Lu Zhi, Zihua Zihua, Qiyun, a native of Wu County, Jiangsu (present-day Suzhou), was a Painter of the Ming Dynasty, famous for painting flowers and was also good at landscapes. There is no clear record of the specific chronology of his life, but from the Ming Dynasty He Qiaoyuan (1558-1632) "Mingshan Zang" can be inferred from the "Mingshan Collection": "Those who were in the same industry as Zhengming were Zhou Chen, Xie Shichen, Chen Chun, Qiu Ying, Zhu Zhenfu, and Chen Chun calligraphy and painting, Chun Zi Li, also Xiao Qi's father's business." Zhenfu is the teaching of Jingning. Later, in Wuzhong, there were Lu Zhi, Lu Zhi, Qian Yu, Zhi Shan flowers, feathers, and turquoise water and turquoise, and Xiao Jing was even more interesting." It can be seen that Lu Zhi was slightly later than Wen Zhengming (1470-1559), and was about the same as Lu Zhi (1496-1576) and Qian Yu (after 1509-1578).
There are not many Luzhi works that have been handed down. According to incomplete statistics, his paintings mainly include the "Flower Diagram" volume, the "Vegetable and Fruit Diagram" ("Garden Vegetable and Sea Wrong Map") volume, the "Flower and Bird" fan, the "Landscape" fan (the above Collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing), the "Three Friends Map" fan (the collection of the National Museum of China), the "Hundred Flowers Map" volume (guangdong Provincial Museum collection), the "Hibiscus Drama Map" axis (Jilin Provincial Museum collection), the "Flower and Bird" fan (the Capital Museum collection), the "Jingting Map" banner (Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum collection) and the "Okra Map" Folding fan noodles (Ningbo Tianyi Pavilion Museum collection) and so on. Except for a small number of landscapes, almost all of them are flower paintings. Among these works, the "Flower Map" volume collected by the Palace Museum in Beijing depicts various types of flowers, which can also be called the "Hundred Flowers Map" volume, which has many similarities with the "Hundred Flowers Map" volume collected by the Guangdong Provincial Museum in terms of theme and inscription, which is worthy of comparative study. For the convenience of discussion, it is referred to as "Forbidden City Ben" and "Cantonese Bo Ben" respectively.
One or two volumes of the Hundred Flowers Chart are examined
The "Cantonese Bo Ben" and the "Forbidden City Ben" "Hundred Flowers" volumes are painted with folded branches and flowers, both colored on silk and similar in size, the former 29.5 cm in length and 568 cm in width, and the latter 27.4 cm in length and 669.3 cm in width. The inscription of the "Cantonese Bo Ben" reads: "Yu Yu has no teacher in painting things, and he is self-satisfied by watching and materializing." Shang on the ancients, deeply ashamed to enter the room, the birth of the wood, each perfect, the branches and leaves, extremely few, little hair, peach and lee can not argue, especially the creation of the cleverness of the object also. Jiajing Bingchen, Xie Ke Shanju, chatting about Xuan Appreciation, a cup of wine, quite suitable for pen research, multiplying Xing Zhan Su, all kinds of imitations, into this volume. What is the quality of creation, so why? Creation is speechless, and Yu is self-sufficient. On September 9, Wushan ren Qiyun Lu Zhizi Huafu Ji", Zhu Wen Hulu seal "Song", Zhu Bai Wen Xiangyin "Qiyun Shanren", Zhu Wen Changfang seal "Qinglian Baishi Mountain House Book" and Bai Wen Fangyin "Lu Zhongzi". "Jiajing Bingchen" is the thirty-fifth year of Ming Jiajing (1556). At the beginning of the scroll, there is the Baiwen Changfang Seal "Chun Zhongtang Baozang Record", the end of the volume has zhu Wenfangyin "Yisun Ziyin" and the Baiwen Changfangyin "Lantai Inner History Book", and the tail has the guanshi of chen Baochen (1848-1935) in "Xin You" (1921) and the inscriptions of Yuan Lizhun (1875-1935) and Zhang Wei (1882-1968). (Figure 1)
