Keywords: Yuan Sijia; Painting; Aesthetic ideology
Yuan Sijia is a general term for Huang, Zhenwu and Wang Meng, who represent the style of landscape painting in Yuan Dynasty. In the Yuan Dynasty, due to the reform of "making the past serve the present" at the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, dating back to the Northern Song Dynasty, the Five Dynasties and the Jin and Tang Dynasties, Zhao Mengfu abandoned the style of institutional painting in the Southern Song Dynasty, and the theory of literati painting advocated by Mi was carried forward at this time because of the recluse style under the rule of Mongolian and Yuan nationalities and the alpine spirit of Yuan people. Therefore, the Yuan Dynasty landscape painting reached its peak in lyrical freehand brushwork. In his long-term painting practice, Yuan Sijia combined the freehand brushwork spirit of pen and ink with the "expressive realism" in the objective landscape form by praising the mountain gods and emphasizing lyrical freehand brushwork. Because of its own ideological origin and unique aesthetic requirements for landscape, it gradually formed the overall landscape painting style of "Yi" and "Yi", and formed Yuan Sijia's overall painting aesthetic spirit. Specifically, Yuan Sijia's painting aesthetic spirit is mainly reflected in the requirements of "precision", the proposition of "self-entertainment" and the aesthetic value orientation of "avoiding pen" and "not seeking similarity".
The overall impression of Yuan Sijia's landscape is relaxed and intimidating, which fully shows the free and easy state of mind, simple and refined state of mind, loose and relaxed state of mind and endless worries of the literati in Yuan Dynasty. Not a trace of dust, not a trace of vulgarity, not a trace of fireworks, not a trace of impatience. This is due to their own emphasis on "Yi" and their pursuit of "Jing".
The literati in Yuan Dynasty gave up their sense of responsibility for the country and the nation, and seclusion was not an individual phenomenon, but a whole retreat. "Song Yuan" said that "those who promote the work are famous kings, who usurp the Han Dynasty and stay drunk with my idle people in their hometown". It is useless for a scholar to resist, but obedience is also painful. They just live in seclusion in the mountains and live alone. Their overall mental state is painful, melancholy, sad, leisurely, detached and even abandoned. This is a mentality that reflects contradictions everywhere. Therefore, what is hidden behind the Yuan painting is the literati's dissatisfaction and despair with reality, as well as their pursuit and appreciation of Lin Quan's lofty aspirations, carefree bearing and mood. Their experience of mountain gods is much more profound and pure than that of any generation of literati in history. Their demand for the "essence" of landscape painting is much stronger and more spontaneous than that of any generation of painters in history.
Yuan Sijia mostly hides in the "city", which is characterized by elegance and elegance. Scholars in Yuan Dynasty had neither "factional struggle" in Song Dynasty nor literary inquisition in Ming and Qing Dynasties. They are at leisure and their mental state is extremely free. They have almost nothing to do, neither want to bring peace and stability to the country, nor have any intention of subverting the regime, so they just soak in the gas dog land all day and engage in zaju. The popular literature of the Song Dynasty developed greatly in the Yuan Dynasty, and a large number of playwrights and opera works emerged, almost in an endless stream. These plays reflect the general living conditions of the society at that time and convey the author's concern and sympathy for the lower class. Scholars in the Yuan Dynasty were versatile, and few great scholars could not draw and write. These literati are playwrights, poets, calligraphers or both. Traveling around the mountains and water is an elegant thing, but it is a common thing to wander among the pavilions in Goulan. The combination of elegance and vulgarity in Yuan culture is very subtle, which is not only reflected in the friendship of many great painters and poets, but also reflected in many playwrights and Sanqu writers (some painters write zaju and Sanqu themselves, such as Ni Yunlin Sanqu, which has survived to this day 12). ) It is also reflected in the fact that these painters themselves live in the secular world. They don't live in seclusion in mountains and rivers like Hao Jing, and their footprints rarely follow the world. For example, in Yuan Sijia, they don't live in the mountains, and they don't set foot in the world of mortals. Huang, Zhenwu and others even make a living by selling paintings. Just because they really can't live without the secular, so they can't live without the secular, so "refined" has further become Yuan Sijia's spontaneous aesthetic requirement. Ni Yunlin painted bamboo only to "escape the chest" and "escape the brushwork, not seeking the shape, but chatting to entertain the ears", while "those who occasionally visit the market must be taught according to their instructions, and they must get it in time and be insulted everywhere." He sighed, "this is wrong. You can blame the people in the temple for not being jealous! " ("Qing Yue Ge Ji Answer Zhang Zao Zhong Shu") It can be seen that Yunlin is also shunned.
