"Xuanhe Calligraphy Book" and "Xuanhe Painting Book" respectively recorded thousands of works collected in the palace at that time, and wrote biographies and fine art reviews on hundreds of writers. China's earliest royal art collection. It occupies an important position in the history of Chinese art. However, no one knows who its author is.
"Xuanhe Calligraphy Book" and "Xuanhe Painting Book" each have twenty volumes, respectively recording the masterpieces of calligraphy and painting collected by the palace during the Xuanhe period, and describing calligraphy and painting from ancient times to the Northern Song Dynasty. A summary of the history, and a brief biography of the calligrapher and painter is attached before the work. "Xuanhe Painting Book" records 231 painters and 6,396 paintings. "Xuanhe Calligraphy" is the most extensive collection of calligraphy records in the Northern Song Dynasty, with thousands of calligraphy works recorded. These two works are the earliest art history works in Chinese history that comprehensively and systematically collect the calligraphy and painting works collected in the palace at that time, and provide relevant character introductions and commentary on calligraphy and painting. They provide future generations with the opportunity to understand and study the history of Chinese calligraphy and painting. , provides relatively precious information and occupies an important position in the history of Chinese art. However, there is no author's name in any of his books, and several important catalog books of the Song Dynasty did not record his author. Therefore, there has been much speculation as to who the authors of these two books were.
The "Summary of the General Catalog of Sikuquanshu" believes that the works recorded in the book, such as "the books written by the Song Dynasty, are finally attributed to Cai Jing, Cai Bian, and Mi Fu. It is suspected that these three people were identified. Fu, Jing , Bian's calligraphy are all good, Fu You is good at distinguishing, and they all use their strengths. Therefore, Xuanhe's politics are not impressive, but his appreciation is unique." The book excludes the calligraphy works of Sima Guang, Wen Yanbo, Su Shi, Huang Tingjian and others who were "Yuan Wei Zhan Party members". Based on the analysis of their political stance, the author may be Er Cai. "Tieweishan Congtan" records: "Since Chongning, Qiao Nian of the Song Dynasty was ordered to take charge of the calligraphy and painting office in front of the imperial court. After Qiao Nian, he was replaced by Mi Fu. By the end of the year, there were thousands of collections in the collection, reflecting the great events of the Xi Dynasty. Ye." It is believed that both calligraphy and painting scores were mostly identified by Mi Fu. Judging from his artistic appreciation and the fact that he was in charge of the imperial calligraphy and painting institute, the author is probably Mi Fu.
However, some scholars pointed out that based on the facts and tone analysis contained in the book, it does not seem to be written by Cai Jing, Cai Bian and Mi Fu. For example, "The Biography of Cai Bian" says: "I have been fond of learning calligraphy since I was young. I started with Yan Xing, and my writing style is elegant, but the maturity is unknown, so the corners of the book are slightly exposed." If it was Cai's own handwriting, how could he be willing to depreciate himself like this in this biography? In addition, these two works were written in the Xuanhe period (1119-1125), and Mi Fu died in the first year of Daguan (1107), more than ten years before the book was written. And the book "Mi Fu Biography" says: "The dissenters say that the sacred peak of his calligraphy is too steep, like a strong crossbow shooting for thirty miles, and Zhong You has not seen the customs of Confucius, and his theory may be like this." His comment on Mi Fu's calligraphy There are quite a few criticisms. This is completely different from Mi Fu's self-righteous tone when he criticized the ancients in his "Haiyue Quotes", so the author cannot be Mi Fu.
Some people think that it was written by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty. Some passages in the book are obviously Huizong's tone, such as calling "I", calling Song Renzong "my benevolent ancestor", and calling Song Shenzong "my god test". "wait. The "Biography of Cai Jing" in "Xuanhe Shupu" states: "The reason why he assists one person and makes the country's affairs smooth is because of his strength." This is completely Huizong's tone of "giving one person". There is also Huizong's "Imperial System" in front of the book. "Preface", it is possible that Huizong was the author.
Some scholars point out that Song Huizong can also be regarded as a master of calligraphy and painting, and his thin gold calligraphy and flower-and-bird paintings can be regarded as superior works in the art world at that time. Not only did he love calligraphy and painting, but he also ordered his ministers to sort out, appraise and record the exquisite calligraphy and painting in the palace. The "Xuanhe Calligraphy and Painting Manual" was completed under his personal care and supervision. It would be credible to say that a few texts in the book were written by Huizong on his whim; but to say that the entire book was written by the emperor at his whim would be tantamount to talking in a dream. It is a well-known fact that most of the books that are said to be written by emperors were collectively compiled by their ministers. In his "Preface to the Imperial System", there is a statement such as "Today's Son", which is completely a tribute to a minister. It can be seen that the so-called preface written by Huizong himself is faked in this way, regardless of other parts.
Someone commented based on Zheng Gou's "Yanji · Making Books" of the Yuan Dynasty: "The great virtue Renyin, Wu Wenguihe of Yanling collected calligraphy texts from Xuanhe of the Song Dynasty, from the beginning of the Jin Dynasty to the end of the Song Dynasty, named " "Xuanhe Pu", 20 volumes. "To think that the author is Wu Wengui of the Yuan Dynasty is even more misleading. The book refers to the Song Dynasty as "this Dynasty" and "I Song", which is definitely not the Yuan dialect. According to the postscript of Wu Wengui's calligraphy recorded in "Ancient and Modern Law Calligraphy Garden" written by Wang Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty: "The "Xuanhe Calligraphy and Painting Book" was not published at that time. Zhu Zi." It can be seen that Wu Wengui printed these two works based on the old manuscripts, not the author.
After carefully reading the two books, it is obvious that they faithfully reflect the official theoretical opinions and aesthetic attitudes on art, the historical narration is systematic and thoughtful, and the arguments are relatively plain, but they lack originality. The views are sometimes contradictory, and it seems that the author was not the same person. It was roughly compiled during the Xuanhe period by an imperial minister who was good at calligraphy and painting and had a fine appreciation of calligraphy and painting. Huizong himself may have participated in the compilation of the two books and wrote several of them himself. Other favorites such as Cai Jing should also have a great influence on the compilation process, such as the selection and comments of the works. Some scholars even believe that Cai Jing and his disciples may have participated in the compilation of his book. For example, the modern scholar Yu Jiaxi's "Diagnosis of Synopsis of Siku" believes that at that time, Cai Jing's eldest son Cai Tiao was promoted to the Ministry of Secretary, and the two books must have been written by Cai Tiao. There is some truth to this theory, but there is no direct evidence.