Liu Yunfeng is a professor and doctoral supervisor of the School of Literature of Nankai University, a member of the National Steering Committee for Postgraduate Education in Publishing, a standing director of the China Lu Xun Research Association, the vice president of the Editorial and Publishing Research Branch of the China Press History Society, and a member of the Chinese Calligraphers Association. Former president and editor-in-chief of Nankai University Press, he was selected as "National Leading Talent in the News and Publishing Industry" in 2017.
Part of the Han portrait "Confucius Sees Laozi"
Han Portrait "East Palace Dragon Constellation"
Part of the Han portrait "The Prince of the East"
Image "Endlight Handmaiden"
Statue of Lu Xun
Lu Xun Tibetan Chinese Painting
All are profile pictures
Han portrait is a treasure of China's traditional stone carving art, can be called the earliest relief art, ancient tombs, gates, ancestral halls, well bars, bridges, etc., have a large number of stone carvings surviving, especially in Shandong Jiaxiang, Henan Nanyang the largest number, the highest artistic achievements. As a kind of plastic art of the Han Dynasty, Han portraits belong to the category of sculpture in terms of their production processes and expression methods; but as far as their overall art form is concerned, they also belong to the category of painting, so people name them Han Portrait Stone, referred to as "Han Portrait".
Distribution range and categories of Han portraits
The distribution range of Han portraits is very wide, in terms of region, there are Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Gansu and other places; as far as the specific places are concerned, there are stone ancestral halls, stone ques, tombs, sarcophagi, stone bridges, stone walls, stone well bars, etc., and their number is extensive, about thousands of pieces.
In terms of content, Han portraits can be divided into seven categories. They are:
The first category: heaven and earth ghosts and gods. Most of them are portrait stones in palaces, ancestral halls, and tombs, and their purpose is to "paint the world and the earth, and the categories are born". Specifically, there are the sun depicting images of red birds and the moon containing images of toads; there are various constellations including the Big Dipper and the Morning Glory, such as "The Dragon Constellation of the Eastern Palace", "The Big Dipper", etc., there are myths and legends of Fuxi, Nüwa, West Queen Mother, Eastern Prince, Big Dipper Emperor, Lei Gong, Electric God, Wind Bo, Rain Master, Concubine, etc., such as "Nuwa Fuxi Cross tail map", "Queen Mother Appreciation Moon", "Mu Tianzi Worships the West Queen Mother", "Human Ancestor Gao Zhen", etc., reflecting people's belief and worship of nature gods and Plutonia gods.
The second category: Xiangrui totem. The main themes are dragons, suzaku, white tigers, pisces, double-headed deer, two-headed birds, guwengui, Lian Limu, big bears, etc., such as "Human Face Dragon", "Phoenix Seeking Phoenix", "Nian Gu Ripe", "Sui Hou Dezhu", "Danque Jiusui He" and other portraits. Next to these patterns, there are often engraved with some auspicious words, such as the two-headed bird next to the engraved "King's virtue and high and far away", Gu Wengui's side is engraved with "Water Spring Circulation, the Four Seas Will Be Together", Lian Li Wood is engraved next to "The King's Virtue is Pure Qia, and the Eight Directions are a Family is Lian Lisheng", etc., the purpose of which is to promote the idea of "heaven and man induction".
The third category: imperial sages. For example, "Zhou Gongfu became a king", "Confucius saw Laozi", "Gao zu cut the snake", "Liu Xia Hui sat in peace", "Bole Soma", etc., the purpose of which is to pursue the sages and persuade the good to punish the evil. The so-called "success or failure of the wise and the foolish, the silence does not contain the narrative." Evil is commanded by the world, and good is revealed later. (Han Wang Yanshou's "Lu Dian Lingguang Endowment") Its intention is to promote a code of conduct conducive to rule, so that the "three principles and five constants" are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and translated into conscious actions.
