Méihuā dàorén yímò 梅花道人遺墨
The Plum-Blossom Daoist’s Surviving Brush by 吳鎭 (撰), assembled by 錢棻 (輯)
About the work
A 2-juǎn posthumous compilation of tíhuà (inscriptions on painting) by Wú Zhèn 吳鎭 (1280–1354), one of the Yuán sìjiā (Four Yuán Painters) — assembled by his fellow-townsman Qián Fēn 錢棻. The collection is one of the most heavily counterfeited Yuán biéjí: Qián Fēn’s inclusion of pieces is uneven, with both genuine Wú Zhèn (rare) and several confirmed mis-attributions (Xiānyú Shū’s tízhú shī which Wú merely copied; the Qìnyuánchūn on a skeleton — vulgar-counterfeit; the Jiāhé bājǐng Jiǔquánzǐ lyrics — also vulgar-counterfeit). The Sìkù tíyào offers an unusually detailed catalog of suspect pieces.
Tiyao
Méihuā dàorén yímò, 2 juǎn. By Wú Zhèn of the Yuán. Zhèn zì Zhòngguī; self-styled Méihuā dàorén; man of Jiāxīng. Jiāxīng zhì says he died in Míng Hóngwǔ. Wú’s self-written grave-stele records shēng zhìyuán 17 gēngchén (1280), cǔ zhìzhèng 14 jiǎwǔ (1354) — so he did not enter the Míng; the Zhì is in error. Chén Jìrú’s Méihuāān jì says Wú’s self-titled grave-marker reads Méihuā héshàng zhī tǎ (tomb-stupa) — afterward Zhāmùyánglālèzhì (Yuán original YángLiánzhēnjiā; here corrected) on his way pillaged tombs and burnt coffins — only Wú’s tomb, suspected of being a Buddhist tǎ, was abandoned. Case: Zhāmùyánglālèzhì opening Sòng líng — in Zhìyuán jiǎshēn / yǐyǒu (1284-85) — Yuánshǐ and Guǐxīn záshí both record. At that time Wú was 5 or 6; could he have foreseen his death and set up his own bēijié? This is a hǎoshìzhě zhī shuō (overzealous fabrication); Jìrú accepted it for his account — also careless. Wú by painting transmitted; from the beginning not by wénzhāng held in regard. But his kànghuái gūwǎng — qióngè bùyí — xiōngcì jì gāo — tǔshǔ zì néng bású. Originally no zhuānjí. This version is titled yímò; it is what his townsman Qián Fēn assembled from tíhuà compositions. Among them like Tí zhú shī — “yīnliáng shēng yànchí — yèyè qiū kěshǔ — Dōnghuá kè mèng xǐng — yīpiàn jiāngnán yǔ” — examined against Gāo Shìqí’s Jiāngcūn xiāoxià lù — naǐ Xiānyú Shū’s verse — Wú merely copied it — not his own. Qián undoubtedly did not check carefully. Also Wú’s painting was shēn zì jīnzhòng (self-guarded as precious); did not lightly do for people. Later forged-name qiúshòu, counterfeit-pieces are many — often vulgar-painters using-the-name, falsely producing tíshí — like the Tíhuà gǔlóu zhī Qìnyuánchūn cí — no era’s painter has ever painted a skeleton; further inside the cí “lòuxiè yuányáng — diēniáng bānbàn” — bǐlǐ huāngmiù — also definitely not Wú’s compositions; also like Jiāhé bājǐng zhī Jiǔquánzǐ cí — cí already wretched-and-crude, the preface-end says “Méihuā dàorén Zhèn dùnshǒu. Ǒu zìzuò huà — wéi shuí dùnshǒu yé?” Plus Tí zhú yìjù — “wǒ yì yǒu tíng shēnzhú lǐ — yě sī guīqù tīng qiūshēng” — yì zì yě zì, chóngdié ér yòng; Wú also should not be unaware of word-meaning like this. Qián all uniformly recorded them — unfortunately not careful in selection. But forged versions though many, genuine pieces are present. Pīshā jiǎnjīn — wǎngwǎng jiàn bǎo. Cannot — owing to its róuzá (mixed-and-tangled) condition — uniformly reject. Respectfully collated.
Abstract
The Méihuā dàorén yímò is the principal literary monument of Wú Zhèn, surviving in a Míng-era counterfeit-laden recension. The Sìkù tíyào’s detailed catalog of suspect pieces (the Xiānyú Shū misattribution; the skeleton Qìnyuánchūn; the Jiāhé bājǐng Jiǔquánzǐ; the yì zì yě zì duplication) is a model of philological forensics. Wú’s role in art history as one of the Yuán sìjiā (the four most consequential Yuán painters) far exceeds his literary significance, but the tíhuà pieces — when authentic — supplement the picture of late-Yuán painter-poet integration. The tíyào also rejects the apocryphal Méihuāān account of Wú’s self-tomb during the YángLiǎnzhēnjiā Sòng-tomb pillaging — which would have placed him aged 5-6 at the events. Composition window: from c. 1300 onward (Wú’s earliest documented painting activity) to 1354.
Translations and research
- James Cahill. Hills Beyond a River: Chinese Painting of the Yuan Dynasty. — Standard Western reference on Wú Zhèn.
- Sherman Lee and Wai-kam Ho. Chinese Art Under the Mongols: The Yuan Dynasty.
Other points of interest
The Méihuā héshàng (Plum-Blossom Monk) self-styling on the tomb-marker is one of the most-discussed instances of late-Yuán painter Daoist-Buddhist hybrid identification. The Qiánlóng-era name-substitution 楊璉真伽 → 扎木揚喇勒智 in the tíyào is preserved.
Links
- WYG SKQS V1215.10, p491.
- Wikipedia, 吳鎮 (元)