Nányáng shūhuà jí 南陽書畫集
The Nányáng Calligraphy-and-Painting Compendium by 張丑 (Zhāng Chǒu, 1577–1635, 明, zhuàn 撰)
About the work
Two short tables — the Nányáng fǎshū biǎo 南陽法書表 (one juàn) and the Nányáng mínghuà biǎo 南陽名畫表 (one juàn) — compiled by Zhāng Chǒu to record the authentic-piece collection of his teacher Hán Shìnéng 韓世能 (zì Cúnliáng 存良, of Chángzhōu 長洲, Lóngqìng jìnshì, finally Minister of Rites, d. 1598) and Hán’s son Cháoyán 朝延. The “Nányáng” in the title refers to the Hán family’s ancestral seat — the same convention by which Hán Wéi 韓維 of the Sòng called his collection Nányáng jí. The fǎshū biǎo lists 27 authors and 72 pieces in five rows: a header row of time-period, then four rows for the script-types — zhèngshū 正書 (formal), xíngxiá 行狎 (running and cursive informal), cǎoshèng 草聖 (free cursive), and shíkè 石刻 (stone-inscriptions). The mínghuà biǎo lists 47 painters and 95 paintings in five rows: a header row of time-period, then four rows for the subjects — dàoshì rénwù 道釋人物 (Daoist-Buddhist and figures), shānshuǐ jièhuà 山水界畫 (landscapes and ruled-line architecture), huāguǒ niǎoshòu 花果鳥獸 (flowers, fruit, birds and animals), and chóngyú mòxì 蟲魚墨戯 (insects, fish, and ink-play). Each table is prefaced by Zhāng’s own self-introduction: the fǎshū biǎo was made first, and the mínghuà biǎo added at the request of Hán’s son after the first table circulated.
Tiyao
We have respectfully examined: Nányáng fǎshū biǎo in one juàn and Nányáng mínghuà biǎo in one juàn, by Zhāng Chǒu of the Míng — both registering the authentic-piece collection of Hán Shìnéng’s household. The fǎshū table lists 27 artists and 72 pieces in five rows: the top row is time-period, the lower rows formal script (zhèngshū), running-cursive informal (xíngxiá), free cursive (cǎoshèng), and stone-inscriptions (shíkè), each as its own row. The mínghuà table lists 47 artists and 95 paintings, also in five rows: the top row is time-period, the lower rows Daoist-Buddhist and figure subjects, landscape and ruled-line architecture, flowers-fruit-birds-animals, and insects-fish-ink-play, each as its own row. The format of the two tables differs slightly. Each table is prefaced by Chǒu’s self-preface — Chǒu first made the fǎshū table, and then at the request of Shìnéng’s son Cháoyán was asked to also compile the mínghuà table. Shìnéng, zì Cúnliáng, of Chángzhōu, a Lóngqìng (1567–1572) jìnshì, finally Minister of Rites; an enthusiast of famous-piece collecting — Dǒng Qíchāng’s 董其昌 colophon on the Luòshén fù refers to “my studio-teacher Hán the Vice-Minister”, which means him. The “Nányáng” of the title refers to the Hán family’s ancestral commandery — analogous to Hán Wéi’s Nányáng jí. Respectfully collated, Qiánlóng 46 (1781), ninth month.
Abstract
The Nányáng shūhuà jí is a register of the collection of Hán Shìnéng (d. 1598), Zhāng Chǒu’s studio-teacher. Hán Shìnéng’s biographical dates set a hard notBefore of c. 1597 (Hán’s last decade) and a hard notAfter of Zhāng Chǒu’s death in 1635; the late-Wànlì frame is consistent with Zhāng’s other connoisseurial activity. The collection is famous from independent witnesses — Dǒng Qíchāng’s colophon on the Luòshén fù (the Gù Kǎizhī handscroll) names Hán as a senior colleague-collector, and several pieces in the Nányáng tables match items later passed through Xiàng Yuánbiàn’s 項元汴 and then the Qián-Lóng 乾隆 imperial holding (e.g. the Wáng Xíxī Píngfù tiè and the Gù Kǎizhī Luòshén fù). The two tables are therefore the principal Míng-period evidence for the makeup of one of the most important late-Wànlì private collections of calligraphy and painting in Jiāngnán, and they document the close studio-teacher / pupil ties that linked Hán’s circle to the Wén family and to Dǒng Qíchāng.
Translations and research
Reminder: AI generated list - beware of hallucinations. Corrections and additions welcome
- Cahill, James. The Distant Mountains: Chinese Painting of the Late Ming Dynasty, 1570–1644. New York: Weatherhill, 1982.
- Clunas, Craig. Superfluous Things. Cambridge: Polity, 1991.
- Wáng Liánqǐ 王連起. Sòng-dài shūhuà jiànbié yánjiū. Shanghai: Shanghai Shuhua Chubanshe, 2003.
- No standalone Western-language monograph on the Nányáng shūhuà jí.