The fourth category: loyal martyrs. Including loyal subjects, filial pieties, martyrs, and virgin deeds, such as "Yiwu Ganxiao", "Guan Zhong Shooter", "JingKe Thorn Qin King", "Dog Bites Zhao Dun", "Lingmu Fu Sword", "Seven Women Vs Xianyang Bridge", etc.; legendary stories, such as "Complete Bi Gui Zhao", "Two Peach Killing Three Soldiers", "Liu Mi Dream Snake", "Cup Bow Snake Shadow" and so on.
The fifth category: carriage and horse travel. Since the Western Zhou Dynasty, the vehicles and costumes worn by officials have been customized. Many of the Han portraits reflect the scenes of the owner's travels, in order to represent the identity and status of the tomb owner.
The sixth category: birds and beasts. In the agrarian society, birds and animals are part of nature and are also a means of subsistence, so they appear in Han portraits. Such as "Dance of hundred beasts", "The Lion King", "Bear Fight", "Fox Fake Tiger Wei" and so on.
The seventh category: life is varied. Han portraits are artistic reflections of all social life in the Han Dynasty, such as social politics, economy, military, culture, etc., so in these works, scenes such as ploughing the fields, hunting, conquest, peace, preaching, feasting, dancing, hundred plays, lecturing, and offering captives can be found. Such as "Shan Yu Guan Le", "Huang Gong Dou Hu", "Confucius Disciple Waiting Master", "Duan Lantern Maid", "Shield Gate Official", "Jiangu Music and Dance" and so on.
In short, these portraits painted on stone vividly reflect the living conditions of the Han Dynasty from the temple court to the dignitaries and dignitaries, and also reflect the social customs and aesthetic orientation of the time. It can not only supplement the lack of written records, but also provide useful reference for painting. It is precisely because Han portraits have such rich content that after the invention of autobiographical rubbing technology, portrait stone rubbings have become the object of study, collection and appreciation of scholars of all generations.
The relationship between Lu Xun and Han portraits
In May 1912, after Lu Xun came to Beijing with the Ministry of Education of the Nationalist Government, he gradually came into contact with Han portraits by collecting inscription rubbings.
On September 11, 1913, Lu Xun wrote down this in his diary: "Hu Mengle Yi Shandong portrait stone carved Ten Tuoben. Lu Xun was extremely fond of these Han portraits, and specially listed the title, location, and bibliography on a piece of paper, and specially noted: "The above ten stones are in the Shandong Library, and there are still seventeen stones in the Xuegong." The first ten stones of Hu Mengle came from Shandong to see Tuoben. This can be counted as the beginning of Lu Xun's collection of Han portraits.
After 1915, Lu Xun gradually shifted his interest in collecting gold and stone Tuoben to Han portraits.
On April 11, 1915, Lu Xun bought 1 manger portrait stone Tuoben from Liuli Factory; on the 25th, he bought 5 Tuoben such as "Portrait of Sheyang Stone Gate". On May 1, he bought 1 "Wuruitu of Shichi", 4 portraits of Zahan, and 51 portraits of Wuliang Ancestral Hall; on the 9th, he bought 3 Han stone carved sketches Tuoben and 1 portrait of Han Yongjian's five-year canteen; on the 16th, he bought 1 "Wen Shuyang Canteen Portrait", 1 newly unearthed portrait of Wushi Ancestral Hall, and 1 unknown portrait; on the 23rd, he bought 1 portrait of Jining Prefecture; on the 30th, he bought 1 "Lady Li Lingdi Painting Deer". On October 30, I bought 10 "Portraits of Guo's Stone Chamber", 14 "Portraits of Yizhou", 1 each of "Portraits of The Ancestral Garden of Food", "Portraits of Confucius Seeing Laozi", "Portraits of Paper Mill Collection" and 1 unknown portrait.
After 1916, Lu Xun purchased Han portraits more frequently, until 1918.
