Collection Appreciation - Tong Yu's "Plum Blossom Diagram"

From ancient times to the present, Mei has been a favorite subject of expression by painters of all generations, and many masterpieces of Ode to Mei have appeared. Mei is one of the "three friends of the cold year", han mei proud of snow and frost, with a noble character and a strong spirit. Plum blossoms "bloom alone in the cold winter of thousands of flowers" (Northern Song Dynasty King An Shi sentence). "There is no intention to fight for spring, a group of fangs are jealous" (Southern Song Dynasty Lu You sentence) is a portrayal of plum blossoms. The Plum Blossom Diagram (see below), now in the Jinan Municipal Museum, was composed by the Qing Dynasty painter Tong Yu. Tong Yu (1721-1782), also spelled Pu Yan, also spelled Erru, Ershu, Zayan, Borrow an zi, Mei Yi, etc., was a native of Shanyin (present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang). When he was a teenager, he mainly studied poetry and ancient Chinese, and later gave up his career and formed a literary club with Liu Wenwei, Shen Yitian, Yao Dayuan, Liu Mingyu, Mao Yi, and Chen Zhitu in the same county, known as the "Seven Sons of Yuezhong". He is good at painting landscapes, writing orchids, bamboo, wood, and stones in the grass method, especially good at painting plums, zong nan yang blameless method and unique characteristics, "make the qi into the ink, the strange wind and angry clouds, rush to the end" (Qing Yuan Ming language). He created a large number of poetry and painting works in his lifetime, so there are small prints of "ten thousand plum blossoms and ten thousand poems", and the plum blossoms painted are old and simple, and the ink is strong.

Tong Yu's "Plum Blossom Diagram" is ink and pencil on paper, 132 cm in length and 68 cm in width. The painter inscribed in the upper left of the picture: "The spring breeze is first flowing with fragrance, and the trees are confused and smokey." Light sweeping spirit can be a bow, flying bow jade flute spectrum river head. Two trees of children. "Xia Qi" Tong Yu Er Shu "Bai WenYin", "QinShu Ya Fun", "Zhuo Ji Guan Qun Shu" and "Yue Guo Gongsun" Zhu Wenyin. This work depicts a cold plum blooming alone in winter. The painter uses the cutting and composition method to intercept an old plum tree with thick and sparse branches, showing the charm of the wild plum in the mountains.

The composition is bold and novel. In flower and bird paintings, the composition of the main branch straight is very rare; and the painting method of the auxiliary branch and the main branch parallel out, because the parallel lines are too neat, it is easy to lead to the blank picture, which is also more taboo in the composition. However, Tong Yu reconciles this contradiction by skillfully interspersing the treatment technique, treating the direction of the branch and the intersection of the auxiliary branches, and shows the arrogance of Han Mei from another angle. The layout of the picture is clear, the lower weight is light, and it has a stable state, and the inscription at the top left also solves the balance problem of the picture. The sloping thick ancient plum trunk is painted in a large freehand way, the outline is expressed in thick, moist pen and ink, and the rubbing is expressed in light ink. The painter writes the trunk of the ancient plum tree with a qixing brush, making it curl like a dragon, showing the old vitality and vigorous vitality of the ancient plum. The main branch comes straight up, the top twists and turns upwards, growing on the left and right twigs obliquely intersecting, the old branches are vigorously bent, the new branches are thin and straight, from the branches are simple and powerful, the branches are not complicated and have a clear atmosphere. The painter uses ink to be old and spicy and moist, and the thickness is clearly layered - the thick ink is wet, and the light ink is drier with the pen, but the pen marks are seen. In the painting, the brush is smooth, flexible and free, with a sense of one breath. The strong plum branches are stooped and full of divine reason, reflecting the elegant style of Qingqing. The young branches follow the expression method of straight and not bent, and the distribution of plum blossoms and branches is realistic and sparse. Meihua uses the circle plum method pioneered by Yang Wuchai, which is also a common technique for painting plums. The painter uses light ink to circle the flowers, so that the petals are hooked vigorously and urgently, reflecting the bone and holy atmosphere of the plum blossoms. He uses thick ink dots and heavy ink dots to dot the flower stems, and plays a role in balancing the weight and density of the picture through the properly positioned moss. Plum blossoms have changes of yan, yang, reverse and positive, and the posture is natural and gathered and scattered. The flower's pen contrasts strongly with the vigorous branches, showing the spirit and vitality of the plum.

Looking at the entire "Plum Blossom Map", the shape is accurate, the layout is empty, it has a stretched look and feel, and the taste is pleasing to the eye. The painter expresses the sense of space through the direction of the branches and the bowing of the flowers on the front side, making the picture Strange Coincidence vivid. The picture is less and more exquisite, with the meaning of "plum blossoms are originally immortal bones, falling on the earth to taste their own wonders" (Ming Dynasty Han Guan sentence), although there are few strokes, it shows the elegance of plum blossoms, as well as Tong Yu's ability to create and the pursuit of plum blossoms' noble character.

Tong Yu's plum is old and simple, with a straight posture and a strong character. "Plum Blossom Diagram" has a refined structure and a pure and elegant style. The painter does not muddy the ancient method, and uses the brush to be free and cheerful. He borrowed Mei to write about his own mentality, showing the meaning of the image and the aura of grand elegance, from which it can be seen that he has a strong affection for Mei. In the Qing Dynasty, when the wind of imitation was prevalent, Tong Yu was like a cold plum. He has a strong personality and a strong spirit of originality. His "Plum Blossom Diagram" shows strong artistic characteristics, which not only enriches the content of the history of Qing Dynasty painting, but also has a high value of learning and appreciation.

——Transferred from China Painting and Calligraphy