There is such an interesting record about Yunlin in The Legacy of Yunlin: When Zhang Shicheng was in Suzhou, his brother Zhang Shixin sent someone to ask Yunlin for paintings and sent a lot of silk gifts, but Ni Yunlin refused to give up when he cracked his silk. One day later, Zhang Shixin went boating in Taihu Lake. He and his guests smelled a strange smell coming from the reeds by the lake. It turns out that Ni Yunlin is nearby, and the dragon is burning on the boat. Zhang's guards tied Ni up and whipped him to death. His friend saved him, but Ni didn't say a word. Someone asked, Yunlin replied, "Traditionally."
Ni Yunlin abandoned his production and drifted in Taihu Lake for decades because he hated vulgar officials and could not bear to "worship small officials and wear stars and wait for the imperial court". Zhen Wu refused to follow the custom, but he was so popular that he couldn't sell paintings like his neighbor Sheng Mao, and he was poor. Although Huang didn't reach the extreme desolation and loneliness in the painting, he still "hid in the past and forgot his life experience", "abandoned worldly affairs" and "sat still and was satisfied". "I live in seclusion in the back mountain. Every night, I sit on the lake bridge with a bottle of wine. I drink alone and throw a bottle of water. The bridge is almost full." How chic and exquisite. Huang put forward in "Writing Scenery" that "the main point of painting is to get rid of evil, sweet, vulgar and dependence." Wang Meng is a hermit, but he has read the Book of Changes for 30 years. This broadmindedness in life and high spiritual standards determine that their works are noble and exquisite, so Yuan Sijia's demand for "exquisiteness" is both spontaneous and conscious.
Second, the concept of "entertaining oneself"
Since Ni Yunlin put forward the theory of painting, it has had a far-reaching impact. "Chatting for self-entertainment" directly inherits Dongpo's "having fun in painting" and Mi Fei's "fitting one's own taste". Yunlin's concept of "entertaining oneself" focuses on the requirements of "easy brushwork" and "idle temperament" He said, "I love the wind and the forest. It is more affectionate." Pictures are written for leisure, not images and sounds. "("The Complete Works of Qing Pavilion ") He thinks that painting, like poetry, needs no more effort in form. In the eyes, poetry is the five words from The Book of Songs, Lisao to Han. "People who recite the correct emotions are profound and clear. "He thinks that Wei and Liu Zongyuan's desalination of mistress is the real theme of Tao poetry, while Li Bai, Du Fu, Han Yu and Su Shi's poems reflecting people's feelings and satirizing the king are all' incorrect'. In his view, the poetic style is plain and natural, uninhibited and incorrect. " Poetry must be called without reciting, according to the meaning of temperament, but not reserved. "We can see that Ni Yunlin's aesthetic requirements for painting and poetry are the same, and we can also see that this aesthetic requirement is in line with the spirit of the literati in the Yuan Dynasty. Diluting mistress, simplicity and innocence became the authentic vein of Yuan painting. Dong Qichang thinks that Mi Fei is the first and Ni Yunlin is the most ideal literati painter: "Although there were many talented people in the Yuan Dynasty, they inherited the strategy of the Song Dynasty. Wu has great style. Lonely Yunlin is ancient and natural, and one person is stupid. " ("painting purport")
In Zhenwu's paintings, there is also a saying that "the ink opera works are suitable for a moment's interest", and Wu Zhenyun's words are quoted in "Iron Net Coral": "The ink opera works are suitable for a moment's interest, except for the words of the literati, and there is little communication with the painters. Taste Chen Jianzhai's poem "Mo Mei": "It seems that it does not seek color, and its predecessor is Ma Jiufang Gao. So is this knowledgeable painter. Zhenwu's landscape is full of "drama" and "ink drama", which also shows his concept of entertaining himself in painting. As he said in his poem, "the grass pavilion was built according to the village, but it was always intentional." Birds are happy in the deep forest, and bamboo is loose in the dust. The spring stone is extended, and the piano and book are pleasing to the temperament. When Xie Fan is close to me, I will be very comfortable and comfortable. " (Title "Grass Pavilion Map")
