In the collection of the Palace Museum, the calligraphy and paintings of the literati and inkers are dazzling, carrying their temperament and bones, spanning thousands of years to inspire generations of people, and Shen Zhou is undoubtedly one of the most representative painters of the Ming Dynasty.
Portrait of Shen Zhou (Source: Baidu Encyclopedia)
Shen Zhou (1427-1509), also known as the "Wumen School" leader, with the character Qi Nan, The Number Ishida, the late Name Bai Shi Weng, a native of Changzhou (present-day Suzhou, Jiangsu), together with Wen Zhengming, Tang Yin, and Qiu Ying, was also known as the leader of the "Wumen School", whose painting style was majestic and comprehensive, and played a role in the literati painting tradition.
The Palace Museum contains Shen Zhou's "Lying Tour Map" volume, a total of seventeen open, the album was made in Shen Zhou's old age, the title of the album comes from the aesthetic point of view of Zong Bing of the Southern Dynasty, that is, "Cheng Huai Guan Dao, Lying down to swim", this Zen idea means that people should dig into their own pure mind, and then understand the life and soul of the object, so that the subject and object experience each other, integrate with each other, so even if they are sitting indoors and enjoying the painting, the heart can swim to thousands of miles.
Shen Zhou's first book "Lying Tour" (Source: The Official Website of the Palace Museum)
Shen Zhou's "Lying Tour" of "Colored Apricot Blossoms" (Source: Palace Museum official website)
Shen Zhou's "Lying Tour" of "Color Okra" (Source: The official website of the Palace Museum)
Shen Zhou himself inscribed: "Heart and heavenly travel who knows" [1], through the painting to see things different from real life, is indeed a journey of the soul, when it is clear that the relationship between foreign objects and themselves is only the distinction between inside and outside, and there is no difference between noble and lowly, the specific form of foreign objects is no longer important, not to mention presented in the painting, within the square inches of pen and ink, is the display of the mind in the plane, the important point lies in the painting, not the painting content. So in this way, whether painting mountains and rivers, or painting cows and chickens, they are painting themselves at the moment, improvising their intentions, and swimming in such a vehicle as "foreign objects", and their real arrival is the paintings and personalities behind the picture. On the two paintings of "Chicks" and "Flat Slope Scattered Pastoral", we will show everyone the meaning of Shen Zhou's depictions.
01 "Chicks"
The connection between flower and bird painting and literati painting is relatively rare, literati painting mostly depicts landscapes and inscriptions, while Shen Zhou has a special theme and chooses a wide range of objects, he has the ability to observe small things and find beauty in small things.
In "Chicks", Shen Zhou carefully depicts the chicks, the fine brush outlines the feathers and front of the chest of the chicks, the dark pen and ink around the eyes and foreheads are both realistic and in order to express the chick's demeanor, its eyes are vigilant, its steps are hesitant, and the feeling of poultry activity is expressed in the static diagram.
Shen Zhou's inscription: "The fur color is half yellow, and He Du tweets to go to the mother." The day is a thousand years of events, and the day should be long when the canal is urged. [2] It is a small chick looking for its mother, and its furry body and chirping are realistically presented in the picture. It is difficult to imagine that such a simple and special theme of the picture will come from the hand of an old man, Shen Zhou is not arrogant, pretending to be sophisticated, seeing the chicken feels that it is cute and swinging the pen, no matter the difference between foreign objects, high and low, elegant and vulgar, Shen Zhou's aesthetic route is in line with the heart, transparent.
Shen Zhou's "Lying Tour" of "Chicks" (Source: Palace Museum official website)
02 《Flat Slope Scattered Pastoral》
The protagonist of the "Flat Slope Scattered Pastoral" diagram is a big black bull with brisk steps, walking alone on a gentle hillside, no one is leading, the leash is hunched over the ground, the black bull runs briskly, making the rope float backwards, the head is high to look forward, the back is tilted, showing a full-strength running posture, the hair outlined by the fine brush is blown by the wind, the big black bull is in a happy mood, and even the corners of the mouth have a cheerful smile.
Black bull ran through a piece of land only for a moment, Shen Zhou but in an instant to grasp a variety of details and features, from the way of muscle power to the tail of the shake, Shen Zhou is not delicate depiction, if the landscape painting shows the great painter's magnificent and endless brushwork, then the details of the depiction of small things reflect the painter's observation and delicacy, after seeing Shen Zhou's animal diagram, you can clearly feel Shen Zhou's love for small animals.
Shen Zhou's inscription said: "The spring grass slope is deep in the rain, and Xu Xing enters the peach forest obliquely." The child let go of the unrestrained, and the shepherding has now been mastered. [3] It is the cattle herder who deliberately lets the cattle run away, and the free play makes the bulky cattle in the usual days full of briskness. Such a free act is naturally deeply loved by Shen Zhou, the presentation of the interest of things stems from the production of human interest, Shen Zhou's heart is full of good scenery, then he is no longer afraid of others to burn the scenery, everything into the heart has brought Shen Zhou's own gorgeous senses, transparent and wonderful, gripping.
Shen Zhou's "Lying Tour Map" "Pingpo Scattered Pastoral" (Source: The official website of the Palace Museum)
In "Lying Tour", we see the complete unity of Shen Zhouqi and Shen Zhouqi's paintings, the distant landscape or the small objects around us, the simple artistic conception or deep feelings, we can all see the old man who has reached the state of unity of things and me in the painting, smiling and holding the paintbrush, showing the world in his eyes without hesitation.
Shen Zhou's ability to see the outside world with a unique vision stems from his own lifelong temperament is ethereal and not stained with dust, so the painting is clear everywhere, the pen is clear, and the unity of things and me is perfectly presented in the work, which is the most distant and difficult for others to achieve in Shen Zhou's ordinary life.
[1] Shen Zhou's "Sleeping Tour Map" "Autumn Mountain Reading" self-title.
[2] Shen Zhou's "Lying Tour" "Chicks" self-titled.
[3] Shen Zhou's "Lying Tour Map" "Flat Slope Scattered Pastoral" self-title.
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