catching, Wuxi Huaxia, Suzhou Wang Shizhen, Kunshan Zhang Chou and Huating Dong Qichang are the crown of the southeast, Xiang only admired Wen Zhengming as "the eyes of the world", although there is a suspicion of subjective bias, but it is also a reason. Many documents record that Wen Zhengming was an extremely diligent person, he was not only diligent in studying calligraphy and painting, but also often participated in the practice of painting and calligraphy appreciation, at that time many calligraphers, painters, collectors and literati doctors in Wu had hired him to appraise, such as Shen Zhou, Tang Yin, Huaxia, Xiang Yuanbian, Nie Shuangjiang, Lu Zongying, Shen Runqing, Shi Minggu, Huang Yinglong, Zou Guangmao, Zhang Aoshan, Zhang Bingdao, Wang Zhifu, etc. Most of these literati doctors were officials in the court, or they were not specialized private collectors, Wen Zhengming and they traveled and sang with each other, and recorded some of the allegorical paintings and calligraphy collections, leaving their own appraisal opinions, mainly concentrated in Wen's calligraphy and painting works and a large number of ancient calligraphy and painting works on the inscriptions, constituting an important document for later generations of scholars to study Wen's archaeological calligraphy and painting.

In addition to the creation and appraisal of paintings and calligraphy, Wen Zhengming and his sons also collected paintings and calligraphy, but there is no inscription about Wen Zhengming's fathers Wenlin (1445-1499 AD) and Wen Sen (1462-1525 AD) in the paintings and calligraphy works and related documents, except that they once purchased a frame of Wang Xianzhi's calligraphy "Dihuang Tangti" from an unknown gentry in Longyou, as well as Zhao Meng's "Lin Zhiyong Thousand Character Text" and Zhao Yong's "Lin Li Gonglin Ma Tu" from somewhere. In fact, the real large-scale collection of the Wen family began with Wen Zhengming's father and son, and part of the source of his calligraphy and painting collection was purchased from the calligraphy and painting market. Zhan Jingfeng recorded an anecdote in the second volume of "Dongtu Xuanlan" about Wen Zhengming's buying and selling of calligraphy and paintings:

Yiyou Chang'an Lamp City, to the same Shen Taichang Chunfu to go, see Tang Bohu a small silk landscape, learn Wang Maha, the pen and ink are elegant, not colored, there is a poem with a text and a poem, and Bohu reverts to his own title. There is also a small ink dish by Wu Zhonggui, a seven-character quatrain poem by Ni Yuanzhen, and more than 100 words inscribed by Huang Zijiu, all of which are true. Purchased by Pure Help. In the autumn of his year, Mo Tinghan entered Beijing, Chunfu showed Tinghan, Tinghan said that it was a forgery, and Chunfu gave it to his deceased. In the past, Mo Tinghan, Gu Ruhe, and Xiuhe were appreciative and had a great eye, and Tinghan's two paintings were like this. Ruhe bought two huge Liu Songnian in the Ding Chou Nian Lamp Market, and was overjoyed, boasting of his friends, thinking that it was a strange thing. To hear, anxious to borrow from the view, not only fake but also vulgar. Ruhe asked: "What is a fake"? Yu Yin said Ruhe: "Why buy a fake with the reward of your uncle?" Ru He smiled and said: "How can you be a brother, such as Wen Taishi, not the so-called Dharma Eye Demonstrator in my hometown?" Taishi once bought Shen Qinan's landscape width hanging in the middle hall, and it was suitable and true. Taishi said: Is it true? Proud pen also. Isn't it cheap to buy it for 800 yuan? Shi Yu wanted to beg from Taishi, but Taishi couldn't bear to cut it. After resigning, to the alleys, there are people who hold a piece of the man, such as the one who bought it in Taishi, and gave seven hundred to buy it. And asked, Yu Taishi is also this person. Ask the history of the language, the history is competitive, the pawn is not convinced, and the history is true. "Brother and young brother, what is the loss of two paintings? To be appreciated by the person and every time he loses it in distinguishing the true and the fake, he must have an easy rate of staring. and self-esteem, not one by one, and the refinement of Nair. Therefore, every time you see a book and a painting, you will calmly borrow the view, read several times, familiarize yourself with the details, concentrate on the inside, if the body is connected with the people of the past, the heart is in contact with the people of the past, and there is no doubt, it is the beginning of the product called identification. Even if you are smart and don't catch people, you can win with fine research, all over the world's famous collections, and I am afraid that one of the ten will not be lost.

