Xuānhé shūpǔ 宣和書譜
Calligraphy Catalogue of the Xuānhé Era anonymous compilation, attributed by the Sìkù editors to 米芾, 蔡京 and 蔡卞 working in concert under the Xuānhé imperial commission, 宋
About the work
The calligraphy companion to the KR3h0025 Xuānhé huàpǔ, recording the calligraphic models in Huīzōng’s imperial collection. The book is in twenty juàn: juàn 1 lists the imperial autograph collection; juàn 2 lists zhuànlì 篆隸 (seal and clerical scripts); juàn 3–6 list zhèngshū 正書 (regular script, 4 juàn); juàn 7–12 list xíngshū 行書 (running script, 6 juàn); juàn 13–19 list cǎoshū 草書 (cursive, 7 juàn); juàn 20 lists fēnshū 分書 (eight-thirds clerical, with zhìgào imperial edicts appended). The work transmits the Northern Sòng imperial-collection record for 243 entries of Wáng Xīzhī, 89 entries of Wáng Xiànzhī, 28 entries of Yán Zhēnqīng, and detailed records for the major Táng masters. The Sòng entries close with Cài Jīng, Cài Biàn and Mǐ Fú — strong evidence, as the Sìkù editors note, that these three were the actual compilers.
Tiyao
We have respectfully examined: Xuānhé shūpǔ in twenty juàn, no compiler named. It records the calligraphic models in the inner palace under Huīzōng — apparently compiled at the same time as the Huàpǔ KR3h0025. Juàn 1: imperial autographs. Juàn 2: seal and clerical. Juàn 3–6 (4 juàn): regular script. Juàn 7–12 (6 juàn): running script. Juàn 13–19 (7 juàn): cursive. Juàn 20: eight-thirds clerical, with zhìgào appended. The Sòng entries end with Cài Jīng, Cài Biàn and Mǐ Fú — so these three are presumably the editors. Cài Jīng’s and Cài Biàn’s calligraphy were both accomplished; Mǐ Fú was particularly skilled in connoisseurship — all three were used to their respective strengths. So although the politics of Xuānhé offer no admirable feature, in connoisseurship alone the period stands unrivalled. Cài Tāo’s Tiěwéishān cóngtán records: “I have seen the inner palace’s calligraphy index — Táng dynasty Yìnghuáng tracing-copies of the two Wángs reach more than 3,800 leaves; Yán Lǔgōng’s autographs reach more than 800 leaves; in general Ōuyáng, Yú, Chǔ, Xuē, and the famous Táng ministers Lǐ Tàibái, Bái Lètiān, etc. — the characters are uncountable. Only the two Jìns are numbered. As to the Pòqiāng tiè and the Luòshén tiè by the two Wángs, their genuine pieces are extraordinary, all but unique — yet forgeries abound.” The present text records only 243 entries of Wáng Xīzhī, 89 of Wáng Xiànzhī, 28 of Yán Zhēnqīng — apparently those entered into the pǔ are themselves carefully filtered, and the yúmù (false-eye) mix has become rare. Respectfully collated, Qiánlóng 43 (1778), eighth month. Chief compilers: Jì Yún, Lù Xīxióng, Sūn Shìyì.
Abstract
The Xuānhé shūpǔ is the single most important Sòng catalogue of calligraphic models. Its records of pre-Táng and Táng fǎshū survival are the basis for all subsequent connoisseurial discussion. The Sìkù editors note Cài Tāo’s testimony that the imperial collection contained 3,800+ Wáng-tracings and 800+ Yán Zhēnqīng autographs — figures from which the present catalogue’s 243+89+28 is a heavily filtered selection of the items judged genuine. The implicit attribution of the editorial work to Cài Jīng, Cài Biàn and Mǐ Fú is reinforced by the final placement of these three at the end of the Sòng entries. The work’s twenty-juàn organisation by script-type — replacing earlier Táng anthologies’ chronological arrangement — became the standard for later imperial calligraphy catalogues.
Translations and research
- Sturman, Peter Charles. Mi Fu: Style and the Art of Calligraphy in Northern Song China. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997.
- Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. Accumulating Culture: The Collections of Emperor Huizong. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2008 (chap. on Shū-pǔ).
- McNair, Amy. The Upright Brush: Yan Zhenqing’s Calligraphy and Song Literati Politics. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1998.
- Wáng Liánqǐ 王連起. Sòng-dài shūhuà jiànbié 宋代書畫鑒別. Shanghai: Shanghai Shuhua Chubanshe, 2003.