In addition to going to the Liulichang area to buy the Tuoben of the Han portrait, Lu Xun also entrusted people to the place where the portrait stone was located to search or rub. In a manuscript of "Miscellaneous Pieces of Jinshi", there is a catalogue of Han portraits that Lu Xun listed and asked someone to collect and print on his behalf, which recorded the situation of 14 Han portrait stones collected by Jinan, Qufu, Lanshan, Jiaxiang, Jinxiang, Jining, and Jining in Shandong, as well as the collection of Han portrait stones in Shandong Jinshi, and at the same time indicated the specific requirements for The Tuoben: "First, use Chinese paper and ink to expand." Second, use the whole paper to expand the whole stone, and those who have edges and expand the edges. 3. In addition to the inscriptions, regardless of the calligraphy and paintings, all are expanded. If the four stones have several faces, let the pioneer indicate what side. On January 12, 1916, Lu Xun received all the expanded copies of the Shandong Jinshi Preservation Institute purchased by Wang Shutang on behalf of Wang Shutang, a total of 117 pieces, including 10 Han portraits, 10 Jiaxiang portraits, and 2 Han portrait remnants.
After learning the news that Lu Xun had collected Han portraits, the antique shops in the Liulichang area took the initiative to go to Lu Xun's residence to sell them. On September 1, 1915, Dun Guyi sent someone to send a batch of Han portrait rubbings, but Lu Xun did not buy them because he did not like them; on October 4, Fuhua Pavilion sent Lu Xun 137 Copies of Han Portraits from Jiaxiang, Wenshang, and Jinxiang, although the rubbing effect was not good, but because of its suitable price, Lu Xun bought them all for 14 yuan; on the evening of November 24, Shi Guzhai sent Lu Xun a batch of Tuoben, from which Lu Xun purchased 1 Fragment of Han Portraits from The Fragments of Han Portraits hidden by Duanfang Zaozhai. It is worth mentioning that this rubbing did not include the "Zang Shi Ji" of the end side, and Lu Xun deliberately explained it in his diary. On June 1, 1919, Dun Guyi Tidian sent Lu Xun a stone carved engraving, and Lu Xun purchased 6 "Chungju Stone Que Portraits", which are also known as "Ding Fang Que", Lu Xun knew that it was a Tang Dynasty portrait stone, but still decided to buy it, and also bought 1 "Yang Gong Que".
Lu Xun's colleagues and friends provided great help to Lu Xun in collecting Han portraits, either giving them to Tuoben or recommending them to Lu Xun to buy. For example, on February 5, 1917, when Lu Xun and six colleagues of the Ministry of Education went to the Forbidden City to inspect the establishment of the Beijing Normal Library, Uncle Wang, who was with him, gave Lu Xun 1 "Li Ye Que" Tuoben, 4 Tuoben of "Gao Yique", 25 Tuoben of Han Portraits, and 24 pieces of Eaves First Character; on May 16, 21st and 31st, Lu Xun's old colleague Yang Xinshi, who had been a school of public education, sent Lu Xunhan portraits of Lu Xun on three occasions, of which 10 were sent by the Jinan Jinshi Preservation Institute on the 31st On November 20, 1918, Lu Xun's friend Chen Shi introduced to Lu Xun the Chinese portraits collected by Liang Wenlou, from which Lu Xun purchased 1 of the "Jia Gongque"; on April 8, 1920, Lu Xun received a copy of the "Songshan Three Ques" sent by his friend Xu Shousheng, a total of 5 pieces.