Figure 1 (Ming) Lu Zhi's "Hundred Flowers" volume, colored on silk,
29.5cmx568cm, Guangdong Provincial Museum Collection
At the end of the volume, the "Forbidden City" is inscribed with the four characters of the seal book "Qunying Miscellaneous Songs", and then the twenty-four kinds of floral poems are copied in the xingshu, all of which are seven words and sentences, and the names of the flowers sung are indicated. As the song peony cloud: "Pink red greasy rain first dried, hundred treasures into twelve." Whoever blows the jade flute to the east, it is still full of spring colors in Chang'an. "The calligraphy is old and spicy. At the end of the volume, there is an inscription: "Yu Yu has no teacher in painting things, and he observes and materializes himself." In the case of the birth of hui wood, each is perfect, the branches and leaves are buds, extremely small, especially the creation of the cleverness of the object. Years Gengshen, Mr. Chung Yue Gu I Shan Zhai, left a scroll Sotu, the first no happiness, so into suku. Autumn rain is silent, a wash of poverty, Zhan Su man writes flowers and branches, compound the title, the creation is speechless, Chung Yue will have to teach me. Wu County Qi Yun Lu Zhi Zhi", Zhu Wen Chang Fang Yin "Daya", Zhu Wen Fang Yin "Qi Yun Sheng" and Bai Wen Fang Yin "Lu Zhongzi". "Gengshen" is the thirty-ninth year of Ming Jiajing (1560), which is four years later than the "Yue Bo Ben". (Figure 2)
Figure 2 (Ming) Lu Zhi's "Flower Diagram" volume (partial), colored on silk,
27.4cmx669.3cm, collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing
Judging from the content of the inscription, the "Forbidden City" has more than twenty-four poems of "Miscellaneous Songs of Heroes and Heroes". When the two paintings explain the source of creation, the content is roughly similar, but the "Cantonese Bo Ben" is more than the "Forbidden City Ben", "Shang on the Ancients, Deeply Ashamed to Enter the Room" and "Little Hair, Tao Li Mo Debate" sixteen characters. Judging from the motivation for painting, "Yue Bo Ben" is purely "Chengxing Zhan Su" and is a unique opportunity; while "Forbidden City Ben" is a "left scroll so map" by Mr. Zhong Yue, a friend, and is made to repay the painting debt.
Judging from the contents of the painting, the flowers depicted in the "Forbidden City" volume from right to left are orchids, red plums, pear blossoms, peonies, begonias, peaches, yellow wei, apricot blossoms, peony, pink balls, xuan grass, roses, jasmine, hollyhocks, lotus flowers, ziwei, okra, hibiscus, osmanthus flowers, chrysanthemums, old boys, autumn begonias, plum blossoms, daffodils and other twenty-four kinds of flowers, while the "Yue Bo Ben" has eight kinds of flowers such as morning glory, magnolia, moon season, and peony on the basis of twenty-four kinds of flowers (among which the "Forbidden City" already contains peonies, Therefore, there are actually only seven more species), and thirty-one kinds of flowers (thirty-two branches in total). From the perspective of technique and painting, "Yue Bo Ben" is a heavy color for the work pen, the pen is delicate, the outline is filled, the color is bright, and the magic of creation can be obtained; while the "Forbidden City Ben" is a small freehand, the color is slightly light, for the boneless flowers, there are traces of smudging. Because the "Forbidden City" is a social work, and the time is slightly later than that of the "Cantonese Bo Ben", it is reasonable that its painting work is small and freehand. Xu Qin, a Qing dynasty man, called Lu Zhi "colorful flowers and birds, the most charming." By its pen to get rid of the dust, or write or paint, each has its own natural interest", "Forbidden City" can be called "writing", and "Yue Bo Ben" should be "painting", two different ways of drawing, with different pen and ink interest.
