An accomplished poet, collector, painter, and calligrapher and a member of the Song royal family, Zhao Mengjian was compared by his contemporaries to the famous scholar-connoisseur Mi Fu (1052–1107). Like Mi's, Zhao's writing does not derive from a single source but combines the best of many earlier models: the natural charm of the fourth-century Jin writers, the brush method and character structure of the seventh-century Tang masters, and the free expression of the eleventh-century Northern Song calligraphers.
This scroll, which transcribes Zhao's poems on plum and bamboo painting, is his best-known extant calligraphic work. Written for a young relative who was studying painting, the poems stress acute observation of nature and mastery of brush methods and conventions, as well as the importance of personal expression.
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南宋 趙孟堅 行書梅竹詩譜 卷
Title:Poems on painting plum blossoms and bamboo
Artist:Zhao Mengjian (Chinese, 1199–before 1267)
Period:Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)
Date:dated 1260
Culture:China
Medium:Handscroll; ink on paper
Dimensions:Image: 13 3/8 in. × 11 ft. 7 in. (34 × 353.1 cm) Overall with mounting: 13 5/8 in. × 40 ft. 5 11/16 in. (34.6 × 1233.6 cm)
Classification:Calligraphy
Credit Line:Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988
Object Number:1989.363.28
Inscription: Artist’s inscription and signature (68 columns in semi-cursive and cursive scripts)
Kang Jiean of my hometown, a painter of ink plum blossoms, has asked me for a poem, so I will explain what is important and what is unimportant in this art.
Taochan [Yang Wujiu, 1097‒1169] followed the style of Huaguang [Monk Zhongren, ca. 1051‒1123]; He captured the pure resonance of the master. Xianan [Tang Zhengzhong, ca. mid-late 12th c.] studied with Taochan; He learned clear composition from his master. As one looks at the jade-like flowers and mouse-whisker stamens, One knows his skill is more exquisite [than that of Huaguang]. His branches are always depicted in the shape of deer horns, The vitality of his painting comes from this kind of execution. Although it is not important to consider the orthodox tradition, Compared to the true method [of Yang and Tang] the others are not proper. Monk Ding paints the flowers skillfully but the branches are roughly done, Liu Mengliang has good ideas but his technique is insufficient. Surprisingly there is a lady painter, Madame Bao, She has been able to inherit her master's method. It is a pity for me knowing the fame of the fine plum painter Bi Gongji of Jiangxi but never having met him; The painting of Yang Jiheng is coarse, distasteful, and clumsy; He is the first to introduce bad taste but Yao Xuepeng is even worse. This is like the saying of Zhang Rong: "I regret that the two Wangs did not have my calligraphy method." How many girls who lived near the beautiful Xishi tried to compare with her? How can something interesting not be transmitted? One must have the eye to discover beauty. A flower should be painted with only seven stamens and three sepals; New buds should be executed with dots like pepper, The tip of the branch must be painted like a rat's tail. Light and dark ink are applied For showing the branches in three layers of ink tones. Flowers should be depicted with front and back sides While buds are painted in various shapes. You already comprehend the secret of this art, If I repeat this method, my words become verbose. Whose family will have your painting on a screen? My poem may be used to explain your art.
Kang Jie’an seemed not to comprehend my poem, but Xu Meigu asked me for another poem on the same subject, so I wrote the following:
Dark ink is used for the blossoming branches, Light ink is used for the tip of the branches. The old trunk with scales and wrinkles should be painted With slightly dark and dry ink. The flower petals can be depicted with three strokes Separately drawn but still connected. Pepper dots used to show the new buds should be drawn like pearls. Strokes fine as bee whiskers are painted around the heart of the flower Like a smiling face with a dimple, The long branch tip is executed with a stroke Steadily dragged like a rat's tail. Painting the plum blossoms in the wind, All the flowers should be moving in the same direction. Half the branch may be covered with snow When painting the plum in this guise, The plum blossoms must be arranged properly When painted together with pine and bamboo. When flowers are depicted floating on the water, Make them seem to dance and toss. When painting evening scenery, accompany it with the bright moon. Besides long and short bridges, Plum blossoms may be arranged along clear shallow mountain streams. A group of blossoming branches painted close to each other Seem to have a clamorous and cheerful feeling; Branches depicted back-to-back quietly Display a listless expression. Although the brushwork of a painting is distinctively finished, It is obviously more than just brushstrokes; On a scroll, the vertical and horizontal lines are not merely drawing. [Looking at a painting] one will feel the room Filling with the atmosphere of springtime, Or recall passing through plum blossoms in the rain. From beginning to end, Yang and Tang's methods should be followed; Continue studying hard; how can skill be mastered in just a day?
