Behind each cultural relic that has continued the cultural inheritance for thousands of years, there is a circulating story and a smoke cloud of history. In special historical periods, even incomparably precious cultural relics are difficult to preserve. In the 1940s, Chinese social activists, collectors, directors and scholars Weng Wange and his wife Cheng Huabao, after half a century, traveled through Europe, the United States, Japan, South Korea and other countries, traveled to major overseas museums, and took tens of thousands of photos of Chinese cultural relics in overseas collections.
In "Overseas Treasures: Chinese Cultural Relics in the Lens of Weng Wange" compiled by Guardian Art Center, Weng Wange carefully selected more than 1,000 representative photographic works to show everyone these precious Chinese cultural relics in overseas collections, and also focused on their time of entry, value identification, circulation stories, etc., so that more people can understand the diaspora process and current destination of these Chinese cultural relics. In the preface to the book, Weng Wange said: "China's cultural relics, from the huge Yungang Grottoes to the very small snuff bottles, after thousands of years of natural and man-made disasters, still exist countless times." They are all traces of history and each has its own value. ”
As the fifth generation of Weng Tonggong, Weng Wange has deep family roots, is familiar with historical archaeology and is proficient in calligraphy and painting identification. The book contains 448 precious Chinese cultural relics (groups) from overseas collections, covering 9 categories: calligraphy and painting, Dunhuang relics, murals, Buddha statues, tomb carvings, bronzes, ceramics, jade, and gold and silver. It can be said that "Overseas Relics: Chinese Cultural Relics in the Lens of Weng Wange" is not only a rare integration of historical documents, an authoritative tool for inquiring about cultural relics in overseas collections, but also an introductory and advanced reading material for understanding Chinese cultural relics and artworks in all categories. Today, even if you have the opportunity to visit these famous museums around the world, you may not be able to see all of these precious collections.
The following is selected from "Overseas Treasures: Chinese Cultural Relics in the Lens of Weng Wange", which has been abridged and modified from the original text, and the illustrations used in the text are from the book. It has been authorized by the publishing house to publish.
Overseas Treasures: Chinese Cultural Relics in Weng Wange's Lens, edited by Kou Qin, edited by Guardian Art Center, December 2021 edition of Cultural Relics Publishing House.
"Emperor Map of The Dynasties"
"The Emperors of the Past", Tang Yan Liben (biography)], now in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, USA (Illustration of "Overseas Treasures: Chinese Cultural Relics in the Lens of Weng Wange")
This work, formerly known as the "Ancient Emperor Map", depicts thirteen emperors from Liu Fuling, the Emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, to Yang Guang, the Sui Dynasty Emperor, and depicts a total of 46 people. Each emperor has a inscription on the upper right, such as "Emperor Cao Pi of Wei", indicating their identity. The height ratio of the emperor is much larger than that of the attendants, reflecting the expression habits of the protagonist in the early figure paintings.
The painter's attitude of praise and criticism of the painted emperor is very clear, the founding prince is full of arrogance, and the emperor and the king of the subjugated country are depressed or fierce, reflecting the historical concepts in it. There is a long tradition of drawing ancient emperor statues, and there are many manifestations in early murals, which are believed to have the political function of "clear exhortation and rise and fall".
This unnamed model was once attributed to the name of Yan Liben in the early Tang Dynasty, and now it is more inclined to be a later facsimile. Some emperors' costumes and postures are very similar, most likely from the same manuscripts. Among them, the first six emperors and the later seven emperors are quite different, not from one person's hand, or even created in the same era, now most people think that the first six emperors are facsimiles of the Northern Song Dynasty, and the later seven emperors may have been created in the Tang Dynasty. There are images of emperors in the early Tang Dynasty murals of dunhuang Mogao Grottoes that are similar to this work, which can be corroborated by each other on the images. The work was badly damaged and was repaired and remounted several times during the circulation process. At the end of the volume, there are inscriptions from the Northern Song Dynasty, which were included in the court during the Southern Song Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty, and resold overseas for Liang Hongzhi at the end of the Qing Dynasty.