Calligraphy and painting expert Zhang Heng (1915-1963) in his "Notes on the Appreciation of Muyan Zhai Calligraphy and Painting" said that the "Yue Bo Ben" "Hundred Flowers" volume "Gong Pen Coloring". Thirty-one kinds of flowers are painted, and the color is gorgeous and not harmful, of which several kinds of peony, gardenia and other kinds are particularly good (a large purple flower is thick and uniform, peony is yellowish, and the petals are blood red near the heart, which is extremely gorgeous). Zhi Gai is good at applying color, which has never been seen in the world of the Middle Ming Dynasty", but at the same time pointed out its weakness: "The branches are delicate, the arrangement is trivial, although the learning of Shunju, but the high ancient is not far away", even so, "the special rule is a small famous master and can use color so well, if it can also be passed on", and said that its "self-titled XiaoKai Seven Elements are also very exquisite". The experts of the Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Appraisal Group's appraisal opinion on "Yue Bo Ben" is "Fine! It can be seen that different calligraphy and painting experts are unanimous in their opinions on this volume.
Compared with the flower paintings of Chen Chun (1483-1544), Xu Wei (1521-1593) and Lu Zhi and others in the same period, the two paintings of Lu Zhi were obviously exquisite and more than enough, and there was not enough relaxation, so the close friend Zhang Wei said at the end of the "Yue Bo Ben": "For hundreds of years, those who called the Ming Dynasty sketches have led the first to lift Baiyang and Qingteng, and it is rare to count the snow dwellers. To Qiyun Mountain, there are very few ways to go. It is easy to do meritorious work, there are many relics passed down from generation to generation, and people are constantly seen, while those who are seiko are difficult to achieve, there are few things passed down from generation to generation, and those who know are also rare ears. According to the eyes and ears, The works of Lü Ji and Lin Liang are extremely wonderful, but they are not strict. Zheng and Jia are descending, and there is absolutely no one who can keep the Song and Yuan dynasties. Before this, only bian Jing Zhao was firmly in the previous rules, as if he had become a family. Later, the Qiyunshan people were independent and unethical, and their calligraphy was especially comparable to that of the painters of the world, and they should compete with Zhishan for the seat, and they did not count the public flaws and hundreds of valleys. When bian zuo was encountered in the Forbidden City, Qi Yun had not yet been seen elsewhere, called the Star Phoenix, who knew that it was not appropriate? "It makes a lot of sense. The "Baiyang" mentioned here is Chen Chun (1483-1544), "Qingteng" is Xu Wei (1521-1593), and "Xueju" is Sun Kehong (1533-1611), all of whom are famous flower and bird painters of the Ming Dynasty and have a great influence on later generations, while "Zhishan" is Zhu Yunming (1460-1526), "Gongfeng" is Zhou Tianqiu (1514-1595), and "Baigu" is Wang Ruideng (1535-1613), all of which are famous artists of calligraphy in the Ming Dynasty. Although Lu Zhi has not had independent calligraphy works passed down, it seems that the inscriptions in his two "Hundred Flowers" volumes, especially the twenty-four poems inscribed in the "Forbidden City Book" of the "Qunying Miscellaneous Songs", are in line with the calligraphy of Zhu Yunming, Zhou Tianqiu, and Wang Xiaodeng. Therefore, Zhang Heng called his small calligraphy "also very exquisite", which is resonant.
