(1978) murck ~ wang shih-shen's

8/6/2019 (1978) Murck ~ Wang Shih-shen's

1/30

!"#$%&'(')*'+#,*%-.*/(#$%012%%!"4+2-5%62(784+*%41%"%6+"%92(#/+2.84'12:*;5%.8*+8A&4"7


2/30

Wang Shih-shen'sAsking for Snow WaterTributes to a Tea Drinker

Alfreda MurckA painting by Wang Shih-shen entitled Asking or SnowWater,which is a promised gift to the Princeton Univer-sity Art Museum, is an artistic, literary, and socialmonument of a kind unique to China. In a pattern longbeloved in the Chinese tradition, it shows the com-plementary relationships that exist among painting, cal-ligraphy, and poetry. Eleven literati embellished thepainting with reflective poems and comments (see guideto inscriptions). The intertwined lives of these men andthe evolution of the document make a fascinating story.For whom was the painting intended? Who is thefigure and what is being carried? What prompted thenumerous inscriptions? The story unfolds through theinscriptions. In the first, the artist makes a plea to hisfriend Chiao Wu-tou for water melted from snow. Welearn that it was for Chiao that Wang painted Asking orSnow Water, hat the figure is a young servant carrying acrock of water to Wang, and that the mist clouding thethatched house is steam billowing from Wang's teabrazier.Landscapes are exceedingly rare in Wang Shih-shen'soeuvre of predominantly plum paintings. Moreover,the high quality of this one testifies to Wang's ability asa landscape painter. The composition is apparently sim-ple yet precisely structured:from the hillside at the rightone's eye is guided along the path to the figure then onto the confines of the enclosure, the focal point of thepainting. This strong movement to the left is counteredby a series of black accents moving in measured stepsfrom the lower left to the upper right, paralleling thewattle fence. The tall trees with contrasting foliage pro-vide a stable vertical foil at the intersection of thesediagonals. The bamboo, boulders, and trees screen ourview of the steamy courtyard, lending it an aura of se-clusion. Varied textures are given to the foliage, rollinghills, rocks, and rustic architecture by the artist's use ofMy sincere hanksto Chiang I-han or aid in transcribingnscriptions,oT'ang Hai-t'ao or help with translation roblems,and to Prof. WenC.Fong, JeannetteMirsky, and ChristianMurckor reading he manuscriptand offeringmany constructiveuggestions.I gratefullyacknowledge hatthis articlewas writtenwhile I was a recipientof the LouiseM. HackneyFellowship or thestudyof Chinesepainting.

i. The painting is published in Shen-chouTa-kuan,6 vols. (Shang-hai, 1912-14), vol. 6, and mentioned in Osvald Siren, ChinesePaint-ing: Leading Mastersand Principles, 7 vols. (London: Lund Hum-phries, 1956-58), 5, p. 244.2

rich black ink, ranging from moist to dry. The crispldelineated forms stand out against soft billows of steamthat roll from the gate and rise from the courtyard. Thapparent spontaneity of the drawing gives the paintinglighthearted charm, made possible by Wang's confidencommand of conventional forms, brush techniquesink values, and compositional methods, all of whichwere available to the cultivated Chinese artist of theighteenth century.Complementary integration of painting and calligraphy is an important feature of Askingfor Snow WateIn the lively, assured brushwork of the painting one casee similarities to Wang's firm calligraphicstyle: the tretrunks, for instance, are drawn in modulated brushstrokes punctuated with inky blobs suggesting gnarlebark and, at the same time, echoing the formal qualitieof the calligraphic line. The form, placement, and content of the inscription below must have been carefullconsidered during the creation of the painting, for it perfectly balances and enhances the pictorial elements. Thlines of calligraphy, which seem to support the sceneform an irregular mass that fits into a space defined bwash and dots. The weight of this calligraphicblock seto the lower right balances the preponderance of visuaforms rising to the left. Wang painted the scene, inscribed his thirsty message below, then sent the paintinoff to Chiao, probably unmounted, reserving a generous space above for future inscriptions.When Wang painted and inscribed Askingfor SnowWater n the autumn of 1740, Yangchou was a flourishing economic and cultural center. Its location (see mapin the agriculturallyrich Yangtze delta and on the GranCanal made Yangchou a major center for trade. It wathe headquartersfor the largest of the salt monopolies,commodity essential to a rice diet. Government bureauregulated the salt trade through private merchants designated to supervise production and distribution, bringing these important merchants fabulous wealth. Becausthey lacked both control over their enterprise and opportunity to reinvest their funds productively, the samerchant families of Yangchou dissipated their fortunes, often in startling and ostentatious ways.2

2. See Ho Ping-ti, "The Salt Merchants of Yangchou: Commercial Capitalism in Eighteenth-Century China," HarvardJournalAsian Studies, 17 (I954), pp. 130-68.


