This time, Mr. Big did not distinguish between true and false

In his lifetime, Mr. Lu Xun purchased nearly 6,000 kinds of inscriptions, stone carvings and woodcuts. His collection is not only considerable in quantity, but also extensive and systematic, including inscriptions, Han portraits, statues, epitaphs and so on. Among them, he admired Chinese painting even more, and also expressed his admiration for Chinese painting to his friend Xu Shousheng: "The pattern of Chinese painting is wonderful and unrelenting, and it is adopted by Japanese artists. Even if the scales and claws have been praised by Western masters, saying how the Japanese pattern is amazing and remarkable, they do not know that their origins are fixed in China's Chinese paintings. ”

Among the rubbings collected by Mr. Lu Xun, there is a set of phoenix portraits of Baozhai Mountain from Linyi, whose rough stones have attracted the attention of scholars and are the most controversial since the late Qing Dynasty.

The inscription sleeping on Baozhai Mountain

Mr. Lu Xun not only collects the phoenix portraits, but also pays special attention to the relevant materials of the "Baozhaishan Phoenix Portraits" when transcribing the information of the Han portraits. On July 16, 1916, Lu Xun bought back two sets of Phoenix Portraits from Liulichang, three of which are extant, of which one with the word "Fenghuang" also has the seal of "Zhou Shu's Collection" on it.

Lu Xun made a detailed examination of this portrait: "The portrait of the Fenghuang Emperor, the Mogao carving counts in three places: one moment is one foot high, one foot wide is six inches, one phoenix bird is painted, and the left side is inscribed with the word Fenghuang, which is written; one moment is one foot and eight inches high and wide, making a phoenix, which is smaller than the front." Another phoenix head in the upper left of the inscription line, cloud: 'March 7 phoenix.' A line of large characters on the right, Yun: 'Dong'an Wang Qinyuan.' A moment five inches high and three inches wide, with the word Yuan and two recognizable, LiShu. Seventy miles southwest of Yishui, Shandong. ”

As early as before Lu Xun, the phoenix portrait of Bao Zhaishan was included in many books, such as Zhao Zhiqian's "Supplementing the Monument to Huanyu". Lu Xun studied it on the basis of reading the writings of his predecessors, and he also included this portrait in the "Huanyu Zhenshi Diagram" edited by Yang Shoujing. Mr. Lu Xun's manuscript of the information related to the phoenix portrait is now in the National Library of China.

Today, the original phoenix portrait stone is still lying quietly on the hillside southeast of Sanshangou Village in Tongjing Town, Yinan County. In one house, the Phoenix stone carvings were properly protected. Pushing open the door of the house, you can see a group of rough bare rocks leaning upwards to the sun, only to see two of the stones, one large and one small phoenix carved in a line manner. The smaller stone is about 55 cm high and about 50 cm wide, depicting a bird-shaped image, the image is 24 cm wide and 30 cm high, with a high crown, a large tail, long legs, two wings are spread, and the word "Phoenix Emperor" is engraved in the upper left corner of the image. The larger stone, about 150 cm high and about 140 cm wide, is also engraved with a bird-shaped image, the image is only 12 cm wide, and the left side is engraved with the words "March 7th Phoenix", "Dong'an Wang Qinyuan" and "Yuan □". Judging from the volume and morphology of the stone carving, the larger picture is the male "phoenix", and the smaller picture is the female "phoenix". The carving technique is to apply yin line carving on the original rough stone surface, and the composition is simple and loose.

How was this inscription, which slept between the Waters of Mengshan Mountain, discovered? Zhang Yansheng, an expert in the study of inscriptions, wrote in his book "Records of Rare Tablets": "In the twenty-fourth year of Daoguang (1844), Yuan Yechi visited Baozhai Mountain in seventy miles southwest of Yishui." Consulting the local county records and other historical materials, there is no record of the place name "Baozhai Mountain", perhaps it is found that the inscription has the name of the neighboring village "Bojia House", in order to spread false rumors, there is a place name of "BaoZhai".

In the same year that Yuan Yechi visited the phoenix portrait of Baozhai Mountain, the epigrapher Xu Han also got a rubbing of the stone carving. He wrote in his diary on June 14: "Mr. Yan came from Yi, carried the inscriptions of Liu Song Phoenix and Dong'an Wang Qinyuan, who was the one who expanded on the Yishui Mountain, and had 'Three Days of Nongshen' on it, and the above was broken, and its year number was unknown, which is a pity." ”

"The so-called 'Yuan Feng' era name is a false work of people who do not understand this situation."

In the "Yinan County Chronicle" published in 2012, a special introduction was made under the title of "Three Mountain Gully Western Han Yuanfeng Phoenix Stone Carving", saying that "this stone carving was carved in the Yuanfeng period of the Western Han Dynasty, and is the earliest surviving Han portrait stone carving in China." This stone carving has a great influence on Chinese painting and calligraphy, and Lu Xun, Liang Qichao, Guo Moruo, etc. have all collected this rubbing."

The controversy over the phoenix portrait of Bao Zhaishan focuses precisely on its generation. Some scholars believe that the phoenix stone carving is not made out of thin air, but a work that the ancients were happy to do. Professor Jiang Yingju, a well-known expert in Chinese painting studies, disagreed. He believes that this so-called phoenix portrait carved on the natural rock is neither a Han portrait stone nor a stone carving of the Han Dynasty.