Lu Xun's collection of Han portraits is not for archaeological and sociological considerations, but for their artistic value. The smooth and unrestrained lines in the Han portrait, the lifelike objects, and the unique form left a deep impression on Lu Xun, and he affirmed the artistic value of the Han portrait from the perspective of art. In "Looking at the Mirror with Feeling", Lu Xun wrote: "Imagine how much the Han people have been released, and the new animals and plants, that is, without restraint, come to fill the decorative pattern." The Tang people are not weak, for example, the stone beasts in front of the tombs of the Han people are mostly sheep, tigers, Tianlu, and warding off evil spirits, while the ZhaoLing in Chang'an is carved with horses with arrows, and there is an ostrich, which is simply unprecedented. "Although the Han and Tang Dynasties also had border troubles, their courage was so great that the people had the self-confidence not to be slaves of foreign races, or they did not even think that when they took foreign things, they were like prisoners, driven freely, and never minded." Lu Xun's close friend Xu Shousheng also said in the section "Impressions of Lu Xun and Advocating Fine Arts" that Lu Xun "collected and studied the stone carvings of the Six Dynasties of The Han and Wei Dynasties, paying attention not only to their writings, but also to study their portraits and patterns, which were not initiated by the examiners and connoisseurs of the old era." He once told me that the pattern of the Han portrait, wonderful and unmatched, was adopted by Japanese artists. Even a scale and a claw have been praised by Western masters, saying how amazing and remarkable the Japanese pattern is, but I don't know that its origin is fixed in China's Chinese paintings. ”
It is based on the above judgment that Lu Xun spent a lot of effort to collect Han portraits and Tang Dynasty stone carving patterns. There are more than 700 Han portrait rubbings in Lu Xun's collection, including more than 340 Han portraits in Shandong, more than 320 Han portraits in Henan, and more than 40 Han portraits in Sichuan, Jiangsu, Gansu and other places.
In addition to collecting the expanded copies of Han portraits, Lu Xun also conducted special research on these Han portraits, including determining their name, location, shape, content, bibliography, and preservation location. In Lu Xun's manuscripts, there are a large number of explanatory texts about Han portraits, such as the "Portrait of Li Jialou", and Lu Xun's explanatory text is: "Flat engraving." It is 2 feet 5 inches high and 3 feet 3 inches wide. Left and right □ rim, divided into two districts in the middle. The left beast ring, the right one arched to the right. No words. Another example is the Portrait of the Ancestral Garden of the Food And Fasting, lu Xun made this explanation: "The stone is two feet two inches and four minutes high, and one foot two inches and eight minutes wide. The four corners are abraded and slightly oval. The elephant is one foot six inches and five minutes high, and the diameter of the word is one inch and five minutes. The book 'Food Andai Ancestral Garden' is divided into four characters, on the left side of the elephant. For another example, for the "New Portrait of the Wu Stone Room", Lu Xun's explanatory text is: "The new painting of the Right Wu Stone Room, Fan JiuShi." A stone is scattered up and down, and there are three characters of 'Wu Clan Ancestral Hall' and eight points. On one stone there is the head of the beast, and the mouth is a large ring. Same as the sheyang stone gate painting. The upper layer of a stone is ridden back and forth by two people, the lower layer is rambunctious, and the middle layer seems to have five lines of inscriptions, which are indecipherable. Yu Ju is in the shape of a centaur palace and has no inscription. ”
Lu Xun's proposed Collection of Han Portraits
Lu Xun's early collection of Han portraits is the largest number of excavators from Shandong. On the basis of collecting and sorting out these Han portraits, Lu Xun once decided to edit a "Collection of Han Portraits" and drew up a catalog. The catalogue drawn up by Lu Xun, roughly before leaving Beijing in August 1926, is divided into seven chapters and fifteen volumes, which are now divided as follows:
The first one is Que. Que is a stone building erected in front of ancient ancestral temples and mausoleums, usually one on the left and one on the left, because of the gap in the middle, so it is called Que. The chapter is divided into two volumes, including Nanwuyang Que in Fei County, Shandong, Wang Zhizique in Xindu, Sichuan, Taimu que, Shaomu Que, and Kaimu Que in Dengfeng, Henan, Wushi Que in Jiaxiang, Shandong, Gao Yique in Ya'an, Sichuan, Sima Mengtai Shinto Que in Deyang, Sichuan, Shen Junque in Quxian County, Sichuan, and DingfangQue in Zhongzhou, Sichuan.
The second part is the door. The door is the stone gate, a total of one volume, including the jushimen portrait of Sheyang in Jiangsu Province, and the portrait of Lady Li Lingdi in Penglai, Shandong.