3/30

t-%

~~~i-~~~~~--75

a

*i J ,X

I ,$

: .7.. . ' M1* . -. 'ry .@ ; s.B . ^ - ^^ .:-.-

I $ '.C iflFf'I* ifwi

. -

N .

!14%.. 11% a a

.-

_ .. A

4

^..s

. -Ao,.,


4/30

Wang Shih-shen, Chinese, I686-1759: Asking or Snow WaterI740. Inkon paper,hangingscroll; 28.2 x 62.8 cm. The ArMuseum, Princeton University, anonymous loan (L244.70).Mapof the Yangchouarea n the I8th century

'Js*'

* i* I

.4 tS*.s.toI

ft ?

The less imaginative merchants competed in ex-travagant displays at weddings and funerals, a traditional form of conspicuous consumption, but therwere others who innovated. One, wishing to spend tenthousand taels in a single day, cast gold foils from atower atop Golden Hill from whence they scattereamong trees and grasses, never to be recoveredAnother craved beauty, not only for the things of hihousehold but for his staff too. And another doted uponugly people, prompting one applicant to his service tosmear his face with soy sauce and sit in the sun to insurhis ugliness.3 Against this vulgar background, somewealthy salt merchants sought social prestige through3. Ibid., pp.I 55-56.


5/30

Guide to inscriptions

buying official titles and patronizing art and poetry in aself-consciously refined, yet grand manner. Their gen-erous patronage attracted artists to the city, enhancingYangchou's traditional commercial life with new cul-tural vitality.Of the many painters benefiting from the culturalflorescence in Yangchou, some exceptional talentsemerged to be called the Eight Eccentrics of Yangchou.Such numbered groupings are popular in Chinese his-torical writing; in this case the term does not indicate acohesive school of painters following a common masteror homogenous style. Rather, the innumeration is inrecognition of the artists' outstanding abilities, innova-tive styles, and fame beyond Yangchou, the city withwhich all their careerswere associated. The list of EightEccentrics varies, but the following painters who figurein our story areusually included: Wang Shih-shen, ChinNung, Lo P'ing, Cheng Hsieh, and Kao Hsiang.Wang was born in I686 in Hsi-hsien, Anwei prov-ince. Like so many other aspiring artists and poets of hisday, he was drawn to Yangchou by its flourishing eco-nomic and cultural life. When he arrived in the city, atabout the age of thirty, he lived at the Little TranslucentMountain Cottage [Hsiao-ling lung shan-kuan], whichwas the guest house of the wealthy salt merchants MaYuiieh-kuanand Ma Yiieh-lu. Good poets in their ownright, the Ma brothers were among the most generouspatrons of the arts in Yangchou, augmenting their eco-nomic success with social status of the most admiredsort: cultural sophistication. The Han River RecitationSociety, a poetry club they sponsored, met at the guesthouse; thus Wang was immediately introduced to anumber of the leading artistic and literary figures of thecity. How long Wang lived at the Little TranslucentMountain Cottage is not clear, but in 1744 he moved toa recently purchased house at a corner of the Yangchoucity wall, the first residence of his own for which thereis a record.4

4. On this occasion, Wang Shih-shen painted ChangingMy Resi-dence,which was inscribed by Li 0, a prominent poet of the city. SeeFan-hsiehshanfang-chi, chiian 8 (Kuo hsiieh chi-pen ts'ung-shu edi-tion, Taipei: Commercial Press, I968), no. I92, p. I66. Wang wasfurther congratulated on his new home in a poem by Chin Nung.See Ku Lin-wen, YangchouPa-chia Shih-liao (Shanghai: Jen-min-mei-shu, I962), p. 2.


6/30

i. Wang Shih-shen's poem requesting water.Inscribedin October 1740.

*,... . ' -*.',.*. . .

r;.:;' ' ' " 'A' . * ... * ^ .

'

3. j:

^^

A?,, - ...~.. ".

,^^A~. t..:;

..- ,: ' -:' . :. ..* ...H- -.* ..

,- ^* -

^' ^ } 4 ^.. ..

,':: .~.


7/30