Although Huang and Wang Meng rarely formally put forward the view that painting is "entertaining themselves", they paint for neither fame nor profit. Huang changed from "small ambition" to "determined to win" Because he was in prison, he "abandoned personnel" and retired to Lin Quan to concentrate on painting and calligraphy. In the Ming Dynasty, Li Rihua wrote in Notes on Liuyanzhai that Huang's posture was wandering among barren hills and rocks all day long. In the introduction of the painting garden, Huang also wrote, "I tasted a lonely boat on a moonlit night, went out to the west gate, followed the mountain, and went from the mountain to the lake bridge, tied the bottle at the stern with a long rope, returned to the boat and went to the tomb of Qi Nv, taking the bottle at a speed of rope, breaking the rope, high-fiving and laughing, and making a sound." I can see that I am going my own way and enjoying myself. Wang Meng also lives in seclusion in the Yellow River Mountain and the side mountain, looking at the mountains and clouds, nourishing his feelings in painting and nature, and seeking spiritual liberation and sustenance. This is also a real "sending to paint".
Of course, this kind of self-entertainment and ink play is essentially a continuation of Su and Mi in concept and spirit, and is the inheritance of Su and Mi's existence. In the specific painting method, it is completely different from Su and Mi, and even goes their separate ways. Dong Qichang said in "Essays on Painting Zen Rooms" that Wang Meng's paintings are unique in Tang and Song Dynasties. If Dong, Ju, Fan and Wang Wei have the ability, the Yuan Dynasty should be the first. " In particular, the management structure of Huang and Wang can not be solved by a casual "ink painting play". This is precisely because of Zhao Mengfu's derogatory comments on modern quadrangles, and at the same time, he severely criticized the modern "literati ink drama". The so-called "paintings by modern scholars and husbands are ridiculous." This criticism and Zhao's emphasis on the cultivation of painting skills have guided the development of literati painting in the Yuan Dynasty in a correct direction, which conforms to the development law of painting noumenon art ... Because of following the fashion, Ye Zhao reminds him of his own character, and his eyes and ears are good "(Dong Qichang's Essay on Painting Zen Room). Therefore, we should understand the real meaning behind Yuan Sijia's thought of "entertaining ourselves" and not be confused by the appearance of his "ink painting".
Lyric freehand brushwork is the distinctive feature of Yuan painting, and Yuan people emphasize "escaping from pen" and "chatting for self-entertainment". Objectively speaking, Yuan painting really embodies this aesthetic value orientation. However, Yuan Sijia didn't neglect his grasp of the "shape" of objects because of his "careless brushwork". And pay attention to both form and spirit. Ni Yunlin said in Painting a Mountain for Building: "I am a beginner, and everything seems to be painted. Traveling in the suburbs and cities, things return to painting. Ask teacher Fang, which is false and which is true? Mo Chi drips water, and I have boundless spring scenery. " It can be seen that even Yunlin pays attention to observing objects at any time, and does not neglect sketching and modeling. Although this is the current affairs of Yunlin's early paintings, we can see from Yunlin's paintings that both early and mature styles are an objective reflection of the scenery along the Taihu Lake, or it should be said that it is a kind of "expressive realism" of the scenery along the Taihu Lake. Ni pays attention to the deep excavation of the picture boundary to reflect the spiritual world, but by no means at the expense of the natural expression of the objective landscape form.