The third part is the stone chamber. The stone chamber is the burial chamber, and many of them are carved with portraits. The chapter is divided into three volumes, including the portrait of Guo Jushi in Feicheng, Shandong (also known as the "Portrait of xiaotang mountain stone chamber"), the portrait of the zhu tuna stone chamber in Jinxiang, Shandong, and the stone chamber portrait of the Wu clan ancestral hall in Jiaxiang, Shandong. The Wu clan includes Wu Liang, Wu Ban, and Wu Rong, and the portraits are distributed in the right room, front room, back room, and left room.
The fourth title is the canteen. The canteen, the temple, is a shrine built in front of the shrine. The article consists of one volume, including the portrait of Yongyuan Canteen in Yutai, Shandong, the portrait of Yongjian Canteen in Jining, Shandong, and the portrait of Wen Shuyang Canteen in Shouguili.
The fifth part is the remnants of the portrait of the Que Chamber. The collection is a collection of fragmentary portraits scattered throughout the country, divided into four volumes.
The sixth chapter is the cliff. Cliffs are portraits and texts carved on mountain cliffs. The part consists of a one-volume portrait of Wurui in Chengxian County, Gansu, and a portrait of a phoenix in Baozhaishan, Yishui, Shandong.
Title VII is The Wattle. The portrait of The Tiles, which is immediately inscribed on the bricks and tiles, is divided into three volumes, and Lu Xun does not list the details.
From the above catalog, it can be seen that Lu Xun really wanted to compile a complete and rich collection of Han portraits for his own collection. Moreover, Lu Xun has always been thinking about this.
In August 1926, Lu Xun left Beijing to teach at Xiamen University, carrying with him a copy of the Han portrait to continue his research. On December 31, Lu Xun told Li Xiaofeng in xiamen correspondence (III): "My original idea was that I really wanted to live here for two years, and in addition to teaching, I also hoped to print the previously integrated "Chinese Painting Elephant Examination" and "Ancient Novel Hook Shen". ”
In October 1927, Lu Xun settled in Shanghai, and although the collection of Han portraits was not as convenient as when he was in Beijing, he still never forgot it. On November 30, Zhou Jianren, who worked at the Commercial Press, went to youzheng Bookstore to buy two volumes of "Chinese Paintings", and Lu Xun was greatly disappointed after reading them, saying that they were "very sloppy and deceitful books." This also shows that Lu Xun is confident that he can compile a high-level and valuable "Collection of Han Portraits". On March 23, 1929, in a letter to Xu Shousheng, he said: "I plan to go to Beijing to return to the province, and I will take pictures of the Han that Peking University owns but I lack, and then make the next picture." ”
Regrettably, Lu Xun's wish could not be realized.
Lu Xun's claim to the art of Han portraiture
For Han portraits, in addition to heartfelt liking, Lu Xun also has another consideration, that is, to provide a useful reference for the emerging Chinese woodcut movement. He advocated the integration of Han portrait art with Emerging Chinese printmaking to create works of art that not only inherit traditional art but also have new vitality.
On December 15, 1927, Lu Xun's young friend and painter Tao Yuanqing brought the students of Rieter Academy to Lu Xun's home and selected a part of the Han portrait Tuoben to exhibit at the school's painting exhibition. On June 1, 1928, Tao Yuanqing and Qian Junkui came to Lu Xun's home and talked about the idea of using ancient bronzes and stone carvings in the design of book binding, and Lu Xun greatly agreed, "Thinking that it can be tried." Therefore, he thought of the expansion of many Han and Tang dynasty portrait stones collected, and said: "The extension of the Han and Tang portrait stones I have collected has quite a few good things, which can be used as part of the reference in this regard. Saying that, he brought out a large stack of extensions, because of the large size, must be laid on the ground to see the whole picture, the upstairs status is narrow, not much paving, so they changed to the downstairs guest hall, laid these extensions on the ground, with the bedding as the explanation, beautiful, paved layer after layer, we were distracted for a while, can only superficially browse the past." (Qian Junkui: "My Memories of Lu Xun")
On February 4, 1935, Lu Xun said in a letter to the young woodcarver Li Hua: "So I mean that if you consider the stone carvings of the Han Dynasty, the illustrations of books from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and pay attention to the so-called 'New Year paintings' that the people enjoy, combined with the new laws of Europe, I hope to create a better printmaking." The letter of September 9 also said: "But the Han people's stone carvings, deep and majestic, Tang people's line paintings, flowing like life, if you take into woodcuts, you may be able to open up another realm." It can be seen that the purpose of Lu Xun's collection of Han portraits is, first, out of love for China's traditional art heritage, and second, to spread and promote this precious heritage.