There were two great preoccupations in Wang's life:tea and plum blossoms. Tea, which was originally con-sidered a medicinal herb, was taken as a beverage asearly as the second century A.D. Its rise in popularity inthe T'ang dynasty (618-906) is evident from the surpris-ingly large number of T'ang treatises on tea and its in-creasingly frequent mention in poetry. By Wang Shih-shen's day, tea was a long-established part of Chinesesociety. Plum blossoms served as a subject for Chinesepainters from the eleventh century onward. Becauseplum blossoms appear on seemingly dead trees in latewinter, when the ground is still covered with snow, theplum tree came to embody ideals of steadfastness andrevitalization. As with landscape, plum blossoms couldserve as a point of communion with nature, but unlikerelatively immutable landscape forms, the fragility andalmost painful transience of the plum served as apoignant symbol of ephemeral life. Endlessly varied inpatterns and configurations, plums were cultivated ingardens, sought out in wild mountain reaches, and en-joyed in sunlight, moonlight, and lamplight.Wang was not extraordinary in his enjoyment ofplum blossoms nor in his connoisseurship of tea, but forhim these pleasures were raised to a passionate obses-sion. He freely acknowledged his double addiction in apoem written in 1746, on his sixtieth birthday:

Sixty years o thebeginning fthecycle: heping-yin yearagain,FormanyyearsI have lived in virtuouspoverty;Leisurelydesirefora bowlof teahas become n honestaddiction,For a longwhile I haveconsideredheplum mygreatfriend.5Although Wang's fame as a painter rests on his morecommon, freely sketched plum blossom designs,6 it washis addiction to tea that prompted him to paint Askingfor Snow Water. His first inscription, written in eleven

5. Wang Shih-shen,Ch'ao-lin-chi,833 reprintof original1744edition,chiian5:13a-b; copy of this rarework is in the Library fCongress,Washington,D.C. Translations mine,as are allthat fol-low.6. TsurudaTakeyoshiand Yonezawa Yoshiro, Hachidai anjinYoshuhachikai,ditedby Tanaka chimatsu nd YonezawaYoshiro,Suibokubijutsu aikei, I I vols. (Tokyo: Kodansha, 1975), II, pl. 87.

lines of varying length below the scene, gently hints thaa gift of water would be welcomed (inscription I):The year keng-shen,autumn, the ninth month[October 1740], on presenting to Master Wu-tou fohis collection a poem called "Snow Water" and alighthearted picture to make him smile:A pureandleisurely ardencourt,a moonlitgate,Brushing hetrees,tea steamresemblesnkstains;If I weretoget teeth-chillingwatergatheredby a mountahousehold,My cloud-coveredot wouldechoall nightwith its icysoulAt Blue Fir Studio [Ch'ing-shan shu-wu], casuallymadeby thestudentShih-shen.Chin-jen [oval intaglio seal].7

It was a common belief thatexceedingly cold water wabest for making tea and wine. The water that Wang requested was not only icy cold, but also made fromfreshly fallen snow and so judged especially pure.Leaving the top half of the sheet of paper empty wasurely Wang's invitation to his friend Chiao Wu-tou tappend a comment. Instead, Chiao returned the painting with the gift of water, and shortly thereafterWanadded the six-line acknowledgment at the top, with thcharacters for west wind [hsi-feng]reaching down as to buffet the fernlike treetops (inscription 2):

As Master Wu-tou has kindly sent snow water, Ihavcomposed another poem in thanks for his elegant giftSubmitted for his criticism, six days after Ch'ungYang, written at my humble abode:My good riendto thesouth with a mindof sensitivityandgoodness,Has bestowed n meImmortals'eawater;A westerlybreezeover thewattleence, waftingteasteamSitting myselfbefore he bamboo razier,listening o itsmusic;Blue ir, whitemoon,my emptystudio s secluded,7. Wang, Ch'ao-lin-chi, chiian 3:8a. Unless otherwise indicatethe seals belong to the inscribers whose words are translated. BluFir Studio was the name of Wang Shih-shen's library. For a poemaddressedto Chin Nung, in which Wang notes that the old fir growing in front of his libraryhas fallen in a wind, see idem, chiian 7:7b8a.Dates for inscriptions are given in accordance with the Westercalendar.


8/30

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.:-:.:.~,

P~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a7

? ~~~~ri:? C??.'

4.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~u. " .. 'i.-?

I,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

?'... ... . .

W.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.J

#14 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~r