Zhang Wei said in the inscription that because "it is difficult for the seiko to succeed", and "there are few things passed down from generation to generation, and those who know are also fresh ears", among the flower painters of the same period, there are very few works of the gongbi painters represented by Lu Zhi, and even the deeds of life are not very clear. Yuan Lizhun quoted the original collector Mrs. Hu in the inscription of the "Yue Bo Ben", calling Lu Zhi "jiajing shi painting sect, mastery of the Tang and Song dynasties", which seems to be overflowing, but Yuan said that the "Yue Bo Ben" "Hundred Flowers Map" volume "painted dozens of kinds of miscellaneous flowers, the color is ancient, the location is sparse, and the deep Diao and Huang Zhen tips" are to the point. "Diao and Huang" refers to the flower and bird painters Diao Guangyin and Huang Xiao (903-965) of the Five Dynasties period, respectively, whose painting style is mainly neat and beautiful, with bright colors. In addition, the Ming Dynasty Wang Bochou has a poem "Luqi Yun Pear Flower White Swallow": "Plain clothes lightly cut and plunder the spring wind, but love Wu Nong cai Hua gong." As if the Zhaoyang people are like jade, the pear blossom smiles and leans on the moon and the moon", this is the "Pear Blossom White Swallow Diagram" painted by Song Yong Luzhi, and if it is used to chant his "Hundred Flowers Diagram" volume, it is also consistent. Another Ming dynasty, Jiang Shaoshu, said in the "History of Silent Poetry" that Lu Zhi was "good at flowers and feathers, extremely exquisite, dashing in his pen, lively and lovely, and an excellent painter", which can also be confirmed in the two volumes of "Hundred Flowers".
2. Lu Zhi's "Hundred Flowers" volume in the bibliography of calligraphy and painting
The volume of "Hundred Flowers" composed by Lu Zhiping is not limited to the "Cantonese Bo Ben" and "Forbidden City Ben" that have been handed down. In the "Shiqu Essay" of the Qing Dynasty Ruan Yuan (1764-1849), a volume of "Hundred Flowers Diagram" is recorded: "Lu Zhi's "Hundred Flowers Diagram" volume sketch, the penmanship is extremely delicate, and the elegance is on the top of Bao Mountain. Each flower has a kind of poetry, calligraphy and painting are commensurate, and Gai Yixiu pulls all the way also." "Bao Shan" refers to Lu Zhi. Lu Zhi's painting has not been circulated, but in the volume of "Hundred Flowers" (collected by the Palace Museum in Beijing), this pattern can be seen: first a poem is inscribed, and a money is printed, and then a flower is painted poetically, and the poems and paintings are referenced and integrated. This painting method is similar to Lu Zhi's "Forbidden City Ben" "Hundred Flowers Diagram" volume, the difference is that the "Forbidden City Ben" is a concentrated inscription poem after all flowers. It is not difficult to see from Ruan Yuan's records and heirloom works that in the Ming Dynasty's Hundred Flowers Theme, this style of one poem and one painting is not uncommon.
In Qianlong's imperial poem, there is a "Luzhi Hundred Flowers Scroll instant use of the volume of inscription rhymes", involving plum, orchid, peony, white peach blossom, periwinkle, hydrangea flower, red peach, butterfly flower, gardenia, lotus, thorn, lily, ziwei, okra, chrysanthemum, gui, wood hibiscus, camellia, begonia, daffodil, camellia, begonia, daffodil, camellia, plum and other twenty-two kinds of flowers, which is different from the "Cantonese Bo Ben" and "Forbidden City" two volumes of "Hundred Flowers Map", which shows that in the volumes of his "Hundred Flowers Map", there is no stable flower name, and there are always differences between each of the two volumes. Avoid the emergence of a fixed paradigm by force. The "inscription in the volume" mentioned in the poem title refers to the pattern of one poem and one painting. This painting may be the same as the volume of the Hundred Flowers Diagram mentioned in Ruan Yuan's "Essays on Stone Canals".