At the time of writing this article, Zhan Jingfeng was fifty-three years old, at this time he had seen countless calligraphy, painting and antiques, and had extremely rich experience in appraisal. The text recorded in the article not only participated in the sale of calligraphy and paintings, but also was very conceited about his own appraisal level. In the pen of Zhan Dongtu, this conceited calligraphy and painting appraisal "Great Law Eye" also occasionally misunderstood, Xiang Yuanbian's old collection of Tang cursive "Lan Xin Post", "The cigarette is suspected of Song monk Yan repairing the book, and Wen Taishi made a book with a diameter of more than eight points, which is rated as a bumble." Yan Xiu is not very famous in the Song Dynasty, and his calligraphy is like Zhang, but it lacks ancient meaning, how can it be too historical?" Unfortunately, this post has long been lost, there is no way to peek at its original appearance, and it is inconvenient to make rash judgments, the identification of ancient paintings and calligraphy has always been prone to disagreement, and the situation of opinions is extremely common, and it is not surprising. The "Xuanhe Ben" Suo Jing Zhangcao "Ode to the Teacher", "Wen Shoucheng bought it under the capital, and sold it to Xiang Yuanbian for 70 gold a few years later". In addition, some of the collection of the Wen family also comes from Wen Zhengming's teacher Shen Zhou, "Dongtu Xuanlan" contains: "Wen Xiu Chengjia collection of plum blossom Taoist ancient pine, the root plate cliff, the twisting wheel trapped, down the shelf of the stone peak, and the branch back to the blue sky, its momentum is like a dragon." The penmanship is ancient, there are several stone peaks under the peak, the big thorns and thorns under the peaks are chaotic leaves, the ink is dripping, the original Shen Shitian family things. "The correspondence between the Shen Zhou family and the Wen family in the collection is definitely more than this, and due to the limitation of literature, we cannot speculate on the quantity. There is also a part of the collection from the collectors of each other's exchange of calligraphy and painting, such as the original collection of Zhu Cunli's hand of "Mi Fu Linyu Shinan Runan Princess Epitaph" ink, is Wen Zhengming with the collection of "Confucius Temple Tablet" in exchange. Therefore, we can roughly summarize three ways of collecting paintings and calligraphy by the literati: the collection of the ancestors (the number is very small), the market purchase, and the mutual exchange and purchase between teachers and friends (the largest number).

(Yuan) Zhao Yong, Li Gonglin, Centaur (detail)

Ink and color on paper, 31.5 cm long, 73.5 cm wide

Collection of the Freer Museum of Fine Arts

According to statistics, the total number of calligraphy and painting works collected by Wen Zhengming's father and son should be about 100, and the number of works that have been seen and left inscriptions is even more numerous, such as the late Tang Dynasty poet Lin Zao's book "Deep Comfort Post". "Deep Comfort Post" was originally in the old collection of the Imperial Mansion of Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty, and was recorded in Volume 10 of "Xuanhe Book Pedigree". Lin Zao calligraphy master Zong Zhiyong monk, belongs to the "two kings" system, the ink "deep comfort post" has long been lost, fortunately there is a rubbing piece survives today, it can be seen that its font structure is rigorous, the chapter is soothing, the breath is graceful, the strokes are full and abundant, and there is indeed the atmosphere of "graceful and abundant". In May of the year of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty (1565 AD), Wen Jia, the second son of Wen Zhengming, saw this ink when he checked the private collection of Yan Song (1480-1567 AD), and he wrote in the "Records of Calligraphy and Painting in the Shan Tang": "Lin Zao's "Deep Comfort Post" I, Wu Wending's official book, is the collection of Xuanhe Inner House. Don't Benyun, Mr. Kuang'an's family belongings, Song Xuanhe Yufu records, Lin Gongshu is the only one. Pondering Wenjia's tone, he believed that the calligraphy was not only genuine, but also a unique ink blot of the Lin family. Since the book was in the collection of Wu Kuan (1435-1504 AD), Wen Zhengming's poetry teacher, was able to view the book several times and examine it in detail:

Right Tang Linzao deep consolation post, Yuan people are five. Li Qishihong, a native of Hedong, is an official and a bachelor, and is a scholar. Zhang Zhongshou Xijing, the minister, with a bachelor's will. Shao Hengzhen's refuyu, Lu people, Yuhua Pavilion. Yuan Hua Yuying, a native of Kunshan, is a teacher of the early county school. Zhang Shiziyi, a native of Cheung Chau, is the ambassador of the final mission class. According to Zhu Bao said that this post is contained in the Xuanhe book, there is no mark of the tomb today, only the two small seals of Shaoxing, which seem to be hidden by the tomb. After Gai Nandu, he purchased and collected the calligraphy and paintings of the first dynasty, and the folk collectors. Or there is the seal of the inner house, that is, it is opened to offer. At that time, most of them belonged to Cao Xun and Long Dayuan, and their eyesight was short, and they often cut off the inscriptions of their predecessors. This post is either offered by the people, or by the hands of Cao and Long, and it is not known. There are also Ke Jiusi, Chen Yanlian Mingyin, Ke Zi Jingzhong, Tiantai people, and Dr. Guan Kuizhang Jianshu. There are many imprints on this post, and there is the word "secret note", and the cover is also hidden. And the question of Zhongshou is also hidden by the clouds. Yan Lian name Baosheng, a wealthy merchant in Quanzhou, lived in Taicang at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, his family has a spring grass hall, the calligraphy and painting are very rich, and Yuan and Zhang taste their home. This post is also Chen's inscription, then this post is undoubtedly hidden by the three clans, and then returned to Wujiang Shi Minggu, and my teacher Kuangan got it, so a certain number of views. This is the case today, and the details are for the boya gentleman.

Among the many questions on the identification of calligraphy and painting, the author thinks that the above text can best reflect Wen Zhengming's ideas and methods for identifying calligraphy and painting. In addition to Lin Zao's "Deep Comfort Post", Wen's examination of calligraphy and painting such as the incomplete version of "Huang Tingjing", Yang Ningshi's "Immortal Living Method", Yu Shinan's "Epitaph of Princess Runan", Zhao Mengfu's "Two-Body Thousand Character Text", Yan Zhenqing's "Evidence as a Post", Su Shi's "Five Posts of Uncle Dang", Li Jianzhong's "Thousand Character Text", the anonymous "Jade Pillow Orchid Pavilion", Li Huailin's "Book of Broken Friendship", Jiang Guandao's "Picture Scroll", Zhao Mengfu's "Shuhong Fan and Picture", Li Gonglin's "Filial Piety Scripture" and other calligraphy and painting can also reflect its systematic and comprehensive verification of the identification characteristics. Combined with the surviving calligraphy and painting inscriptions of Wen Zhengming, the characteristics of his calligraphy and painting identification can be summarized.

First, he is familiar with the bibliographic documents of ancient calligraphy and painting, and is good at using bibliographic documents to verify the relationship between the "name and reality" of the works, such as Wen's research on the incomplete version of the Huang Ting Jing, Yang Ning Style Cursive Script, Shiben Runan Post, Fighting for Seat Post, Sending Pear Siyan Two Post Stone Ben, Lin Zao Deep Comfort Post, etc.

The second is to pay attention to the collection of seals to infer the process of its circulation, now in the Palace Museum of Yang Ning's "Immortal Living Method", Wen Zhengming first examined that the post has not been recorded in the "Xuanhe Book Pedigree" and "Dongguan Yu Commentary" and other books. The seals and inscriptions on the calligraphy were incomplete, and Wen believed that they might have been cut and dismantled by Cao Xun and Long Dayuan. According to the seal situation, Wen also believes that the post has been handed over by Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty, Jia Nidao, Yuan Li Qian and others, and has generally clarified its circulation process.

The third is that for the calligraphy and painting itself, and even the historical figures involved in other inscriptions, Wen's examines them one by one, which is of practical significance for studying the content of calligraphy and painting itself, sorting out its circulation process, and supplementing relevant historical records. This characteristic can be seen in the texts such as "Bazhao Wei Gongma Tu", "Balinzao Deep Comfort Post", "Inscription Zhao Songxue Qianwen", "Bashen Runqing's Collection of Yan Ciping Paintings" and "Inscription of the Seven Ji Quan Cuo Zhihou" and other texts. Since the Six Dynasties, the collection and appreciation of ancient Chinese paintings and calligraphy have gradually become a system. In the appraisal of calligraphy and painting, the detailed review of the use of materials, the combing of the circulation process, the evaluation of the high and low, and the exploration of the number of teachers and families can all be found in Liu Song Yu's book "On the Book Table". Wen Zhengming's appraisal of ancient calligraphy paintings such as "Deep Comfort Post", the method and idea completely inherited the identification of the ancient Chinese since the Six Dynasties, Wen studied in detail the author's line, the imprint of the collection, the bibliographic documents, the circulation process, and the cutting suspicion of the calligraphy, etc., this series of logical, experience-oriented, internal and external combination of methods, in the 80s of the 20th century by Mr. Xu Bangda (AD 1911-2012) called "eye-catching" and "examination".