"When we discuss the production or historical background of Han portrait stones, we aim at the connotation and meaning of the stone carvings that appear in tomb buildings, rather than referring to the carvings on natural rocks of any era and any place. From the portraits and inscriptions on these two rocks, it can be seen that the bird called 'Phoenix' originally appeared on the rock on the right, and the other inscriptions are derived from it. This so-called phoenix portrait carved on natural rocks is neither a portrait carving of any tomb or sacrificial building, nor does it contain any kind of cultural background and significance of Han Dynasty stone carving, so it does not belong to the category of Han portrait stone. Jiang Yingju analyzed.

Jiang Yingju believes that from the carving techniques and shapes of the phoenix bird in the stone carving, there is absolutely no style of Han Dynasty stone carving. The early Han portrait stones in Shandong are yin line carvings, the carved lines are straighter and more symmetrical, and the image depicted is more accurate. The portraits of the stone tombs of Qingyun Mountain in Linyi found in this vicinity show a certain degree of rules and normativity, which is completely different from the portrait style carved by this phoenix bird.

"The lines of the phoenix bird portrait carving are extremely thick, which appears to be out of proportion to the portrait, and the shape is far from the Han Dynasty stone carving. The portraits of the big birds or phoenixes in the Han Portrait Stone are innumerable, and they are all images with high crowns and tails and fluttering wings. This phoenix bird is very different from it. This poorly shaped phoenix carved on natural rocks may have been a casual work of posterity, and its author is not familiar with painting and carving. Jiang Yingju speculated.

In the identification of the word "Yuan Feng", Jiang Yingju pointed out that these two words are the most unclearly engraved, not because of the long years, but because of poor engraving, and the "phoenix" character in the "Phoenix on the Seventh of March", and the traditional "bird" character have not been engraved intact. More importantly, the word "Yuan Feng" is engraved as a chronology, which is still incomparable. There are no less than dozens of Han portrait stones with chronological inscriptions found throughout the country, some from tombs, and some from shique and ancestral halls, such as the portrait stone inscriptions of the Yonghe four-year ancestral hall of the two cities of Weishan, such as "Yonghe 4th Year 4Thian Bingshen Shuo, 27th Day Nong shuo", etc., and the Yingnan Sun's Que portrait stone inscription has "Yuanhe 2nd year of the first month of the sixth day, Sun Zhongyang □□ the death of the object, performing the □□ ceremony, Shi Que Jia Zhi 15,000".

"It can be seen that any Han portrait stone memorial has the content of the year and month and the chronicle of the people, and there is no single engraving of the year number." For the chronology inscribed at that time for the purpose of engraving this portrait or for the creation of this object had its function and purpose, and if only one chronology number was engraved, the meaning of the chronology would be lost. The so-called 'Yuan Feng' era name is a false work made by people who do not understand this situation. Jiang Yingju said.

"With the power of art, I can stay forever"

Judging from the portraits and inscriptions carved in the Phoenix Stone, its shape is different and the location is scattered, and there are at least three or more carved signs: one is the so-called phoenix bird portrait; the second is the seven characters of "Dong'an Wang Qinyuan" and "Phoenix"; the third is the small bird or "Little Phoenix" portrait and the inscription of "March Seven Phoenix" and "Yuan Feng".

"The first to appear on the rock is the phoenix bird, which may have been carved by local peasant stonemasons with occasional interest; followed by 'Dong'an Wang Qinyuan' and 'Phoenix'. Judging from his handwriting, Wang Qinyuan is a local literati, and the word 'Dong'an' is crowned in front of his name, which is precisely the elegant meaning of The Ancient Place Name. After the inscription of Wang Qinyuan, this phoenix stone carving is more famous. So there were carvings and inscriptions again, mostly deliberately done by the locals. The bird that may be called the 'Little Phoenix' and the 'Phoenix of the Seventh of March' may be carved at the same time, or it may be carved against the 'King qinyuan of Dong'an'. Jiang Yingju analyzed.

Judging from the preservation status of the phoenix portrait and the "Dong'an Wang Qinyuan", although the stone is blown and sun in the wild, the lines and handwriting are still clear, and there is no sign of erosion of ancient stone carvings, Jiang Yingju speculated that the era of the phoenix portrait was after the Song and Yuan dynasties, and it may be the Ming and Qing dynasties. "Combined with the time of the transmission of this portrait rubbing, the period from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China was the most widespread period of counterfeiting by inscription merchants. The place name of "BaoZhai Mountain" may have been invented by the inscription merchants in pursuit of profit.

"The Phoenix Portrait of Baozhai Mountain does not belong to the Han Portrait Stone at all, and there is not enough evidence to presume it as the Han Portrait Stone during the Yuan Feng period of the Zhao Emperor of the Western Han Dynasty. I do not deny that the appearance of Han portrait stones can be proved by the Han portrait stones found in the Zhao Emperor period, and the han portrait stones found in the Shandong region at present may be earlier. However, the phoenix portrait carved on the natural rock by this descendant must not be regarded as the earliest example of the Han portrait stone with a chronicle in the country. Jiang Yingju said.

As Lu Xun said in the article "Opinion on the Proposed Broadcast of Fine Arts": "Fine arts can express culture" "All fine arts are enough to express the thinking of a moment and a family, so it is also the phenomenon of the soul of the country; if the spirit changes, art is transferred from it." These various objects have long remained in the world, so although the martial arts and culture are taught, they are destroyed with time, and they rely on art for preservation. If he is a grand event, the celebrities in the resort often stay forever with the power of art."

Examining the authenticity and context of the phoenix portrait can also glimpse the changes in a period of art history, which may also be a dimension of the power of art. (Reported by Lu Yu, client reporter of Dazhong Daily)