In the "Shiqu Baodi Continuation, Chunhua Xuan", a luzhi "Hundred Flowers" volume is recorded: "Color painting various flowers, writing poems of old people". The scroll depicts 22 kinds of flowers, including plum, orchid, peony, peach blossom, periwinkle, hydrangea, red peach, butterfly flower, gardenia, lotus, thorn, lily, purple weed, okra, chrysanthemum, osmanthus flower, wood hibiscus, camellia, begonia, daffodil, camellia, plum blossom, etc. Lu Zhi wrote at the end of the volume: "The ancients are cloudy, and there is no way to learn without being quiet." The matter of pen research is also learned at one end, so every time it is happy to be served, it should be stopped. In the summer of the first day, sitting on the rainy mountain fast, drenching the waves and following the day, drinking behind closed doors, feeling quite self-comfortable, unfolding the scroll and taking advantage of the excitement, regardless of the shadow, intricately written, but also quiet in the ear. Wuren Luzhi Ji", 钤 "Qiyun Shanren", "Lu Zhongzi Clan" and "Qinglian Baishi Mountain House Book", each paragraph is divided into "Lotus Stone Zhai", "Lu Shengyin", "Dazhi", "Yunbai Shanqing", "Luzhi", "Luzihua", "Wuzhongren" and "Pond Spring Grass". "Bingchen" is the thirty-fifth year of Ming Jiajing (1556). At the end of the volume, Qianlong (1711-1799) inscribed: "This volume is silky and smooth, the color rhymes and rhymes, and it is an old man's famous pen." Each of the various lines of small poems, at first thought to be Lu Zhi's work, and reading the "Qunfang Spectrum", then "Okra" is a poem by Chen Chun. Because of the re-examination of the pictorial score and the short biography of Ming poetry, neither of them has said anything about zhineng poetry, and Yun Chun once carved a collection, which rhymes in the volume, and only with the inscription Geng Yong does not have to ask whose poetry came from. Ding Hai Chun Ri Imperial Inscription and Knowledge", and copied twenty-two poems. "Ding Hai" is the thirty-second year of Qianlong (1767). From the inscription and the poem, it can be seen that this volume is the same as Lu Zhi's "Hundred Flowers Scroll" in the aforementioned Qianlong imperial poem.
The Shiqu Baodi Continuation, Prudential Siyong also includes Lu Zhi's Twenty-Four Flower Trade Wind Scrolls: "Twenty-four kinds of flowers in color paintings, with sub-titles (seal books)". Its twenty-four kinds of flowers are plum blossoms, camellias, daffodils, Ruixiang, orchids, mountain fans, Yingchun, cherry, Wangchun, jasmine, apricot blossoms, plum blossoms, peach blossoms, begonias, begonias, pear blossoms, magnolias, tung flowers, wheat flowers, willow flowers, peonies, dizhi, neem flowers, and self-knowledge: "Right seasonal twenty-four flowers trade winds, the beginning of a small cold, the end of the valley rain." Yu every spring, leftovers this move, drawing inscription poems, in order to dispel happiness. Nai Hui wood is uneven, the opening and falling are also different, all kinds of imitations, quite laborious to think. Sui'er was suspended, and it became a sign of obsolescence. Jiajing Bingchen, from spring to autumn, casually look at things to peek into the wonders of creation. The branches of the news distinguish the leaves, the shadows obey, the sudden rain and the dynasty, the pen research and vitality, the writing of the xingman, the continuation of the former alliance, the absence of doubts, the viewer does not slander, the Eastern Wu QiYun Lu Zhi ji". It can be seen from this that drawing the volume of "Hundred Flowers Map" has become the norm in Lu Zhi's artistic life.
In addition to the volume "Hundred Flowers", in the calligraphy and painting bibliography of the Ming and Qing dynasties, other flower paintings of Lu Zhi can also be seen, such as "Coral Net" bibliography of his "Six Axes of Flower Feathers", "Pei Wen Zhai Calligraphy and Painting Notation" of his "Six Axes of Flower Feathers", "Shigutang Calligraphy and Painting Hui kao" of his "Six Axes of Flower Feathers", "Records of Tianshui Icebergs" and Hu Jitang's "Records of Paintings and Calligraphy of Bi Xiaoxuan", which also recorded his "Six Axes of Flower Feathers" and "Flowers with Color folded branches" respectively. Lu Shihua (1724-1789) of the Qing Dynasty also wrote his "White Lotus Vertical Axis" in the "Records of Paintings and Calligraphy Seen by Wu Yue" in the Thirty-fifth Year of Ming Jiajing (1556), and called it "Fengshen Nickname", reflecting Lu Zhi's painting mode outside the "Hundred Flowers Map" volume. Among the works passed down, Lu Zhi also has a small number of flower paintings such as fans and vertical shafts, but in terms of artistic style, they are not as exquisite as the "Hundred Flowers Diagram" volume.