This method of appraising ancient calligraphy and painting, known as "combination of appraisal and examination", is the most commonly used method in the field of ancient calligraphy and painting appraisal today. In this sense, Wen Zhengming's method of identifying ancient paintings and calligraphy is now a systematic and comprehensive verification method, which represents the maturity of the method of identification of ancient Chinese paintings and calligraphy. Gu Fu (17th century) at the end of the Ming Dynasty once said that Wen Zhengming was "small and long, and the examination and revision of the commentary were very fine", and An Qi also said that he was "meticulous in his research". Since the Song and Yuan dynasties, it can be called "eye" connoisseurs, such as Mi Fu, Guo Tianxi, Zhou Mi, Zhao Meng, Ke Jiusi, Huaxia, Wang Shizhen, Han Shineng, Zhang Chou, Zhan Jingfeng, Xiang Yuanbian, Dong Qichang, Gu Fu, Wu Qizhen, Wu Sheng, Sun Chengze, Liang Qingbiao, Gao Shiqi, Anqi, etc., can really do the creation, collection, identification of the trinity, only Mi Fu, Zhao Mengfu, Ke Jiusi, Wen Zhengming, Dong Qichang five people. They closely combine the creation, collection, trading and appraisal of paintings and calligraphy, which is different from the merchant connoisseurs and literati connoisseurs, if from the cultural core of Chinese painting and calligraphy, the above five people can be regarded as connoisseurs of calligraphy and painting in the true sense. Since the 20th century, Xie Zhiliu, Zhang Daqian, Wang C. Chiqian, Xu Bangda, etc. have this characteristic. Based on this criterion, Wen Zhengming can be called the only true academic connoisseur of the Ming generation who can be compared with Dong Qichang, and his identification method reflects the characteristics of the 16th century Chinese ancient painting and calligraphy appraisal method has formed a "combination of appraisal and examination", and this method has been widely popular in the ancient calligraphy and painting appraisal circle since the Ming and Qing dynasties. Dong Qichang's influence was so great that he once boasted proudly that he was "a giant-eyed man in three hundred years", and according to him, his appraisal level was the highest among many connoisseurs from the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty to the end of the Ming Dynasty (1271-1644 AD). What Wen Zhengming did not know was that Dong Qichang had traveled extensively and had seen a lot of ancient calligraphy and painting, which was very important for the improvement of his appraisal level. However, since the Yuan and Ming dynasties, the connoisseurs who can be called "giant eyes" are not only the Dong family, but also many people who have played calligraphy and painting all their lives. History has its own set of iron laws for human choices. Hua Xia, Xiang Yuanbian, Wang Shizhen, Zhan Jingfeng, Zhang Chou, etc. are all younger than Wen Zhengming, and their achievements in calligraphy and painting creation are far inferior to Wen Zhengming, and they are even inferior to Wen in terms of comprehensiveness. As far as Mi Fu, Zhao Meng, Ke Jiusi, Wen Zhengming, Dong Qichang are concerned, strictly speaking, there are only Mi Fu, Wen Zhengming, Dong Qichang three people who have a collection of calligraphy and painting documents, from the maturity of the Chinese ancient painting and calligraphy identification system, Wen is undoubtedly an important figure.

(Jin) Wang Xianzhi Dihuang soup post

Ink pen on paper, 25.3 cm long, 24 cm wide

Collection of the Taito Ward Museum of Calligraphy, Tokyo

The purpose of collecting paintings and calligraphy is to create, which is different from that of commercial collectors. Judging from the relevant literature, most of their collections come from their teachers and friends. Unlike his sons, Wen Zhengming was rarely involved in the profit-making trade in paintings and calligraphy, while his sons Wen Peng and Wen Jia were not. According to Mr. Liu Jinku's research, the Xiang Yuanbian family and the Wen family have the most contacts in the collection, and many of the Xiang family's collections come directly from the Wen family. It is a pity that the collection of the writer has not survived, and it is difficult for us to understand the specific situation of their collection. Xie Wei believes that Wen Zhengming's "Futian Collection" "contains hundreds of famous ancient paintings and calligraphy, and if you count the paintings and calligraphy of the famous masters of the Chenghua, Hongzhi, Zhengde, and Jiajing dynasties, there should be hundreds." During his tenure in Hanlin from the second to the fifth year of Jiajing (1523-1526 AD), there must have been many people in the collection of the Inner Palace, as well as collectors and good deeds to be sent for appreciation. And his family spared no effort to search for calligraphy and painting during the Jiajing period, and the engraved "Stopping Cloud Pavilion Post" has been seen to collect the wealth of law books." What kind of calligraphy and paintings did the writers collect, today has been clearly verified, only Suo Jing's Zhangcao "Ode to the Teacher" (Xuanhe Ben), Wang Xianzhi's book "Dongshan Songti" and so on more than 60 pieces.