I wrote the following for the bamboo painter Wang Cuiyan, who asked for a poem on this subject:
The most ancient paintings showed objects without definite forms, Then forms were depicted closely following the actual objects. People later followed the methods of early masters, Tracing their footprints as though stamping a seal on clay. But a close copy is like building the same house upon another, When new ideas are added the work is more satisfying. It has been several hundred years since the Wei and Jin dynasties. Who can carry on the calligraphic tradition of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi? People nowadays forget the poetry of Li Bai and Du Fu. They are eager to study the new style of the Jianghu school. I hope you can plant a thousand acres of bamboo Like those growing along the Wei River; After a meal you can relax and take a walk. All the phenomena of bamboo in wind, in clear weather, in mist and in rain Will be within your heart, The luxuriant and upright nature of bamboo Will come forth freely from your brush. Oh, how common Zizhang looks when Yuan Dafu appears!
These three poems may be seen as a treatise on plum and bamboo painting. However, those who do not have poetry in their hearts will be confounded when they see these poems. Several months after Cuiyan received my poem, he suddenly came to ask me: "What I requested was a poem on bamboo painting, why did you write about the poems of Li Bai and Du Fu?" I answered with a laugh, "This is not beyond your understanding. It's only that no one has ever told you about it. Have you not heard the words: "If you restrict your theme, you can not be a good poet'?" My cousin Huangfu, who has been studying here with me, learned that I had composed these poems, and he delightedly asked me to write them down. I worry that I too may not have a poetic nature and will also be confounded. Those who understand poetry may correct me. I am old now and do not wish to say too much.
Written by Zhao Mengjian, Zigu, Yizhai Jushi of the royal family under the light of a candle at ten o'clock on the sixth day of the tenth month, the first year of the Jingding era [1260]. I am now staying with the Wang family of Salt Bridge [in Hangzhou].[1]
Zigu (Zhao Mengjian) was my oldest friend. The poems and paintings I received from him are more than those from others. In the bingchen year of the Baoyou reign era (1256), he and Zhengweng (Dong Kai董楷, 1226−ca. 1268) collated calligraphic works up to scores of sheets of paper. I perused them fondly, unable to put them aside. Then I made copies under lamplight and finished all the pieces overnight. At daybreak, Zigu, filled with surprise and delight, picked up a brush and wrote a colophon of almost two thousand words. I lost my collection after the war, and the two gentlemen passed away too. One day Huangfu Zichang visited me in Shanyin (Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province) and showed me Zigu’s Poems on Painting Plum Blossoms and Bamboo scroll with Zhengweng’s colophon on it, which Zigu gave him in the gengshen year of the Jingding reign era (1260). I read it over and over again, feeling as if seeing their faces. Zichang was actually Zigu’s cousin, while Zhengweng was my wife’s brother. Overjoyed as if seeing them in person, I sighed again and recorded my feeling here. Twenty-nine years later, in the mid-summer of the wuzi year (1288), Qian Yingsun, Dingzhi, from Bianyang wrote this. [Seals]: Qian Yingsun yin, Juquan, Shulin
3. Zhao Mengying 趙孟濚 (d. 1277), 29 columns in semi-cursive script, dated 1268; 4 seals:
Painting is said to be “soundless poetry,” in which the virtuous and the wise express their mind. It can be divided into the divine and the skillful classes. Painters of the divine class are talented with lofty vision. Wielding the brush spontaneously, they are born with the ability to paint. Painters of the skillful class follow established traditions. Using the brush with prescribed methods, they learn how to paint. My fraternal cousin Yizhai (Zhao Mengjian) was born intelligent and had a lofty character. In addition to literary compositions and calligraphy, he amused himself with brush and ink to paint various flowers. From his swiftly moving brush, flowers emerged in pure and high spirit. They are vivid marvels that belong to the divine class. In the spring of the yimao year (1255), Zichang arrived from Piling [in Jiangsu Province], and Yizhai kept him to help with scholarly pursuits. Out of affectionate admiration, he took Yizhai as his mentor. Through verbal instruction and brush demonstration, he emulated his art without a break. In the autumn that year, as Yizhai joined the staff of Master Huo [Jia Sidao賈似道, 1213−1275], Zichang left to take residence in Gao Wenchang’s Yanyu Lou Studio. There he lived elegantly in leisure and practiced art regularly. As his hand responded to what his mind understood, his art gradually advanced into a higher realm. A few years later, Yizhai praised it for its refinement. Wouldn’t Zichang be the one who succeeds in transmitting Zigu’s legacy! Although Yizhai has passed away, Zichang is making progress every day and feel exhilarated when his works appear comparable. He brought Yizhai’s poetry scroll on painting methods over and asked me to write a few words. I greatly admire his firm determination and hope his art will transcend the skillful class, so I am quoting Master Shangu’s (Huang Tingjian黃庭堅, 1045−1105) inscription on a painting by Danian ( Zhao Lingrang趙令穰, active ca. 1070–1100) of the [Song] imperial family, “Danian learned from Dongpo ( Su Shi蘇軾, 1037−1101) in depicting bamboo and rocks. His paintings have a particular thoughtful nuance but the brushwork feels soft, which is due to his young age. When Danian gets old, his works will be ten times better than those of today.” These are insightful remarks. May Zichang keep them in mind to spur himself on. In the mid-autumn of the wuchen year of the Xianchun reign era (1268) Zhao Mengying inscribed. [Seals]: Junze, Fangzhou, Zhizhai, Yanyi wang Gongji Xiaokang wang Zhongwei zhi yi
4. Dong Kai 董楷 (1226−ca. 1268), 9 columns in semi-cursive script, dated 1268; 4 seals:
In the past, Li Boshi’s (Li Gonglin李公麟, ca. 1041–1106) younger cousin Qiao Zhongchang (11th−12th c.) learned painting from him in person and became a painter of the skillful class. Nowadays Qiao’s works are rarely seen and their value is barely lower than Longmian’s (Li Gonglin). When the mind is kept from distraction, concentration will lead to the divine. May Zichang encourage himself with this. Zichang is young and full of aspiration. Through deep exploration he will achieve self-realization and become a master of his own. There is no need to take the Li-Qiao association as a model. In the tenth month of the wuchen year of the Xianchun reign era (1268) Dong Kai from Tiantai [in Zhejiang Province] made this note. [Seals]: Tiantai Dong Kai, Zhongzhai, Dong Zhengweng yin, Zhongfeng Dong shi
In my childhood I kept company with my elder brother Yizhai, and saw that, upon getting small hanging scrolls by Taochan (Yang Buzhi揚補之, 1097–1171) and handscrolls by Xian’an (Tang Zhengzhong湯正仲, Yang’s nephew), he would constantly roll and unroll them for viewing. That’s how he fully grasped the wonder of Yang’s and Tang’s art. My late brother loved book-learning. No matter what he did, he would not stop until he had reached the finest stage. He was interested in brush and ink throughout his life. Other than that, he had no worldly interest at all. If someone focuses his mind on something, he will become skillful at it, and skillfulness leads to refinement. How could latecomers achieve this! My paintings of “this gentleman” [bamboo] had always received Yizhai’s praise. Although I followed the methods of Wen Tong文同 (1018–1079) and Su Shi蘇軾 (1037–1101), my brushwork actually derived from Yizhai. Cousin Huangfu used to keep company with Yizhai, and that is the origin of his painting. My late brother is gone. I hope you will keep it up. Written in the Qingyuan Lou Studio on the day of “slight heat” [variously on July 6–8] in the wuchen year of the Xianchun reign era (1268). [Signed] Zhusuo, Zhao Mengchun, Zizhen [Seals]: Zhusuo, Zizhen, Xuxian Yesou