Huang's emphasis on modeling is even more obvious. In "Painting Landscape", except for one or two words, the whole article talks endlessly about how to observe and express nature, how to draw details such as trees, rocks and water, and even says, "It is very meaningful to take a tracing pen with you in your purse or see a strange tree in a good place." Most of the landscape of Huang really comes from Yushan Mountain and Fuchun Mountain. Xia's "Painting Treasure" said that he "explored the change of Yushan Mountain in the morning and evening, and the fate of the four seasons was in the heart and shaped in the painting." When Huang lived by the Fuchun River, he never took a pen and paper to sketch whenever fishing on the beach was successful. Although his Fuchun Shan Jutu does not clearly describe the scenery of Fuchun Mountain, the whole work is full of the beauty of Fuchun River. During the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, Zhu saw Huang's "Floating Blue and Warm Cui Tu" in Shanyin County. It is said that he "forgot to be in the official residence if he was sitting in my Fuchun River." This shows that Huang's landscape paintings are realistic, but this kind of realism is different from the rigid description of real landscapes, and it is a description of form and spirit, which is a kind of difference.
Wu Zhen once said: "If you don't obey the rules, you will never draw a picture. There are shades of ink in the painting, and there are differences in writing. If you pay attention to it, you will see glory and decline. Still have branches and branches. " This strict requirement embodies the idea that pen and ink can not be separated from modeling. Let's talk about Wang Meng first. He painted landscapes. Shan Ye is pale and beautiful. The pen is bizarre and unpredictable. His representative works, such as Living in Seclusion on the Clear Border, Summer Resort and Wooden House with Area, also reflect his "expressive realism" about nature and objective landscapes. Especially in the "Qing bian seclusion map". Zeng Bozhou, Dong Qichang in the Ming Dynasty, took the mountain as the boundary. He believed that only Wang Meng had the ability to "vividly depict this mountain". It fully shows the moist feeling of trees in the western hills of the south of the Yangtze River, so it says at the top of this painting: "Wang Shuming's painting is the best in the world."
We say that the pursuit of freehand brushwork spirit did not make Yuan painters give up their "expressive realism" of objective natural landscapes. There are many misunderstandings about Ni Yunlin's "not seeking similarity". In order to explain the problem more clearly, I extract the original text of Ni Yunlin's painting about "not seeking similarity" as follows:
"Drawing scenery, twists and turns can achieve its beauty, I can't. If you accidentally dye it, it will leave a yellow color, and it is not for the picture. The so-called painter of the servant is nothing more than an unintentional pen, not seeking the shape, but chatting for self-entertainment. When I came to the city recently, people who want to paint will want to teach according to their instructions. If they want to get it in time, they will be insulted and scolded. How unfair! Can you blame the people in the temple for having beards, or the servants themselves? " (Complete Works of Qing Pavilion, Volume 10, Answer to Zhang Zaozhong)
This passage about painting is often taken out of context and looked for meaning in the text. It is easy to say that Ni Yunlin's paintings "don't seek similarity", but only pay attention to "sloppy brushwork", and it is easy to say that Yuan Sijia only pays attention to the charm of pen and ink but leaves similarity. I didn't know that Ni's "not seeking similarity" was aimed at "painting a scene, twists and turns can make it beautiful" and "lightly dyeing leaves it yellow, not painting". Ni clearly pointed out that he can't draw all the forms of the scenery, but if he leaves its shape and color, it is not the original intention of painting, and if he "inspires him to get the right time", he loses the original intention of painting "entertaining himself". Therefore, he put forward the spirit of "not seeking similarity", using the spirit of "how to compare similarity with absurdity" to reverse "twists and turns can make the best of beauty", and using "not seeking similarity" to reverse "casual touch and dye, leaving a yellow color", thus forming something between "similarity and dissimilarity", which is the object image and pen and ink formula of "similarity and dissimilarity"