Limited by conditions, we are now unable to precipitate all the collections of the Wenjia, but according to the above-mentioned more than 60 pieces of collections to see the characteristics of the Wenjia's calligraphy and painting collection: one is mostly based on the law books of the ancient masters, almost no collection of works of small masters, the works of these calligraphers are based on the "two kings" system as the core, and the Song people Mi Fu and Su Shi are involved. Wen seems to prefer the works of Zhao Mengfu, a great calligrapher of the Yuan Dynasty, and has the largest collection of Zhao's calligraphy, but the calligraphy of Wen Zhengming's father and son is not cool Xiao Zhao Mengfu, which is a very strange thing, because it does not conform to the relationship between collection and creation. According to the currently known collection of the literati, it can be seen that the collection of calligraphy and painting by the literati has a very obvious intention of copying and learning, and there is almost no motive for profit. The second is that most of these collections are stored in the Wenjia's library "Zhuyun Pavilion" and "Yulan Hall", and are stamped with seals such as "Wen Zhengming Seal", "Hengshan", "Zhuyun", "Yulan Hall Picture Secretary", "Wuyan Room Seal", "Wen's Book Seal", "Meixi Jingshe" and other seals. Among them, the "Hengshan" Zhu Wenfang seal and the "Wen Zhengming Yin" Baiwen square seal are almost every collection must be covered, and the frequency of the "Stopping Cloud" Zhu Wen big round seal is also higher, but not as frequent as the first two. These seals also appear mostly in Wen's own calligraphy works (except for the "Stopping Clouds" seal), indicating that Wen's seal does not have a very strict procedure. Occasionally, the seal of his son Wen Peng appears in these collections, but the number is small and is likely to be the result of the later distribution of the family collection. The third is the famous "Stopping Cloud Pavilion Post", whose calligraphy and ink are mainly collected by collectors in Suzhou and surrounding areas, rather than from the collection of the Wen family, which Ms. Huang Peng has given in-depth research. In addition, the Wenjia also seems to have participated in some calligraphy and painting counterfeiting activities, and the first volume of the "Dongtu Xuanlan" has recorded the following anecdote: "Huaisu said to himself, the old was in the Wen Zhao family, and I was fortunate to be in Yan Xiangguo, and wanted to buy and offer Xiangguo." Tuo Huang Chun's father and Xu Yuanfu first agreed on the value, the two of them are the daughter, Luo Sui is the daughter, the text is the daughter, and the 100 gold is the second life. When the time was to try Wumen, it was appropriate that this thing had gone, so he couldn't borrow it, and he hated it very much. After more than ten years, seeing Shen Shuoyi being humble in the white, even here, Shen said: 'Why is this enough to hang on to the public arms? It's a fake. When asked by the police, Shen said: "In the past, Zijia borrowed it from the Wen family, and it belonged to Shou Chengshuang to fill in Zhu Shangshi. "Yu smiled and said: 'Bazhen is self-narrated but false, and mocking. Shou Cheng scolded angrily, what does the truth have to do with the truth?' I have returned twenty gold to my ears, and most of the Wu people have asked for the value after pretending to be a fake copy, and the real book is not seen by others, and this behavior is the most hateful. After more than 20 years, for Wanli Bingxu, to be planned to go to the Beijing Division, Han sacrificial wine toast hall language, close to see Huaisu self-narrated a volume, no baba, but it is hard yellow paper, the paper is very thick, and can not be copied, and the word and the stone book are no different. The warning asked, 'Where is it now?' He said, 'He has taken it away.' I don't know what to do. 'Yu Yu said, it is said that Wu Bao must be true, Han hated it very much, and thought that it was with it. This text vividly and truly reveals that Wen Peng participated in the forgery of fakes, which is also an integral part of the collection of ancient paintings and calligraphy, which reflects the mixed authenticity and counterfeiting of the calligraphy and painting market since the middle of the Ming Dynasty.

