The translation of Nuclear Boat Chronicle is as follows:
In the Ming Dynasty (there was) a person with special skills (exquisite skills) named Wang Shuyuan. (He) can use wood one inch in diameter to carve out palaces, utensils, people, as well as birds, beasts, trees, and stones. All of them are carved into the images of various things according to the original shape of the material, each with its own expression and posture. (He) once gave me a small boat carved from a peach stone, which was engraved with Su Shi's boat trip to Red Cliff.
The boat is about eight minutes long from bow to stern, and about as high as two yellow rice grains. The raised and open part in the middle is the cabin, which is covered with a canopy made of bamboo leaves. There are small windows next to it, four on each side and eight on each side. Open the window and see the carved railings facing each other. Close the window. On the right side is engraved, "The mountain is high and the moon is small, and the water comes to light." On the left side, it is engraved, "The breeze blows slowly, but the water waves are sluggish." The recesses of the words are painted with azurite.
There are three people sitting on the bow. The one in the middle wearing a tall hat and thick beard is Su Dongpo (Su Shi), Foyin (Su Shi's friend) is on the right, and Lu Zhi (Huang Tingjian) is on the left. Su Dongpo and Huang Tingjian looked at a long scroll of calligraphy and painting together. Su Dongpo held the right end of the scroll in his right hand and pressed lightly on Lu Zhi's back with his left hand. Lu Zhi was holding the left end of the scroll with his left hand and pointing at the scroll with his right hand, as if he was saying something. Su Dongpo exposed his right foot, and Huang his left foot. Their bodies were both slightly tilted. Their knees, which were close to each other, were hidden in the pleats under the hand scroll. The Buddha's seal was very much like the Maitreya Bodhisattva in Buddhism, with his bare chest and nipples exposed. Looking up, his expression is not similar to that of Su Dongpo or Lu Zhi. Foyin lay down on his right knee, bent his right arm to support himself on the boat, raised his left knee, leaned on it, and could count the rosary beads clearly.
There is an oar placed across the stern of the boat. There is a punter on each side of the oar. The punter on the right has a vertebral bun, his face is raised, his left hand is leaning on a crossbar, and his right hand is holding his right toes, as if shouting loudly. The man on the left is holding a palmetto fan in his right hand and pressing the stove with his left hand. There is a kettle on the stove. The man's eyes are looking directly at the tea stove, his expression calm, as if he was listening to the sound of tea.
The back of the boat is relatively flat, and the author put his name on it. The text is: "On the autumn day of Renxu, Wang Yishu of Yushan just carved it from afar." The strokes are as small as mosquito feet. Clearly, its color is black. There is also a seal script seal engraved with the text: "Chu Pingshan people", and its color is red.
There is a total of one boat, with five people carved on it, eight windows, a canopy made of bamboo leaves, a paddle, a stove, a teapot, a hand scroll and a rosary. ; The couplets, titles and seal scripts have a total of thirty-four engraved characters. But calculating its length, it's less than an inch. It turns out that it was carved from long and narrow peach stones. Ha ha! The skills are really amazing!
Source
"He Zhou Ji" is an explanatory text in classical Chinese written by Wei Xuezhen (about 1596 ~ about 1625) in the late Ming Dynasty. It comes from "Xinzhi of Yuchu" edited by Zhang Chao in the Qing Dynasty.
Original text of ancient poems
The Nuclear Boat Chronicle
[Ming Dynasty] Wei Xuezhen
There was a clever man in the Ming Dynasty who said that Wang Shuyuan was able to use wood that was an inch in diameter. , for palaces, utensils, people, as well as birds, beasts, wood and stones, regardless of the situation, each has its own mood. I tasted the remaining nuclear boat, and the clouds covered the red cliff.
The length of the boat from head to tail is about eight minutes, and its height is about two millimeters. The open one in the middle pavilion is the cabin, covered with a awning. There are small windows on the side, four on each side and eight on the left. Open the window and look at each other with carved railings. If it is closed, the right side will be inscribed with "The mountain is high and the moon is small, and the water will come out," and the left side will be inscribed with "The breeze is coming slowly, and the water waves will be stagnant." The stone will be green and gritty.
