In the first month of 1100, Song Zhezong, who was only 25 years old, fell ill and died without a queen. His father, Empress Dowager Gao, empress dowager of Emperor Shenzong of Song, chose Emperor Zhezong's second brother Emperor Zhao as emperor for Emperor Huizong of Song.
Statue of Emperor Huizong of Song
It is said that before the birth of Emperor Huizong of Song, his father Emperor Shenzong of Song had dreamed that the Lord Li hou of the Southern Tang Dynasty had come to see him, "seeing his character as elegant, and repeatedly sighing", and then gave birth to Emperor Huizong of Song, so Emperor Huizong of Song not only loved art, but also destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty, and also repaid the revenge of the Southern Tang being destroyed by the Song.
—— The above is a folk rumor, feudal superstition, just listen to play.
But Song Huizong's love of art is indeed true, he has loved pen and ink since he was a child, and he has an extraordinary talent in calligraphy and painting.
His achievements in calligraphy are described in detail in two articles I wrote, "This font created by Emperor Huizong of Song is now in full swing, and Yi Yanqianxi is practicing it" and "How much he has contributed to calligraphy and painting, how much he has destroyed China", and today I will focus on his painting.
Because Song Huizong loved and attached great importance to painting, he vigorously expanded the painting academy, established painting schools, collected and appraised court paintings, and compiled the first comprehensive painting book in mainland history to systematically evaluate the court collection paintings- "Xuanhe Painting Spectrum".
The painting science set up by Emperor Huizong of Song is almost the same as the current Academy of Fine Arts, and the modern academy of fine arts is divided into departments and painting disciplines, which are divided into six subjects: Buddhism, Characters, Landscape, Birds and Beasts, Flowers and Bamboo, and House Wood. After being admitted, in addition to studying painting, you also have to study cultural classes, and ancient philological classics such as "Shuowen" and "Erya" are all compulsory subjects, which are not at all easier than the current Academy of Fine Arts.
Due to the attention of Emperor Huizong of Song, there were many talents in the academy for a while, such as Ma Ben, Wang Ximeng, Zhang Zeduan, Li Tang, Zhu Rui, Su Hanchen, Liu Yi, Fu Xie and other famous painters gathered in one courtyard, which became the most prosperous period of medieval court painting.
Emperor Huizong of Song often personally reviewed painters' works and often personally. For example, after the completion of the Longde Palace, he went to see the murals painted on the wall, and praised them as "there are few painters in the moon and season, the cover is four o'clock in the twilight, the flowers and leaves are different, the spring is in the middle of this work, there is no difference"; the painters painted a peacock, And Song Huizong immediately pointed out after seeing it: The peacock takes off, it is the first to get up and then spread its wings, and the foot is generally the first to start the left foot... So careful, it is a pity that it is not spent on governing the country.
According to records, Emperor Huizong of Song compiled his works depicting rare animals and plants into a volume called the Xuanhe Rui Catalogue, one volume per 15 pieces, according to the number of records reaching as many as "thousands of volumes". Looking at the total number, it is estimated that like the Qianlong Emperor who created tens of thousands of poems, many of them were ghostwritten by others, and they were also called "imperial paintings".
When Emperor Huizong of Song did this, it was not easy for posterity to figure out which were his true works.
According to expert research, the style of Song Huizong can be divided into two categories: one is a work based on ink painting, and the other is a work with a brush to give color.
The former belongs to the true colors of Song Huizong, such as the "Willow Crow Reed Goose Diagram" collected by the Shanghai Museum, the "Pond Late Autumn Diagram" collected by the National Palace Museum in Taipei, etc., they are mellow in penmanship, elegant and elegant, and do not win with the work of modeling.
"Willow Crow Reed Goose Diagram"
Pond In Late Autumn
The latter is numerous, the famous ones are the "Lamei Double Bird Diagram" collected by the National Palace Museum in Taipei, the "Ruihe Diagram" collected by the Liaoning Museum, and the "Furong Jinji Diagram" collected by the National Palace Museum in Beijing, etc., which are well conceived, accurately shaped, colorful, and have typical royal colors.
