LITERATI ARTWORK FROMTHE MING DYNASTY

明代书画中的士人生活:震惊！明代文人也玩“INS式”商业互捧

The Ming Dynasty was the height of imperial power in China, the 14th century was a time of rapid economic and cultural development. The Long Museum West Bund in Shanghai is presenting 83 exhibits featuring paintings and calligraphy from the period, 20 of which are on public display for the first time. The exhibition is called“Emperor and Literati: Painting and Calligraphy from Ming Dynasty”, I explored some of the most valuable pieces. In the first episode, we'll have a look at how the social life of ancient Chinese intellectuals was recoded through art.

明朝是中国皇权的鼎盛时期，14世纪是一个经济和文化迅速发展的时期。上海龙美术馆（西岸馆）推出了“龙与士——明代中国的书法和绘画艺术特展”，展出明初到明末近三百年的书画文物83件（组），其中20组作品为首次公开亮相，我探索了其中一些极为珍贵的作品。在第一集中，我们将看到中国古代士大夫的社交生活如何通过艺术作品被记录下来。

Chen Xuan, Host

陈璇主持人

龙与士, literally means Dragon and Literati. Long or“dragon”, is a symbol of the emperor. People believed in the power of the dragon as law of the universe, the emperor was considered the“true dragon and son of heaven” who rules the state and people. Shi means“literati”, or“intellectuals”, the groups of scholars, philosophers and politicians, who served in the imperial court. Most of the artists featured in this exhibition held a“Jinshi” degree, which is the highest and final degree in the imperial education. Understanding the complex tension between the imperial power and the scholar-literati class is key to understanding the social evolution of the Ming Dynasty.

龙与士，字面意思即“龙与士大夫”。“龙”是帝王的象征。古人们相信龙的强大力量是整个宇宙运行的法则，因此每个朝代的帝王都被认为是“真龙天子”。“士”指的是文人，知识分子，包括那些在朝廷中供职的学士、策士和术士。本次展览中的文人艺术家们大都获取过“进士”的功名；中国古代科举制度中，通过最后一级中央政府朝廷考试者，称为进士。因此，认识帝王和士大夫之间错综复杂的关系，是解读整个明代社会演变的关键。

Chen Xuan, Host

陈璇主持人

China was one of the wealthiest countries in the world throughout the Ming Dynasty thanks to its agricultural productivity and commercial prosperity. Therefore, the culture of traveling, and literati gatherings were a large part of daily life for the upper-class. Handscrolls, fans and paintings were often given as gifts on a variety of occasions. They were a token of friendship and courtesy, and some paintings were also displayed for specific occasions and seasons, becoming an indispensable part of the upper-class lifestyle.

由于农业和贸易的繁荣发展，明朝时期的中国是世界上最为富庶的国家之一。因此，旅行和文人雅集成为了上层社会日常生活的一部分。手卷、扇子和绘画作品常常成为礼赠的选择。它们是友谊和礼节的象征，其中有些画作也会在一些特定的场合和时节展出，成为当时上层社会生活方式不可或缺的部分。

Tang Yin was one of the“Four Masters of Ming Dynasty”, his work“Farewell in Jinchang” showed a farewell scene by a river. Boats were the most popular method of transportation at the time, especially in Yangtze River region. Tang was accused of cheating on the imperial exam, he was then removed from office, and had to sell his paintings to make a living. This work was done during Tang’s twilight years, it shows a very mature and strong personal style.

唐寅作为“明四家”之一，他的书画手卷《金阊送别图》展现了一幅江边的送别景象。在当时，尤其是在长江沿岸地区，船只是最普遍的旅行交通工具。唐寅因受科场舞弊案牵连而无法入仕，之后靠卖画为生。这幅作品是唐伯虎的晚年之作，展现出他极其精湛的技巧和强烈的个人风格。

Chen Xuan, Host

陈璇主持人

“Initiation on Cattail Hassocks” began with a painting by Shen Zhou, that was paired with a poem by Wu Kuan. Many other members of the literati wrote poems with a similar rhythm in response to the original work. These poems were then added to the scroll until it eventually grew to this 10 meter long masterpiece of art and literature.

《蒲墩倡和图》引首为“明四家”中的另一位沈周题写的“蒲墩倡和”四字，其后为其所绘设色盈尺小幅画卷，接好友吴宽首倡的蒲墩诗一首及跋语。接着，数十位文人“和诗”其后，最终形成了这幅十余米长的设色手卷。

When you think about it, it's kind of like what we do today with a social media post, a single image can create a string of comments, or a discussion. But⋯there is a slight difference, each comment had to include a rhyming sequence.

可以想象，这“和诗”就有点类似于我们在社交媒体上发帖，一张图片就能引发一连串的评论和讨论。但这里还有一点点区别，就是这些文人的每句“评论”，都需要押同样的韵脚。

Xie Xiaodong, Curator of the exhibition

谢晓冬展览策展人

The farewell scene was a popular theme in literati's artistic works due to the economic and commercial prosperity of Ming Dynasty. China had a population of nearly 70 million in the early days of the Ming Dynasty and it increased by nearly 80 million, reaching 150 million by the late Ming. This prosperity led to travel becoming an important part of life. Also, officials had to travel to take up new posts; they would gather their friends before departure; they wrote poems and said goodbye to each other. So, the“farewell scene” is quite common in Ming Dynasty paintings and people also found that creating such paintings helped to strengthen or establish interpersonal relationships. Painting became a crucial way to recording events and communicating.

“送别”主题的兴起是跟明代的这种商业的经济的繁荣有巨大关系。明代在明初的时候，中国大概有7,000万人口，到明末的时候就到了1.5亿，增加了将近8,000万。那么繁荣的一个结果是导致什么？就导致旅行的发生，就是大家把旅游这件事情变得越来越成为人们生活当中的一个重要的部分，一个是旅行，第二个就是官员有的时候他会去从一个地方到一个地方去当官。那么当官临走之前，他的朋友们就他自己实际上他自己张罗的这个事情就是找了很多好朋友过来记录这个事情，然后每个人都写上自己的诗文，然后为他送别。所以明代的送别图的兴盛，它只是表明这种事情，在明代尤其发达。大家突然可以发现可以通过送别图来去巩固一种人际关系，或者是创造一种人际关系。绘画成为一个重要的沟通媒介和一个记录媒介。

Chen Xuan, Host

陈璇主持人

Shen Zhou, he spent 3 years creating this 16 meter long scroll, as a gift to his best friend Wu Kuan. It is considered by collectors and historians as the best work of Shen’s lifetime. Well⋯a hand-made gift like this? I'd love some!

沈周还画了这幅16余米的长卷《送吴文定行图并题卷》，他花了三年时间完成这幅作品，把它赠给他最为倾心相知的朋友吴宽。此画被收藏家和历史学家称为沈周的“第一神品”。像这样一件亲手制作的赠别礼物，我也想要！

明代书画中的士人生活: 震惊！明代文人也玩“INS式”商业互捧 05:31 Share

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明代书画中的士人生活: 震惊！明代文人也玩“INS式”商业互捧