6. Ye Longli 葉隆禮 (jinshi degree 1247), 18 columns in semi-cursive script, dated 1267; 1 seal:
My friend Zhao Zigu (Zhao Mengjian), a descendant of the imperial family, had the flair of people of the Jin (266–420) and Song (420–479) dynasties. In his youth he practiced calligraphy and painting and was fond of orchid as a subject. He often carried brush and inkstone with him while drinking or appreciating flowers. When asked for paintings by people, he complied without grudging. As his works were usually easy to get and plenty to keep, people did not treasure them. In old age, he retreated into Chan Buddhism and became skillful in depicting plum blossoms and bamboo, which were vividly life-like. When I returned from Jiangyou [Jiangxi], I had attained certain insight into Chan-inspired brushwork. I was about to show Zigu my works for his advice, but he had passed away. Townsmen said that the reputation and the price of Zigu’s works had jumped so much recently that a small piece could fetch hundreds or thousands of cash. I dared not believe it. One day a bookseller brought a few pieces to my place, and that news turned out to be true. Isn’t it that people do not value what they have but value what they do not have! Mr. Huangfu is a follower of Zigu’s. He showed me a genuine scroll by Zigu of collected remarks on painting and a painting of orchids by himself. I was overjoyed to view them, but also sighed that there wouldn’t be more works from Zigu and it was good enough to get something close to Zigu’s. May Mr. Huangfu keep up his pursuit. Longli wrote this in the Chunyong Tang Studio on the last day of the fifth month in the dingmao year of the Xianchun reign era (June 23, 1267). [Seal]: Ye Longli Shize fu
[1] Translation from Kwan S. Wong and Stephen Addiss, Masterpieces of Song and Yuan Dynasty Calligraphy from the John C. Crawford Jr. Collection. Exh. cat. New York: China Institute in America, 1981, pp. 52–57, cat. no. 9. Modified.
[2] Translations by Shi-yee Liu.
John M. Crawford Jr. American, New York (by 1971–d. 1988; bequeathed to MMA)
New York. China House Gallery. "Masterpieces of Song and Yuan Dynasty Calligraphy from the John M. Crawford Jr. Collection," October 21, 1981–January 31, 1982.
Lawrence. Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas. "Masterpieces of Song and Yuan Dynasty Calligraphy from the John M. Crawford Jr. Collection," March 14, 1982–May 2, 1982.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Traditional Scholarly Values at the End of the Qing Dynasty: The Collection of Weng Tonghe (1830–1904)," June 30–January 3, 1999.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Embodied Image: Chinese Calligraphy from the John B. Elliott Collection," September 15, 2000–January 7, 2001.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Brush and Ink: The Chinese Art of Writing," September 2, 2006–January 21, 2007.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Chinese Painting from The Met Collection (Rotation One)," October 31, 2015–October 11, 2016.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Noble Virtues: Nature as Symbol in Chinese Art," September 10, 2022–January 29, 2023.
Shih Shou-ch'ien, Maxwell K. Hearn, and Alfreda Murck. The John M. Crawford, Jr., Collection of Chinese Calligraphy and Painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Checklist. Exh. cat. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1984, p. 21, cat. no. 35.
Fong, Wen C. Beyond Representation: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, 8th–14th Century. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992, pp. 304–305, pl. 67.
Bickford, Maggie. Ink Plum: The Making of a Chinese Scholar-Painting Genre. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996, pp. 149–52, fig. 43.
Ouyang Zhongshi et al. Chinese Calligraphy. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008, p. 441, fig. 10.3.
Flacks, Marcus. Custodians of the Scholar's Way: Chinese Scholars' Objects in Precious Woods. London: Sylph Editions, 2014, pp. 10, 170–71, 258–59, 338–39, 426–27.
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