Wen Zhengming's two sons, Wen Peng and Wen Jia, both inherited his expertise in identification, especially Wen Jia's achievements, because Wen Jia had a bibliography in existence. Wen Jia's 1568 "Records of Calligraphy and Painting in the Shan Shan Tang" is not a strict record of calligraphy and painting, at best it is a rough "bill of materials for copying the house", some of the calligraphy and paintings, Wen Jia has slightly examined them, such as Wang Xian's law book "Duck Head Pill Post" in the Shanghai Museum, Wen Jia examined and revised as follows: "The inscription Yonghe is genuine, and the thirteen lines of duck heads are attached to it, and it is also a genuine handiwork on silk, and there is no such post in other books." Now in the collection of the "Palace Museum" in Taipei, the Tang dynasty Sun Guoting cursive "Book Spectrum", "two volumes, the upper volume of Fei Ge Lake book, the lower volume of my family things." The paper and ink are fine, the spirit is radiant, Mi Yuanzhang said that there is even the right military law in the meantime, and the Yuntang people learn the right army, no one else. Those who are not allowed to see the right army are enough to see this. Don't be the cloud, the real book, it's a pity not to be complete". Perhaps due to the limitations of the situation at that time, Wen Jia's evaluation was not very rigorous, and aesthetic and emotional reviews were everywhere. Although there is a lack of rigorous examination, it can still be seen that Wen Jia's profound identification skills. Wang Xianzhi's "Duck Head Pill Post" may not be genuine, but the Tang Dynasty facsimile is recognized by the current calligraphy and painting circles; Sun Guoting's "Book Pedigree" is an undisputed Tang law book. Wenjia believes that Yan Zhenqing's "Fight for the Seat" is a copy of Mi Fu of the Northern Song Dynasty, because the original copy of the book has long been lost, we can not infer the mother of the book that Wen Jia saw, and it is impossible to make further comments. In the appraisal of ancient paintings and calligraphy, it is sometimes not very complicated to distinguish the authenticity of a work, and it is very difficult to give an accurate time-space coordinate to the work.

In the summer of 1565, Wen Jia wrote at the conclusion of the "Records of Calligraphy and Painting in the Shan Tang": "In May of Jiajing Yichou (1565 AD), he learned from He Gong of Binya, and went to read the official Yan's calligraphy and paintings, and the old house of Fenyi (Yan Song), the new house of Yuanzhou (Yan Shifan), and the new houses of the provincial capital. At that time, the number of comics was presented, and there was no time to go into details. Today, even the old Zheng gets it, re-records it, slightly distinguishes, writes one or two to pass on all the good things, and the bright window is a time to read, and suddenly wanders in the golden jade. This inscription explains the reason why the paintings and calligraphy recorded in the book were not examined in detail, so we cannot infer Wen Jia's thoughts on identifying ancient paintings and calligraphy. Interestingly, Wen Jia, like his father, often inscribed appraisals on ancient paintings and calligraphy, leaving many texts about the appraisal of paintings and calligraphy, so that many do-gooders in later generations forged his handwriting and inscribed on the paper or edge of the paintings and calligraphy for a high price. For example, Ding Yunpeng, the old collection of the Qing Palace, is now in the Wuxi Museum, the overall artistic level of the painting is not low, but the paper has Wenjia's handwritten regular script "Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra", compared with the hand-handed Wenjia ink, this text is obviously a forgery, undoubtedly a certain antique dealer out of shooting profits, borrowing Wenjia's name to increase the price of the painting. Like his father, Wen Peng also often inscribed appraisal texts on his calligraphy and painting works, which is recorded a lot in the book "Dongtu Xuanlan", and there are also a large number of Wen Peng inscriptions in the surviving collection of paintings and calligraphy. The cultural significance of Wen Zhengming's father and son, who integrated the creation, collection and appraisal of calligraphy and painting, far exceeds their identity as "Wumen painters" and "Wumen calligraphers", which is not only the excellence of Wen's father and son beyond their peers, but also the "eye-catching" model in the sense of true calligraphy and painting connoisseurship since the middle of the Ming Dynasty.

(Southern Song Dynasty) Zhao Mengjian, Melan Scroll (detail)

Ink pen on paper, 34.5 cm long, 90.2 cm wide

Collection of the Palace Museum

The author is an associate professor at Soochow University

(Editor: Liu Guzi)

—The full text was published in the 38th issue of "The Gate of the Great Craftsman" of the Beijing Academy of Fine Arts—

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