Wen | Xue Yuanming
If you want to fully understand Dong Qichang, in addition to his artistic creation and theory, strong social skills cannot be ignored. Let's first look at his social circles and means in the official arena...
Dong Qichang
Zhu Changluo (Ming Guangzong)
Teacher, I am on the throne, where are you?
"Although I have been gone in the past few years, I have always been optimistic about you."
·····················
Zhao Nanxing (Official Shangshu, Leader of the Donglin Party)
Come and sit down when you're all right, don't let me call you.
"Afraid to kick through the threshold of your house."
Wang Xijue (First Auxiliary Minister)
My grandson Wang Shimin's ideal is to be a painter, and he can only give it to you.
"Rest assured, I have a hunch that he will become a great painter."
Wei Zhongxian (Eunuch bingbi, Si Li Jian)
Come back tonight and give you something you haven't eaten, but...
"It's too polite, how about getting you three paintings and three frames?"
Gu Xiancheng (Head of Household Department, Leader of Donglin Party)
Your "old iron" Chen Jiru can't look up to me in Donglin Academy! You see?
"Send me the location right away."
Yuan Zongdao (Nanjing Ceremonial Official)
Our artistic views differ too much.
But traveling with you on Zen is the life I most yearn for.
Zhou Yanru (First Assistant to the Cabinet)
The officials are lost, Uncle Dong still came to send me?
"Yes, I'm sure you'll be back." This Northern Song Dynasty Li Tang's "Small Scene of Jiangshan" you play on the road. ”
Wang Yuanhan (Cabinet Assistant, Donglin Party Member)
Now there are too many people in Beijing who talk about Zen and Taoism.
"I like this path."
Ruan Dacheng (Late Ming Chancellor, Southern Ming Ren Bingbu Shangshu)
Alas, both the Donglin Party and the Castration Party have offended...
"Don't worry, I'll explain it to them."
Ye Xianggao (Cabinet Assistant)
I wrote a "Dragon Induction", can you please write it in line?
"Does it still need to be said, I must have written it with my heart."
Why does Dong Qichang have such a level of communication?
Read on...
The success of any person is inseparable from the times, regions and their own strength factors at that time, and are often the result of a "joint force". Time and space are only external factors, personal strength is the internal cause, the two are indispensable, especially the latter is the determining factor. Why are there so many calligraphers and painters in the same era, and in the end only Dong Qichang can enjoy both career and calligraphy and painting art, enjoy fame and fortune before death, and can also pass on after death?
Divine providence
Dong Qichang was definitely a celebrity in the calligraphy and painting circle at that time, and if there was a network, he should often make "headlines". Everything has a cause and effect, and if there is an effect, there must be a cause. Dong Qichang's success can be summarized as the role of "time, location, and people". These three words are often used, but you must know that for different people in different places in the air at different times, they are not the same time, place, and people. The master cannot be copied, the key is to grasp the timing.
Day. Dong Qichang lived mainly in the 16th century, which was during the Ming Dynasty.100 million calendar years. Zhang Juzheng's comprehensive reform, which has been straightened out in the military, political, and economic fields, especially in the economic reform, has indeed played a certain positive role. The state's fiscal revenue increased, the border was peaceful, and there was once a "ZTE" scene.
Location. Dong Qichang lived in the most affluent Jiangnan region at that time, Suzhou Wumen and Songjiang Huating are actually a piece of land connected, now belong to Shanghai, is the most economically and culturally developed area in China. It can be imagined that when I go to watch Dong Qichang's exhibition now, I will silently recite in my heart from time to time - "Alla Dong Qichang, enjoy the merit and fame."
People and people need to be looked at in two ways - themselves and friends. These two aspects are interactive, you choose friends, friends also choose you, the so-called "things are clustered, people are grouped."
Qing "Shangyou Tu" Zhang Qi painted a picture of Xiang Shengmo
Collection of Shanghai Museum
This picture depicts Xiang Shengmu recalling the scene of traveling with the five elders in the art forest when he was 40 years old. The six people in the painting are Dong Qichang (the man in red), Chen Jiru (the man in the blue hat), Li Rihua (bottom right), Lu Dezhi (bottom left), Shi Zhigang and Xiang Shengmo (top right).
Chen Jiru and Dong Qichang are the first to be friends. Li Rihua mentioned Dong Qichang's collection many times in his diary, and his own works have also been inscribed by Dong's, and the theory of calligraphy and painting has also been influenced by Dong Qichang. Lu Dezhi was a disciple of Li Rihua and was highly respected by the Li clan. Xiang Shengmo is the grandson of the famous Collector Xiang Yuanbian of the Ming Dynasty, who has been practicing elegance since childhood, especially good at painting, and has traveled extensively. In his self-description, he called Dong Qichang a "teacher", which can be known to be a disciple of Dong and his disciples. Dong Qichang and the Xiang Yuanbian family have three generations of friendship. Shi Zhigang was a monk of Jiaxing Jinming Temple, and because the temple was adjacent to the Xiang House, he had a lot of communication with the Xiang family.