Five-colored Parrot Diagram
Five-Colored Parrot Diagram (Northern Song Dynasty, Zhao Yao (Biography)] in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA (Illustration of "Overseas Relics: Chinese Cultural Relics in The Lens of Weng Wange")
This painting method is meticulous, heavy color, the color is calm, bright and vulgar. Before the painting, there is a song written by Song Huizong in thin gold body", which mentions the origin of the five-colored parrot and the reason for entering the painting: "The five-colored parrot comes from the ridge table, the forbidden emperor of the breeding, the taming and cuteness... Looking at it from a vertical perspective, it is better than a picture, because it is endowed with poetry. Although the handwriting at the drop is partially peeled off, it can still be recognized as the signature of Song Huizong's flower sign "The One Man under the Heavens".
Because of these inscriptions, this work was once attributed to the name of Emperor Huizong of Song, and it is now generally believed that it was not his own handwriting, but was composed by the painters of the Huizong Dynasty Painting Academy. Emperor Huizong of Song, as monarch, was undoubtedly defeated, and he was accused of losing his mind as a plaything and causing the country to perish. However, his artistic accomplishment is indeed very high, under his advocacy, the Northern Song Court Painting Academy was once very prosperous, famous artists gathered, resulting in a large number of classic calligraphy and painting works. His own calligraphy and painting creation and aesthetic concepts have had a profound impact on the development of Chinese painting and calligraphy.
This volume was once returned to the Inner Province in the Yuan Dynasty, and was collected by Dai Mingshu in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and later collected by the famous collector Song Jie. He entered the court during the Qianlong period and was recorded in the "Shiqu Baodi Preliminary Compilation", and guigong prince Yi at the end of the Qing Dynasty. In the early years of the Republic of China, this work flowed into Japan, was collected by Yamamoto Tsujiro, and was written in the "Catalogue of Paintings and Calligraphy of Chenghuaitang". In 1933, the work was collected at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
"Coopertu"
"Gubtu" (Ming Wen Zhengming), now in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, USA (Illustration of "Overseas Treasures: Chinese Artifacts in the Lens of Ongwango")
Dead wood and bamboo stones are a common theme in literati ink plays, and ancient trees often appear in Wenzheng's works of the next year. This volume was composed by the painter when he was 81 years old, and compared with the "Seven Stars of Yushan Juniper", the painting style is more extensive and old-fashioned. The trunk of Cooper is still represented by a long line of center forwards, but the lines are thicker and the pen and ink are thicker. The stones are all dry pens, and the pen edges are varied, showing a clear white effect.
In this painting, the painter inscribed seven poems, signed: "Zheng Ming writes to send Bo Qi Maocai." "Bo Qi is Zhang Fengyi, more than 50 years younger than Wen Zhengming, and has a talented name in Suzhou with his brothers Zhang Xianyi and Zhang Yanyi. Zhang Fengyi and Peng Nian detail the reasons for the creation of this volume in the inscription at the end of the volume: Jiajing Gengjiao (1550), the 23-year-old Zhang Fengyi was ill in the Shihu monk's house.
When Peng Nian visited Wen Zhengming, he told him the news, and Wen Zhengming painted "Gu Botu" and sent it to Xiaoyou. The seven-character poem inscribed on the painting quotes du Fu's "Gu Bai Xing" verse to show inspiration. After Zhang Fengyi received this work, he received many Wudi literati and inscriptions, so he doubled down on it; later, the famous works in his family were scattered and destroyed, but this work was still preserved. When he was 86 years old, he re-exhibited this volume, and he was very grateful and wrote seven words of poetry to pursue peace.
The inscriptions we see at the end of the volume today are: Wang Yuxiang, Zhou Tianqiu, Lu Shidao, Yuan Zunni, Huang Jishui, Yuan Jian, Lu Andao, Wen Peng, Wen Jia, Peng Nian, and Zhang Fengyi, which can be said to be a microcosm of the Wumen literati circle. It can be seen from the collection seals such as "Rong Feng Appreciation", "Wuyi Liu Shu Approval", and "Gu Zishan Secret Seal" that this volume was once collected by Liu Shu, Gu Wenbin, etc., and then lost overseas, and was admitted to the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum in 1946.
