Shūhuà tíbá jì 書畫題跋記
Records of Inscriptions and Colophons on Calligraphies and Paintings by 郁逢慶 (Yù Féngqìng, zì Shūyù 叔遇, hào Shuǐxī dàorén 水西道人, fl. 1634, 明, biān 編)
About the work
Yù Féngqìng’s compendium of inscriptions and colophons, in two collections (qián 前 and hòu 後), each of twelve juàn. The qiánjí has a self-colophon dated Chóngzhēn 7 (1634) winter; the hòují is undated and may be slightly later. The work records famous calligraphies and paintings that Yù examined, transcribing the attached inscriptions and colophons without much critical commentary. The Sìkù editors identify a number of internal inconsistencies (textual duplicates with conflicting dates, qiánjí cross-references to the hòují that the hòují does not in fact fulfill, and so on) that show the editorial work was incomplete. Still, the breadth of material makes the work a major reference for the late-Míng record of calligraphic and pictorial texts.
Tiyao
We have respectfully examined: Shūhuà tíbá jì in twelve juàn, xù tíbá jì in twelve juàn, edited by Yù Féngqìng of the Míng. Féngqìng, zì Shūyù 叔遇, hào Shuǐxī dàorén 水西道人, of Jiāxīng. The book is in two collections. The qiánjí closes with his own note: “Recording the inscriptions on the fǎshū and famous paintings I have seen, until they have piled into volumes — Chóngzhēn 7 (1634) winter.” The hòují has no colophon, so we cannot date its completion. The book records calligraphies and paintings he had seen with their colophons, not concerned with distinguishing true from false: e.g., on Zhào Mèngjiān’s collected Dìngwǔ Lántíngběn, his entry on Tiānshèng bǐngyín, the entries by Fàn Zhòngyān, Wáng Yáochén, Mǐ Fú and Liú Jīng — the dating-positions all agree with what the Hǎiníng Chén-family Bòhǎi cángzhēn tiè preserves of Chǔmó’s edition. Apparently Zhào Mèngjiān’s drowned-water edition originally had Fàn Zhòngyān’s inscription, and Chǔmó’s edition originally had Mèngjiān’s seal — handing-on confusion has merged the inscriptions of the two editions. Again, on the five-character broken-edition, Wén Zhēngmíng’s colophon — already recorded in the qiánjí’s juàn 10 as Jiājìng 9 (1530) eighth month second day, with a note “see also the continuation” — and the hòují’s juàn 2 records the same colophon as Jiājìng 11 (1532) sixth month twenty-seventh day. The same tiè, the same colophon, character-for-character identical, but the dates utterly disagree. Again, the qiánjí on Gāo Kèɡōng’s Imitation Mǐ Fú Blue-Green Cloud Mountain says “see also the continuation,” but the qiánjí records Kèɡōng’s name and inscription and Wú Zhèn’s Zhìzhèng wùzǐ (1348) inscription, while the continuation does not include these. Again, Shěn Zhōu’s Yǒuzhújū juǎn also says “see also the continuation,” but the qiánjí preserves the poems of Xú Yǒuzhēn, Wén Lín, Wú Kuān, Qián Rénfū, Qín Yǎn — and these in the continuation come in front-and-back inversion. All such cases are utterly uncollated. Further: qiánjí records of Sòng Gāozōng’s painting album, Liáng Kǎi’s painting of Yòujūn writing on a fan, etc. — all have Shuǐxī dàorén inscriptions — apparently Féngqìng’s own collection. Further: juàn 1 through juàn 4 each end with a Chóngzhēn jiǎxū (1634) winter “collection-recorded” note — also Féngqìng’s self-note — but he never indicates which entries are his own and which are observed: editorial form especially unclear. Yet the gathering is rich and much can be mutually corroborated; we have therefore preserved it for reference. Respectfully collated, Qiánlóng 46 (1781), tenth month.
Abstract
Yù Féngqìng 郁逢慶 (zì Shūyù 叔遇, hào Shuǐxī dàorén 水西道人, of Jiāxīng) was a late-Míng connoisseur active in the Chóngzhēn (1628–44) decade. His Shūhuà tíbá jì is one of the principal sources for the late-Míng transcription record of inscriptions and colophons attached to famous calligraphic and pictorial works. The work’s editorial flaws (uncollated duplicates, contradictory dates, unfulfilled cross-references, unclear distinction between Yù’s own holdings and observed pieces) — meticulously catalogued by the Sìkù editors — make the work a difficult but indispensable late-Míng connoisseur’s reference.
Translations and research
- Clunas, Craig. Pictures and Visuality in Early Modern China. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1997 (late-Míng connoisseurship).
- Cahill, James. The Distant Mountains. New York: Weatherhill, 1982.
- No standalone Western-language monograph.