The names complement each other
Some people may say that Dong Qichang is a master of hype. Of course, this cannot be ruled out, but the premise is that there is work on hand. If the grass in the abdomen is reckless, there is no way to stand on its heels just by bad frying. He has superiority and uniqueness in copying and creation, and has raised his personal experience to the level of theory. He has carved posts many times and spread the classics, and he is even more a person of great merit. There is thought, there is theory, there is practice, for a calligrapher and painter, it can basically be said that the elements of success are there, and it is the most fundamental determining factor. Dong Qichang eventually became the leader of the "Huating Sect", a generation of masters, and had the nickname of "Wen Min". Zhao Mengfu also has this remark. In the past, the character "Wen" was included in the title of literati, which meant that something must have been made in the aspect of "Wen". From the perspective of peripheral factors, although Dong Qichang has slight twists and turns in his career, he is basically considered to be an official and prosperous, and has always achieved the rebbe Shangshu, a very popular subject, and is also expected by the public, unlike many "pure calligraphers and painters", who are basically insulated because of their unsatisfactory career.
But there is no doubt that Dong Qichang is good at running his circle of friends and lives a very moist life because of it. The artist must have a platform, but first of all, he has to be this material. However, Dong Qichang's circle of friends cannot be enlarged, and in general, there are both the circle of friends of the same era and the circle of friends of later generations, which determines and witnesses that he can eventually succeed. Classics and masters are polished repeatedly.
Ming Chen Jiru's "Yunshan Humor Map" silk book
Collection of Liaoning Provincial Museum
Chen Jiru and Dong Qichang are a pair of Friends who have been brilliant since childhood and have long been famous. The different career choices did not affect the interaction between the two, they had been friends for decades and were compatible for life.
The circle is vast
Dong Qichang's circle of friends can be viewed from many levels. The first is the circle of literati. He was a man of letters in his own right, though the official had done a great job. To this day, he is only treated by the standards of a literati, not from the perspective of an official. Art is eternal, politics is decaying. Dong Qichangqing's history of leaving a name depends on his own achievements in calligraphy and painting, not on his political merits. Of course, at the beginning, he was in a high position of authority, which was indeed conducive to the spread of his calligraphy and paintings and expanded his influence.
Ming Dong Qichang's "Xiang Yuanbian Epitaph" volume (partial)
Collection of the Tokyo National Museum, Japan
Dong Qichang befriended the third generation of the Xiang Yuanbian family, a collector of calligraphy and painting, and after Xiang Yuanbian's death for 46 years (1635), the second son Xiang Decheng asked Dong Qichang to write an epitaph for Xiang Yuanbian, and the collection of calligraphy was learned all his life, showing Dong Qichang's mature and spicy style of writing in his later years.
Among these people, Chen Jiru, Han Shineng, Wang Shizhen, Tang Xianzu, Wang Shimin, Lu Shusheng, Wang Kentang, etc., who had a greater influence, also included Mo Ruzhong, Mo Shilong father and son, Yuan Keli, Yuan Shu father and son. Of course, the most famous is the "Mo Reverse Friendship" with Chen Jiru.
The second is the circle of antique dealers and large collectors, such as Xiang Yuanbian and others. There were many antique dealers in Suzhou Wumen at that time, like Mo Isong Dragon Father and Son themselves are big collectors. Dong Qichang's contact with these people can fully contact good calligraphy and painting masterpieces, thus opening his eyes. Therefore, there is a view that Dong Qichang's collection is from borrowing and looking at the collection to eventually becoming a collection giant.
Under normal circumstances, the circle of friends ends here, but in fact, Dong Qichang's circle of friends is far more than that. There are also two layers that are "invisible", which has a huge role in promoting the inheritance and dissemination of Dong Qichang's calligraphy and painting art.
The first is the ancients who like to study Dong's calligraphy and paintings, and some even worship to an extremely crazy degree. The most typical such as the Kangxi and Yongzheng emperors. The power of the emperor is not insignificant. As for the people who took the Fa Dong Qichang in the history of calligraphy, regardless of the general enthusiasts, such as Zhang Zhao, Cha Shibiao, Wang Wenzhi, Sun Yuexuan, and later Wu Hufan, even the Bada Shan people also started by Dong Qichang. It can also be seen from this that Dong Qichang really has superiority and is desirable.
The second is the current fans who are very interested in Dong Qichang's calligraphy and painting and persistent research. From ancient times to the present, there has been no fault in Dong Qichang's creation, which has continued to this day. Regardless of the praise or criticism, right or wrong, now Dong Qichang still uses modern new media technology to continue to appear in the network circle of friends, more information, more details, convergence and concentration, the understanding of him will continue to advance, further layer. The power of this circle of friends is incomparably powerful, connecting the real world and the virtual world, ancient and modern dynasties, and really knowing Dong Qichang better than Dong Qichang.
This article is excerpted from
China Collection Magazine, No. 3, 2019
For more information, please visit the WeChat store to purchase the current issue of the magazine
▼ Click "Read the original article" below to enter the official micro-store and win reader benefits!