Figure 3 (Southern Song Dynasty) Anon. "Hundred Flowers" volume, ink and pencil on paper,
31.5cmx1679.5cm, collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing
III. The Historical Significance of Lu Zhi's Hundred Flowers Volume
The Hundred Flowers Scroll appeared at least in the Song Dynasty. Song Wuqian's "Hundred Flowers" volume (beijing Palace Museum collection) and Yang Jieyu's "Hundred Flowers Map" volume (Jilin Provincial Museum collection) are the earliest such theme paintings seen so far, and their style of painting focuses on the neat and beautiful road. Calligraphy and painting expert Xie Zhiliu (1910-1997) said that the Song Wuqian "Hundred Flowers Diagram" volume "describes the four seasons of flowers, fine and dense, is a silhouette and boneless shape", while Lu Zhi's two "Hundred Flowers" volume happens to have both outline and boneless styles, and both are painting four seasons of flowers, which can be called the inheritance of the painting mode of the Hundred Flowers Scroll since the Song Dynasty. Painters who were roughly at the same time as Lu Zhi also had many works of this kind passed down, such as Wang Suixiang's (1501-1568) "Flowers" volume (Shanghai Museum collection) and "Flowers" volume (Guangzhou Art Museum collection), Xu Wei's "Flowers" volume (Shanghai Museum collection), Zhu Liangzuo's "Flowers" volume (Guangdong Provincial Museum collection), Shen Shi's "Flowers" volume (Guangdong Provincial Museum collection), Sun Kehong's "Hundred Flowers" volume (Beijing Palace Museum collection), "Flowers" volume (Shanghai Museum collection), "Flowers" volume (Shanghai Museum collection), "Flowers" Volumes (Guangdong Provincial Museum Collection), Yun Window Qing Play Map Volume (Capital Museum Collection) and Four Seasons Flowers Volume (Guangzhou Art Museum Collection), Zhou Zhimian's Hundred Flowers Tu Tu Volume (Beijing Palace Museum Collection), Qunying Tuxiu Tu Hundred Flowers Scroll (Beijing Municipal Cultural Relics Store Collection), Chen Li's Sketch Game Diagram Volume (Beijing Palace Museum Collection), Flower Volume (Han Shineng inscription poem, Tianjin Museum collection), Zhao Bei's Flower Volume (Guangdong Provincial Museum Collection), Flowers Volume (Shanghai Museum Collection), Four Seasons Flower Map Volume (Capital Museum Collection), Qi Xun's Flower Scroll (Nanjing Museum Collection), Wang Zhongzhong's Flower Diagram Volume (Beijing Palace Museum Collection), Huang Ji's Folded Branches Flower Volume (Liaoning Provincial Museum Collection), Hu Qin's "Folded Branches and Flowers" volume (Tianjin Museum collection), Tan Xuan's "Flowers" volume (Tianjin Museum collection), and Zhang Chong's "Hundred Flowers" volume (Nanjing Museum collection) and so on. These scrolls, both freehand and brushwork, are in the same vein as the Paradigm of the Hundred Flowers Diagram of the Song Dynasty in terms of technique and theme. It is not difficult to see that, including Lu Zhi's two "Hundred Flowers Diagram" volumes, the Ming Dynasty's Hundred Flowers Pattern has developed and flourished unprecedentedly, and most of its painting styles have followed the tradition of the Song Dynasty. (Figure 3)
In addition to the above two volumes of the Hundred Flowers With The Year, there is also a banner of the Jingting Tu (井亭圖) written in the forty years of Ming Jiajing (1561). According to this, Lu Zhi's chronological works are concentrated between the thirty-fifth year (1556) and forty years (1561) of Ming Jiajing. Among the many chronicled Volumes of the Ming Dynasty's Hundred Flowers, Chen Chunzhi's paintings were made in the sixteenth year of Ming Jiajing (1537), seventeen years (1538) and nineteenth years (1540), Chen Lizhi's paintings were in the thirty-second year of Ming Jiajing (1553), Wang Suixiang's paintings were made in the twentieth year of Ming Jiajing (1541) and thirty-four years (1555), Shen Shizhi's paintings were made in ming Jiajing