Let’s talk about a couplet by Zhang Wentao
Xu Guiwen
I have a pair of antique paperweights on my desk. Length: 625px, width 112.5px, thickness 75px, arched. Wooden, black lacquer, with a "gilded" couplet on the front, saying: "Famous paintings should be read like poems; the guqin can also be used to listen to the sound of water." It is the ink of the late famous calligrapher Mr. Qi Gong, with alternating lines and cursives, cool and elegant. elegant. Whenever I visit the pond and watch it, I will think of Zhang Wentao from the Qing Dynasty.
The first person to write this couplet was Zhang Wentao. (see picture). Zhang Wentao (1764-1811) was a native of Suining, Sichuan. The name was Zhongye, Lezu, the name was Chuanshan, and he was also called Shushan Laoyuan. Later, he was named Yao'an, also known as Wuchuan. Qianlong Gengxu (1790) Jinshi. Official magistrate of Laizhou. Good at painting and poetry, he was the top poet in Shu in the Qing Dynasty. Li Yuandu of the Qing Dynasty wrote in "Guo Chao Xian Shi Lue" that Wen Tao's "calligraphy is dangerous, and his paintings are close to Xu Qingteng's. Every unexpected place is full of natural interest." Jiang Baoling of the Qing Dynasty said in "Mo Lin Jin Hua": "Cuanshan's talents and emotions are outstanding, and he is known in the world. Poetry, but I don’t know that both calligraphy and painting are excellent, and calligraphy is as relaxed as Mi Haiyue.” A recent scholar, Yang Shoujing, said in "Xue Shu Yi Yan": "All calligraphers during the Qian and Jiaqing Dynasties were born in gold and stone, and they studied famous works. Only Zhang Chuanshan, Song Dynasty." Zhiwan will never rely on the ancients, he is naturally elegant. Because of his unique talent, he does not follow the ancients but is in line with them." He is the author of "Cuanshan Poetry Collection". ("Chinese Calligraphy Dictionary")
The couplet of this couplet is the work of Wu Xiqi, a native of the Qing Dynasty. The title of Zhang Wentao's couplet reads: "Gu people offered wine sacrifices, and on the ninth day of Renshen, they were written by Danya Renzi." The person from Gu was Wu Xiqi (1746-1818), a parallel writer and poet in the Qing Dynasty. The courtesy name is Shengzheng, and the name is Guren. A native of Qiantang (Hangzhou, Zhejiang). In the 40th year of Qianlong's reign (1775), he became a Jinshi and was awarded the title of editor and editor. He went to the Imperial Academy to offer wine as a tired official. His poems are outstanding, his parallel prose is clear and elegant, and he is famous for a while. Danya, unknown.
"Famous paintings should be read like poems; the guqin can also be used to listen to the sound of water." It expresses the elegance of literati and scholars.
The first couplet says that appreciating famous paintings should be like reciting good poems. Because poetry and painting are connected. When Su Shi commented on Wang Wei's poems and paintings, he said, "There are paintings in poems, and there are poems in paintings." It is also Su Shi’s aesthetic ideal and evaluation standard. Poems or paintings are required to reach a beautiful and profound artistic realm. Some painters use poetry to incorporate poetry into their paintings. Some poets know how to paint, or they hold it aloofly, and their poetry is beyond the clouds; or they hold things in mind, and their poetry is in the mountains and rivers.
The second couplet uses the classic "Mountains and Flowing Waters". "Liezi Tangwen": "Bo Ya is good at playing the harp, and Zhong Ziqi is good at listening. Boya is good at playing the harp, and his ambition is high in the mountains. Zhong Ziqi said: 'How good! The mountains are as beautiful as Mount Tai!' His ambition is to flow in the water. Zhong Ziqi Qi said: 'How good! The ocean is like a river! '" Later, "high mountains and flowing water" are used as a metaphor for the appreciation of close friends or the rareness of close friends, or as a metaphor for the wonderful music. One of Wang Anshi's "Three Quatrains Sent by Ci Yun and Zhang Zhongtong": "The mountains and flowing water have endless meaning, and the three-foot empty strings are on the knees." Therefore, it is said that "the guqin can also be used to listen to the sound of water." This requires superb music and close friends to appreciate it. The listener feels like he or she is immersed in the scene and never wants to leave.
"Qing History Biography" says: "Wen Tao's calligraphy is dangerous." Zhang Wentao's running script reflects this characteristic. Dangerous, strange, clumsy, and very interesting to watch.