"Lamei Double Bird Diagram"
《Rui He Tu》
Song Huizong led an era with his aesthetic taste, and he demanded the authenticity of life for the art of painting, and the pursuit of poetic implications, which greatly improved the overall level of Chinese painting. But at the same time, his decadent pleasures also make some of the works in the courtyard paintings with a rich atmosphere have a wilted and feminine atmosphere. This kind of painting that pays attention to the degree of law, attaches importance to both form and god, and has a gorgeous and delicate style is called "courtyard body painting" by posterity, which can also be regarded as opening up a new type of painting.
Don't underestimate the courtyard paintings, which are not only artistic expressions, but also contain political symbols.
《Hibiscus Golden Chicken Diagram》
For example, "Furong Jinji Tu" uses the colorful colors of Jinji to represent the "five virtues" of Wen, Wu, Yong, Ren and Xin; although "Ruihe Tu" is based on real events, it also focuses on the situation of Ruihe gathering in the palace as a sign of political auspiciousness.
There is also a famous "Listening to the QinTu", which is simply a "harmonious" scene of Song Huizong and Cai Jing, the minister of song, "jun (lang) chen (bei) xiang (wei) (jian)", which greatly beautifies the relationship between the monarch and the courtier, and whitewashes the taiping.
"Listening to the Piano"
But no matter how beautifying, the false prosperity and peace are punctured in reality.
First of all, the peasant revolts in the territory are continuous, and the "Water Margin" describes the "anti-thieves" of Song Jiang and Fang La, and other novels are not written, and there are dozens of records in history books.
In 1125, jin soldiers moved south, and Emperor Huizong of Song hurriedly passed on the title of (shuai) (guo) eldest son Zhao Huan (Song Qinzong).
In the first year of Jing Kang, that is, in 1126, the Jin soldiers attacked the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, Fenjing, and the Jin Emperor deposed Emperor Huizong of Song and Emperor Qinzong of Song as Shuren.
In 1127, Emperor Jin took Hui and Emperor Qin captive and returned to the north, and the Northern Song Dynasty fell. The painters of the academy were scattered, and the court collection was looted.
You know, how powerful the country was before the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty - before the Song Huizong came to power, the total economic volume of the Northern Song Dynasty accounted for about a quarter of the total economic output of the world economy. Whether it is per capita GDP, agricultural production value and technical level, handicraft development level, mining and metal processing industry output, shipbuilding and navigation technology, total maritime trade, etc. are the world's first!
Just such a world's first power, such a strong family foundation, was tossed by Song Huizong for a while, and finally ended up in the destruction of the country - it can really be regarded as the "world's first loser" - his signature "The World One Man" seems to refer to more than just artistic achievements!
The Yuan Dynasty said, "Emperor Huizong of Song can do everything, but he cannot be the ear of the king." "It's in one word.
In 1135, Emperor Huizong of Song (who at this time was named "Duke of Xiade" (later jinguo) died in the exile city of Wuguocheng (present-day Yilan County, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, where there is also the site of the Second Emperor Hui Qin sitting in the well and looking at the heavens), and a generation of artists died in this place.
The "History of Song" commented on him: "Since the ancients lost their minds as playthings, indulged in lust and defeated, few immortals, Huizong was very bad, so he specially wrote as a warning." ”
Someone once said: "If you don't let Emperor Huizong of Song be the emperor, how good it would be to let him be in charge of art and painting academies!" "But history has no ifs.
Although the Northern Song Dynasty died, the old people of the painting academy are still there, and many painters who fled to Jiangnan in the war rebuilt the painting academy under the supervision of the Southern Song Dynasty court.
This article is a series of articles on the history of Chinese calligraphy, which only takes 1 minute a day to get a lifetime of artistic literacy. Please pay attention to the previous articles to get more interesting knowledge and prompt updates in time. Please indicate the source of the reprint, welcome to the publisher to contact me.