thirty-seven years (1558), and Qi Xun's paintings were painted in the fourth year of Ming Longqing (1570). Sun Kehong's paintings were painted in the sixth year of Ming Longqing (1572), the thirteenth year of the Wanli calendar (1585) and the twenty-ninth year (1601), Zhu Liangzuo's paintings were painted in the eleventh year of the Ming Wanli calendar (1583), Xu Weizhi's paintings were painted in the 20th year of the Ming Wanli calendar (1592), and Zhou Zhimian's paintings were made in the 27th year of the Ming Wanli calendar (1599), 29th year (1601) and 30th year (1602), and chen zun and Zhao Beizhi's paintings were both made in the 40th year of the Ming Wanli calendar (1612). Hu Qinzhi's paintings were in the fourth year of Ming Chongzhen (1631), Tan Xuanzhi's paintings were in the ninth year of Ming Chongzhen (1636), Huang Ji's paintings were in the eleventh year of Ming Chongzhen (1638), and Zhang Chong's paintings were in the fourteenth year of Ming Chongzhen (1641), all of which were concentrated in the period from Ming Jiajing to Chongzhen. Therefore, most of the Ming Dynasty's Hundred Flowers Scroll model works are concentrated in the late Ming Dynasty, and Lu Zhi's two chronicled "Hundred Flowers Map" volumes are the epitome of them. Interestingly, in the history of Ming Dynasty painting, the Hundred Flowers Scroll of the middle and early Ming Dynasty has not yet been found, and this discovery will undoubtedly play a supporting role in the identification of calligraphy and painting. If in the future appraisal of calligraphy and painting, the volume of the Hundred Flowers Figure is found to be in the early or middle Ming Dynasty, it should be paid special attention to, and it is very likely to be a fake.
In the Qing Dynasty, the works of the Hundred Flowers Scroll pattern continued to develop. According to incomplete statistics, the surviving works include Yun Shouping's (1633-1690) "Hundred Flowers" volume (new York Metropolitan Museum collection), Jiang Tingxi's (1669-1732) "Imitation of Yuanren Flowers" volume (Capital Museum collection), Gao Fenghan's (1683-1749) "Flowers" volume (Tianjin Museum collection), Li Kun 's (1686-1756) "Flowers" volume (Tianjin Museum collection) and "Flowers" volume (Guangdong Provincial Museum collection), Zou Yigui (1686- 1772" volume of "Hundred Flowers" (two pieces, both in the National Museum of China), Li Fangyi (1695-1755) "Flowers" volume (Tianjin Museum collection), Qian Weicheng (1720-1772) "All The Same Spring" volume (Collection of The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA), Xiong Jingxing (1791-1856) "Hundred Flowers" volume (Tsinghua University Art Museum collection), Zhang Sheng's "Folded Branches and Flowers" volume (Tianjin Museum collection), Zhang Naiqi's "Folded Branches and Flowers" Volumes (Tianjin Museum collection), Yu Song's "Hundred Flowers Map" volume (Jingjiatang collection, Japan), Mao Zhou's "Hundred Flowers Map" volume (Nanjing Museum collection), Zhou Xian's "Hundred Flowers Map" volume ("Flower and Fruit Map", Tianjin Museum collection), Song Guangbao's "Hundred Flowers Map" volume (Beijing Palace Museum collection), Ju Lian's (1828-1904) "Tiancheng Hundred Flavor Map" volume (Guangdong Provincial Museum collection), etc. From the chronological point of view, it covers the various periods from the beginning of the Qing Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty, which lasted for more than 200 years. Judging from the number of works passed down from generation to generation, it is inseparable from the Ming Dynasty. From the perspective of painting style, it is dominated by boneless flowers, which basically represents the "Changzhou School" style dominated by Yun Shouping. Therefore, it can be said that the Qing Dynasty Hundred Flowers Picture Scroll Model is a reform and innovation based on the Continuation of the Late Ming Dynasty Hundred Flowers Picture Scroll Model.