《Map of the Other Industries of The River》
Part of "The Map of the Beiye of The ChuanChuan Dynasty" (Qing Wang Yuanqi), now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Illustration of "Overseas Treasures: Chinese Cultural Relics in the Lens of Weng Wange")
"Yuanchuan Tu" is a traditional motif in the history of Chinese painting, depicting the hermitage of the Tang Dynasty poet and painter Wang Wei - Yuanchuan Beiye. Shi Zhi zai Is located in the south of Lantian County, Shaanxi Province, the landscape is extremely victorious, Wang Wei once composed twenty "Yuanchuan Beiye Poems", compiled the "Yuanchuan Collection", and painted "Yuanchuan Tu" on the wall of Qingyuan Temple. Wang Wei's original works no longer exist, but from the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, various versions of the "Yuanchuan Map" have continued to emerge. Among the many "Yuanchuan Diagrams", Wang Yuanqi's "Yuanchuan Beiye Map" is a very wonderful one. Wang Yuanqi depicted the creation process of this picture in the inscription: "I did not dare to pretend to be a fan, and I saw the stone carvings of the world in the autumn, and took the reference of the concentrated poems, with my own intentions, not falling into the shape of the painting." It can be seen that when he drew this picture, he had both a "chalk" basis and a personal creativity.
Unfolding this volume, such as the artistic conception in Wang Wei's poem, and this artistic conception is not realistic, it is an ideal pastoral created by Wang Yuanqi with pen and ink design. According to the inscription, the drawing was made in 1711 and lasted for nine months. At this time, Wang Yuanqi was seventy years old, and his painting techniques and artistic style were quite mature. Although the painter must have been quite careful and meticulous in creating this drawing, another important reason for its time was that he could only dye it in "official time". This "official affair" should be to paint the "Longevity Ceremony Map" for Kangxi. In Dong Qichang's "Treatise on the Southern and Northern Sects", Wang Wei is the originator of literati painting, and Wang Yuanqi, as the orthodox successor of "Nanzong", chose such a time node to draw the "Yuanchuan Map", which may have its intention.
At the front of the volume, there are Wu Hufan inscriptions and recorded twenty poems of Wang Wei's "Lingchuan Beiye Poems", and after the volume, there are Huang Yi, Wu Hufan, etc., and there are Wu Huayuan, Xu Bangda, Tang Yun, Zhang Daqian, Wang Yachen, Gao Yihong, and Ling Shuhua. This is the old collection of Wang Jiqian, which was entered into the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1977.
《Liangzhou Rui Portrait Map》
Portrait of Liangzhou Rui (Tang), now in the British Museum (illustration of "Overseas Treasures: Chinese Cultural Relics in Weng Wange's Lens")
The Liangzhou Rui Statue is a precious early embroidered Buddha statue that represents the artistic level of Tang Dynasty embroidery. The main Buddha stands under a blue canopy, on the lotus flower, and holds a corner of the robe in his left hand on his chest. The right hand is drooping, the palm is facing outward, and the fingers are pointing to the ground, and this mudra is called the "Seal of Wishing", which means compassion and indicates that the Buddha can fulfill the wishes of all sentient beings. The Buddha is accompanied by two bodhisattvas and two disciples, and two guardian lions are set up underneath, five female offering figures in the lower left and five male offering figures in the lower right.
Regarding the theme of the picture, one view is that it is "Shakyamuni Ling Vulture Mountain", mainly based on the image of the rock mountain that appears behind the main Buddha; the other view is that the posture of the main Buddha is closer to the "Liangzhou Rui Statue". Legend has it that when the high monk Liu Saha (360-436) traveled west to Liangzhou Fanhe Yugu Mountain in the first year of the Northern Wei Dynasty (435), he predicted that this mountain would have a treasure phase, and if it was broken, it would herald war and turmoil, and if it was complete, it would herald the peace of the world. In the first year of the Northern Wei Dynasty (520), one day the Imperial Valley Mountain was indeed thunderous, the cliff shook, and after a loud noise, a headless stone Buddha suddenly appeared on the stone wall, and the height was eight feet. In the following decades, as Liu Saha predicted, the regime changed, natural disasters were endless, and a large-scale campaign to exterminate Buddhism occurred during the time of Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. The Liangzhou Rui statue belief was extremely influential in the northwest region, and the emergence and popularity of such images were closely related to the social turmoil of the war and the popularity of the last French thought at that time.