The best way to spread it is to publish it, and Lu Xun's obsession is also to try to print these Han portraits he collected into a collection of paintings for more people to share.
On March 6, 1934, Lu Xun said of the Han portrait in a letter to Yao Ke: "In Beiping, I have successively searched a large box, and I have planned to take out his living conditions and print them for posterity, but due to the limitations of time and financial resources, he has not been able to do it one day, and if he has the opportunity, he still wants to do it." In the letter dated March 24, he also said: "I have always received a lot of Han and Tang dynasty paintings and stone carvings, but unfortunately there are many imitators, and I want to choose their relevant customs and print them into a book, but I have no time to do this." In a letter dated April 9, Lu Xun again mentioned the compilation and printing of the collection of paintings: "The portraits of the Han and Tang Dynasties are extremely selective, because otherwise, it would be a pity that they would have been collected for several years. Lu Xun's initiative was supported by Yao Ke, who said that the caption written by Lu Xun could be translated into English in order to be disseminated on a larger scale. On April 22, Lu Xun said in his reply: "The stone carved elephant print is to add a little explanation, and Mr. Li is willing to translate it into English for me, which is better." But it is not easy to do, and young people may not be willing to look at it and talk about their hearts. On June 9, Lu Xun said in a letter to Tai Jingnong: "For Yintu, there are still two small ambitions. First, it is not difficult to print a collection of German prints, as long as there is a printing fee. Second, that is, the paintings from the Han dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, but only the customs of the time can be seen, such as hunting, brine books, feasts and drinks, etc., and it is not easy to start. Lu Xun also wanted to ask Tai Jingnong to collect the rubbings on his behalf in Beiping, one was to supplement the deficiencies of his collection, and the other was to replace those whose rubbing effect was not good.
At the beginning of 1935, when Lu Xun learned that a large number of portrait stones had been unearthed in Nanyang, Henan, he immediately asked people to collect and buy relevant books and asked people to print rough stones.
On November 15, 1935, Lu Xun again mentioned the plan to compile and print the "Collection of Han Portraits" in a letter to Tai Jingnong: "I have successively received Han stone paintings like a basket, and I have originally drafted a full print, without asking for the end or the residue, so that it is classified as follows: first, Mo Guo; second, Que, door; third, stone room, hall; fourth, remnants (the most of these). The material was not exhausted, and the printer was also huge, so it was stopped; later, it was tried to select those who had a description of the myth and the state of life at that time, and the description was clearer, as an anthology, but it was not implemented. ”
Cai Yuanpei once said in the article "Anecdotes of Mr. Lu Xun": "I know that he is very interested in drawing. He had already searched for the Tuoben of the Han Stele pattern in Beiping. In the past, the books that recorded the Han stele paid attention to the text; they paid no attention to the pattern carved on the stele. Mr. Special Search has obtained hundreds of titles. When we met, we always discussed the issue of printing. Because the printing fee is too high, there is no consensus in the end. ”
It is gratifying that the Shanxi Publishing and Media Group has included the "Complete Collection of Lu Xun's Printed Art Catalogue" in the province's key publishing plan, which is divided into 8 volumes, which will be published by the Shanxi People's Publishing House, which includes the "Collection of Han Portraits" based on the catalog drawn up by Mr. Lu Xun, which to a certain extent is a testament to Mr. Lu Xun's last wish; at the same time, it is also a commemoration of the 140th anniversary of Mr. Lu Xun's birth and the 85th anniversary of his death.
Source: Guangming Daily