In the development and evolution of the hundred flowers picture scroll painting style in the past thousand years, the Ming Dynasty flower picture scroll represented by Lu Zhi's "Hundred Flowers Picture" volume is not only the epitome of the Ming Dynasty brush flowers and small freehand coloring flowers, but also becomes the inheritance of this theme in the history of painting.
Figure 4 (Qing) Fang Shishu "Chestnut Diagram" axis, color on paper,
115cmx52cm, collection of Tianjin Museum
Fourth, the aftermath
Whether from the perspective of handed down works or influence on future generations, Lu Zhi belongs to the object of less attention in the history of Ming Dynasty painting. But even such a "hermit" in the history of painting has left traces of influence on others in the present or later generations. Xu Qin's "Ming Painting Record" of the Ming Dynasty records that "Zhu Mou gua, the character Xiang Ji, Nanchang people, the son of Sun Duozhao, the king of Yiyang, the flower stone painted by Lu Qiyun", it can be seen that Lu Zhi's flower stone has a certain influence in the Ming Dynasty painting world. Fang Ruiyi of the Qing Dynasty wrote in his "Dream Garden Calligraphy and Painting Record" Fang Shishu's "Flowers": "The little master and the old man imitate the Luzhi painting method". Among his flower and bird paintings, there are the "Calamus Diagram" axis, the "Dragon Boat Festival" axis (above Shenyang Palace Museum Collection), the "Centennial Peach Shou Tu" axis( "Jade Hairpin Flower" fan (tianjin museum collection above), "Duanyang Jingtu" axis (Anhui Museum collection), "Lotus Flower Diagram" axis (Hangzhou Museum collection) and so on. From the axis of the author's "Chestnut Diagram", it can be seen that Fang Shishu's flowers are relatively rugged, which is in stark contrast with Lu Zhi's painting style. However, in the painting, the flowers in the potted plants used as a background can find traces of LuZhi, which shows that Fang Shishu has changed his method on the basis of Shifa Luzhi. (Figure 4)
Qian Zai of the Qing Dynasty (1708-1793) has a poem entitled "Title Lu Zhi Chun Man Jiangnan Scroll": "Eastern Wu small strokes count qi clouds, wind dew branches and branches are combined and divided." If you see Baiyang and unitary room, spring tour Lian Ji Ding Hujun", "Qiyun" is Lu Zhi, "unitary room" is Jiang Tingxi, Qian Zai compared Lu Zhi with Chen Chun of the Ming Dynasty and Jiang Tingxi of the Qing Dynasty, which shows that in the vision of the Qing people, Lu Zhi's status was not inferior to other flower and bird painters of the same period. Both Fang Shishu and Qian Zai were painters active in the Kang, Yong, and Qian periods of the Qing Dynasty, which can be seen from one side, at least in the Kang, Yong, and Qian periods of the Qing Dynasty, Lu Zhi and his art received attention in the mainstream painting world. Unfortunately, the literature on Lu Zhi is scarce, and there are very few works passed down, so he has gradually faded out of the field of painting history. Today, through its two volumes of "Hundred Flowers", you may be able to get a glimpse of his artistic style.
The original article was published in Art Quest, No. 4, 2021, and is excerpted here