This embroidered work, which shows vivid shapes and subtle color changes with delicate stitches, was brought out by Stein from the 17th Cave of Dunhuang Mogao Caves and entered the British Museum in 1917.
Face cup
"The Face Cup" (Shang), now in the Freer Museum of Art, USA (Illustration of "Overseas Treasures: Chinese Cultural Relics in the Lens of Ongwango")
It is a wine container of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and its function is mainly to mix wine and water. The shape of the cup is not fixed, generally narrow, deep abdomen, with a lid, the front has a stream for pouring, and the back has a hammer for hand-held containers. It is usually three-legged or four-legged, and there are very few examples of circled feet. This type of vessel first appeared in the early Shang dynasty, and was rare after the Spring and Autumn Period.
The shape of the human face cup is extremely unique, whether in the heirloom or newly excavated bronzes, it is the only one seen so far. Comparing historical photos, it can be seen that this copper cup was not well preserved when it was excavated, and it was covered with patina and blurred ornaments, and after cleaning and repairing, it was only now in its original appearance.
The most obvious feature of this cup is that the lid is cast as a human face, of course, this person is not an ordinary person- he has a pair of horns on the top of his head, showing a certain kind of divine oppositeism that is sought after by people. The human face cover buckles on the body, and the human face is facing the sky, as if staring at the sky. The body is flatter, circled, and flowing. There are ear piercings decorated with animal faces on both sides of the neck, and the position corresponds to the ear holes of the human face and ears, which should be easy to wear when carrying and moving. The body is decorated with bas-reliefs on the cloud thunder pattern substrate, especially the claw-shaped arms decorated under the ears, which seem to imply that the body is a continuation of the human face, which is quite reminiscent.
According to his collection and the cultural relics unearthed in Anyang, the famous collector huang Mao in the Republic of China period compiled it into three collections and six volumes of "Yizhong Piece Feather", of which more than 130 bronze ceremonial vessels were collected. It was this book that first recorded the human face. This uniquely shaped human face cup, also a cultural relic handled by Lu Qinzhai, entered the collection of the Friar Art Museum in 1942 and became one of the finest in the museum's collection. The acquisition was made from the Freer Endowment Fund.
Flower bird pattern six-petal gilt gold and silver lid box
Six-petal gilt lid box with a flower and bird pattern (8th to 9th centuries), now in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, USA (Illustration of "Overseas Treasures: Chinese Artifacts in the Lens of Ongwango")
The surface of the box is raised, the bottom of the box is slightly convex, and the mouth of the child and mother is fastened. The body of the box is in the shape of six curved petals, the tip of the petals is obvious and the size is equal, the curved petals are diamond-shaped, and the outer side is decorated with a pestle pattern and a caviar ground pattern. Each petal of the box is alternately decorated with flower and bird patterns.
Three-petal folded branches of floral pattern, two of which are the same pattern, are all ribbon flowers, with butterflies on top; the other petals of the budless flowers are similar in shape, without butterflies. The patterns of the three-petaled bird are different, namely mandarin duck looking back, facing and flying swallow. The six petals are connected by thick tangled branches, and the ground is made of caviar patterns. This pattern arrangement reveals subtle differences in order, reflecting the clever interest in the design. In terms of technology, the body and pattern are hammered, the details are flat and processed, and the pattern is gilded. Its production represents the superb level of gold and silverware craftsmanship in the middle and late Tang Dynasty.
Butterflies, flowers, mandarin ducks, birds, these patterns are popular decorative styles. This gilded gold and silver lid box has a rich variety of patterns, revealing a rich atmosphere of life and worldly taste. In addition, utensils in the shape of diamond flowers appeared mainly in the late 7th and early 8th centuries, and became popular after the 8th century.
Edited by 丨 Guardian Art Center
Excerpt 丨An also
Editor 丨 Zhang Jin
Introduction Proofreading 丨 Wang Xin