In the series of large-scale thematic exhibitions "Rong Geng and Dongguan" that opened on August 5, the "Jijin Ink Rhyme - Mr. Rong Geng's Old Collection Of Bronze Ware Full-shaped Rubbings Exhibition" after nearly a year of careful planning and preparation by Guangdong Provincial Zhongshan Library and Dongguan Keyuan Museum is particularly eye-catching due to its high academic content.
Wang Xuetao made up the painting on the full shape of the Yi instrument.
According to Ni Junming, deputy director of the Guangdong Provincial Zhongshan Library, Mr. Rong Geng paid special attention to the research and collection of gold and stone rubbings in order to deeply study ancient characters and bronzes. In 1998, nearly 1,000 pieces (volumes) of gold stone rubbings by Mr. Rong Geng's relatives were donated to the Guangdong Provincial Zhongshan Library, of which the full-shaped rubbings with various vivid images are the most distinctive, with unique ornamental value and research value.
Full-shaped extension is a special technique of conveying the three-dimensional shape of the utensils on paper by combining ink rubbing and painting. It originated during the Jiadao period of the Qing Dynasty, when epigraphy arose. Mr. Rong Geng's old collection of full-shaped rubbings, mostly made in the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, with bronzes from the Shang Zhou to the Han Dynasty as the main objects of transmission, including both rubbings of self-collected utensils and collections obtained through purchase, exchange and donation, etc. The topography is excellent and rich, including many masterpieces such as Chen Jieqi, Zhou Xiding, Wang Xiuren and so on.
In this exhibition, the curator, Mr. Rong Geng, selected more than 60 of the full-shaped rubbings in the nearly 1,000 jinshi rubbings, and classified and interpreted the historical information behind the rubbing utensils, inscriptions and seals, from which the audience could not only appreciate the artistic charm of traditional Chinese transmission techniques, but also feel Mr. Rong Geng's academic travels, collection anecdotes, scholarly style and patriotism.
Lin Rui, an associate researcher at the Guangdong Provincial Zhongshan Library, also said in an interview with Nandu reporter that as a generation of bronze and gold literature research, Rong Geng has always paid attention to the collection and research of bronzes and their rubbings. In his famous book "Shang Zhou Yi Instrument Examination", he has a chapter of "Tuomo", which specifically discusses the history, techniques, tools, materials, etc. of Chuantuo, which shows his emphasis on copper rubbings. The bronze rubbings thus became an important part of the Song Zhai collection. These rubbings are not only important materials for the study of bronzes and ancient scripts, but also the best model for the study of calligraphy, and they are also exquisite works of art. From it, we can see one of the bronze artifacts in the old collection of Song Zhai, such as the "Blünding" that was first introduced into Tibet. As a collection of a generation of academics, it is naturally indispensable to the inscriptions of Mr. Rong himself and many of his academic friends, and these inscriptions are often more wonderful than the rubbings themselves.
The exhibition is divided into three parts. The first part, "Song Zhai Self-Cherishing", is mainly the rubbings of bronze ware that Mr. Rong Geng has handled; the second part, "Famous Secret Collection", is mainly the rubbings of utensils collected by famous gold stone collectors such as Chen Jieqi, Zhou Xiding, and Duan Fang. The third part, "Zhulian Bihe", is mainly the paintings painted by Wang Xuetao, Luo Fukan, Wang Jilin and other famous artists on the full form during the Republic of China. According to Mr. Lin Rui, after the emergence of the full-shaped topology, under the influence of traditional paintings such as Bogu and Qingfu, during the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, it was popular to supplement the painting of folded branches and fruits on the full-shaped rubbing, etc., becoming a unique work of art, Mr. Rong Geng once said, "The strengths of the full-shaped extension, in the size of the original instrument, so that the shape pattern is displayed on the paper, to be inscribed, to supplement the flowers, that is, the best art of a shaft." ”
Must-see exhibits
"Yu Er Ding" full shape expansion
According to the "Diary of Rong Geng Beiping", on April 28, 1928, Mr. Rong Geng accompanied his friends on a tour of the Beijing Antique Factory and purchased this ding, which was also the beginning of his own collection of bronzes. This ding is the old collection of the Qing Dynasty court, which was once recorded in the Large Genealogy of the Qing Palace Collection of Ancient Bronze Artifacts compiled during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, "Western Qing Ancient Classics".
"Undefeated Lee Houshi Cup" full shape Tuo
From the inscriptions of Tang Lan and Mr. Shang Chengzuo, it can be seen that in 1930, Mr. Rong Geng bought half of this cup at the Beijing Liuli Factory, and the following year he bought the other half at a high price, although the utensils are still mutilated, but the inscription is complete: "Cheng undefeated and rich in the world." Mr. Gu Tinglong's inscription cites the scriptures to point out that "thick" passes "hou" and believes that the six-character inscription is an auspicious word. Mr. Wei Jiangong's inscription is the most academic value, he pointed out that the predecessors called the object "Yu Qian" is not accurate enough, it should be called "cup", the word "丞" in the inscription means pun, a pass "cheng", expressing the function of Sheng Cheng, two take the long as the meaning of the beggar, and the six-character inscription is an auspicious word. The supplement also said that on the back of a bronze mirror, an inscription with the same meaning was found, "Changyi Palace Shou Wannian".
"Cheng Zhou Ge" full form expansion
The inscription has more story than the rubbing itself. It can be seen from the inscription that at that time, several epigraphers had different opinions on the inscription of "Cheng zhou", Mr. Tang Lan thought it was "Chengtian", Mr. Rong Geng and Mr. Dong Zuobin thought it was "Cheng zhou", and Mr. Shang Chengzuo said that he was not sure.
"Mao Gongding" full-shaped extension (initial expansion)
Chen Jieqi Tuo. Mao Gongding is a heavy instrument of the late Western Zhou Dynasty, and the inner wall of the Ding is cast with inscriptions, 32 lines, nearly 500 words, which is the longest surviving bronze inscription, and can be called the largest inscription in the Western Zhou Bronze. Its content is complete and well-documented, and it is known as "a book of Shang", which is an important historical material for the study of the political history of the late Western Zhou Dynasty. In the last year of the Qing Dynasty, Mao Gongding was found in Qishan County, Shaanxi Province, and the first owner was Chen Jieqi. Chen refined the inscriptions in Ding and provided them to a group of scholars specializing in ancient history and golden stone scripts. Wang Guowei's "Mao Gong Ding Bao" said: This Ding instrument is small and there are many words, so it is not easy to expand the ink, and yu sees that the old Tuo and Duan clan in Qin are not good, but the Chen clan is the most refined.
Written by: Nandu reporter Zhou Peiwen intern Zhong Yonghong Chen Yue
Photo courtesy of Guangdong Provincial Zhongshan Library