There are three people sitting on the bow of the boat. In the middle, the one with the crown of E and many beards is Dongpo, Foyin is on the right, and Lu Zhi is on the left. Su and Huang *** read a hand scroll. Dongpo held the scroll in his right hand and stroked Lu's back with his left hand. Lu Zhi held the end of the scroll in his left hand and fingered the scroll with his right hand, as if he had something to say. Dongpo's right foot is shown, and Lu Zhi's left foot is shown, each slightly sideways, with the two knees facing each other hidden in the folds of the clothes at the bottom. The Buddha's seal is very similar to Maitreya's, with his breasts exposed, his head raised and his eyes raised, his expression is not that of Su and Huang. He lay down on his right knee, right arm bent up to support a boat, and put up his left knee, hanging a rosary on his left arm and leaning on it - you can count the number of beads clearly.
The stern of the boat lies horizontally. There is one boatman on the left and right. The person on the right has her back in a bun, with her left hand leaning on a rung, and her right hand holding her right toes, as if whistling. The person on the left is holding a palm fan in his right hand and stroking the stove with his left hand. There is a pot on the stove. He is looking up and looking calm, as if listening to the sound of tea.
The back of the ship is slightly flat, and there is an inscription on it. The text reads: "On the autumn day of Renxu, Wang Yishu of Yushan was just carving it when he was far away." Another seal seal is used, and the text is "People from Pingshan at the beginning", which is red in color.
Total one boat, five people; eight windows; one each for a bamboo canopy, a kettle, a stove, a pot, a hand scroll, and a rosary; couplets, titles and seal scripts, for the characters** *Four out of thirty. However, considering its length, it has never been enough. The person who covers the simple peach core and repairs the narrowness is used for it. Hee, your skills are amazing!
Notes
(1) Qi: Strange.
(2) said: Call.
(3) To: use.
(4) Diameter: diameter.
(5): of.
(6) means: making, here refers to carving.
(7)罔: None, no.
(8) Cause: basis.
(9) Potential: Appearance.
(10) Xiang: imitate, imitate.
(11) Tool: to have.
(12) 情: Expression.
(13)Each: each.
(14) Stance: posture.
(15) Taste: once.
(16) Yi: gift.
(17)Yu: Me.
(18) Guy: Probably, so it is.
(19) Pan: rafting.
(20) Cloud: The modal particles at the end of the sentence are unintentional.
Creative background
"The Nuclear Boat" is an explanatory classical Chinese text written by Wei Xuezhen (about 1596 ~ about 1625). By describing the shape and structure of the nuclear boat, as well as the people and objects on the boat, this article expresses the author's praise for Wang Shuyuan's superb skills and praise for folk art, and reflects the great achievements of ancient Chinese sculpture art.
Appreciation
The article adopts the structural pattern of "total-point-total".
It begins with a general statement: Introducing Wang Shuyuan’s outstanding achievements in carving technology and pointing out the theme of the carving “nuclear boat”. "He can use wood of an inch to build palaces, utensils, people, and even birds, beasts, wood and rocks." This shows that the raw materials used are small in size, but the range of expression is extremely wide, which shows that he has achieved many things; "He does not adapt to the situation. Pictograms, each with its own mood." This shows that he has exquisite conception and superb technique. After such a general introduction, the theme of the sculpture "Nuclear Boat" was pointed out: "Da Su Pan Chibi". This clearly shows the intention of this article, which is to use specific works to prove that the author's evaluation of Wang Shuyuan's skills is realistic.
The middle is a subtitle: a detailed introduction to the structure of the "nuclear boat", the characters on the boat and the title. It can be divided into two layers:
The first layer (paragraphs 2 to 4) introduces the front of the boat, which is the main part that shows the sculptor's ingenious conception and superb skills. It can be divided into three sub-layers:
The first sub-layer (paragraph 2) first introduces the volume of the "nuclear boat", and then writes about the middle part of the boat, which is the cabin. Among them, the focus is on the introduction of the small window next to the cabin. It can not only be opened and closed, but also has a couplet engraved on it, with the sixteen characters ***, which shows the fineness of the carving; "open the window and look", and "looking at each other on the carved railing" ", which further shows the ingenuity of the sculptor's conception.
Introduction to the author,
Wei Xuezhen (about 1596-about 1625), courtesy name Zijing, was born in Jiashan (now Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province) in the late Ming Dynasty of China. Famous prose writer. He was a well-known local scholar and the eldest son of Wei Dazhong, a minister of the Ming Dynasty. His life was short and he had never been an official. He was fond of learning and good at writing. He wrote "Maoyan Collection". "He Zhou Ji", which was included in "Yu Chu Xin Zhi" by Zhang Chao of the Qing Dynasty, is his masterpiece.