~~~~~.g.~ ~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~14

?~~ '""'r

Vt,,

"'~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~4

+~~~~~~~~~~

a.~ * - ~

?.: : ?~'(b.' 5?-: . . ...

t ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"~~~~~~-.. -1

~~?, ..~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~--'5? 4??~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~;j~~~~. . . .qE*,.;. . : _c.:: .', ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Y-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.;sP

?" '.""...... "' i ~':-.

?+ .?.

:.? ? .... ..

..'?: ' ~%,.:., . ,.'??a"" ~"'~;'; :i "" '?~I?:t~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~s~~~~~~, .... :..I~.;" . .. .~i-' ".':.' %~~~~~~~~..~,,::,':.......'~~;,,.,.-'." ....:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~?

r: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .:~I~? ' , ~~~~~?. - ,lli~~~?i~ :?.a,:..i .?......??'. '. .~".'~'"~ ?e:~' .' i,j,. ?.i .: :" ~ i....? ?..: - , ..,?F~'Sil;' ???? ?~:~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~9IC"ll '::'. .~~?--.I iP~~~~~~~~';~':.?. ._ .?j..~.? ;, .;. .6?r~~~~ ~ ~ ~~~~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~..:,??:,~?4~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~:, ?q~. .',",~;,.....",-, ~ ~ ~ ,,';:.,":.'i.~''i?, r

:.. ?;4'. ., . .-::..'-~..-:..,,. ......~. .-? ...: .,?',:?,r ?: ?I ? ?~~~'(".~. ,~" :'r." :P ~.?:???r~~~~~~~~~~~~ I .... .~, ":i,,,t~ ~ ~,i '~??

i'~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~;- :!"~ .,~~~'~.~?,.:..:~;",i-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~?''..

~~~~~~~,t i :? .:.!1. .. :..?...'??'~~~*:~~~~~?:-~~~:~~El~~~,?~~~;:?,'';..r, ' . ' . ?" ,..~~~..:. I:i.? 4EE L~~~~...."~.,. , i? ;'~:;;": .: ' " a4 ',;.. ' ' ~,"J..~., ',. ,.'?,

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~...:. .-?:

..r Pt:.~?::+-. .*? ...''~1,~:~.?:"?' ??!:~i~ ~. . . ,,? :.s , . . .(r.L "? ;,, :' , ..? , ,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~::

A S

??~~~~~ ~~~-.U9; ;,a:P-~- *;:? . .?

?:~~~~~~~~tai4tL~t:? r

:?4~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~s'k R


9/30

2. WangShih-shen'spoem acknowledging he gift of water.Inscribed on November 4, I740.

A brimming owloffragrantbrightness,Yang-hsienautumn ea!I chant hrough henightinpuretranquility.

Ch'ao-lin.Chin-jen WangShih-shen [squareintaglio seal].8

Wang mentions that the poem was submitted afterCh'ung Yang, which means literally double Yang, andis the ninth day of the ninth month. On Ch'ung Yang,people climb to a high spot ostensibly to ward off di-saster, but more importantly to enjoy the company offriends in drinking, eating cakes, and reciting poetry.9Wang's inscription dates to the fifteenth of the ninthmonth, the evening of a full moon, which correspondsto November 4, 1740, in the Western calendar.Without Asking for Snow Water, Chiao Wu-tou(168os-after 1760) would be little more than a name thatoccurs sporadically in eighteenth-century poems anddiaries. The scroll provides the major biographicaldocument for identifying Chiao's place within theYangchou circle. Chiao was a native of Tan-tu, insouthern Kiangsu province, about twenty-seven kilo-meters due south of Yangchou. But because he was ac-tive in Yangchou cultural life, Chiao may have taken upresidence closer to that city. As indicated in Wang's*poem,he lived on a mountain somewhere south of thecity; perhaps at Mount Chiao, which is the same charac-ter as his surname and is situated south of Yangchou onthe northern bank of the Yangtze. Chiao's only re-corded literary work takes its title from the name of thatmountain.10 Chiao (see detail of Lo P'ing portrait) wasknown for his filial behavior and led a retiring life. Henever earned a degree or held office, but he wrote poetryand seems to have been well educated.

8. Ibid., chiian 3:7b.9. See Tung Li-ch'en, Annual Customsand Festivals n Peking, trans-

lated and annotated by Derk Bodde (Hong Kong: Hong Kong Uni-versity Press, I965), p. 69.io. The work, entitled Chin Chiao-shan erh chih and edited byChiao Wu-tou's son, is no longer extant. Chung-hsiu YangchouFu-chih of I8Io quotes a Chia-ching era (1521-66) gazetteer which men-tions that the mountain took its name from the Chiao family wholived at its foot. Brief biographical information on Chiao is in LiTou, YangchouHua-fang lu (1765; reprint edition, Peking: Chung-hua, 1960), chiian 10, p. 233.

Although his literary works do not survive andespite the paucity of information about him, ChiaWu-tou was fairly well known within Yangchou paining and poetry circles. In inscription 4, discussed lateChin Nung refers to Chiao as "my old friend" and indcates that Chiao and Wang were members of the samsociety [t'ung-she].The society may have been a literargroup, like the Han River Recitation Society sponsoreby the Ma family. Or, given Wang's and Chiaomutual enthusiasm for tea, it may have been a tea socety, like the Chen-hsien River Village Tea Society twhich Cheng Hsieh, who wrote inscription 5, belonged.11 Wang's collected poems contain several refeences to Chiao, most of them describing outings together to scenic spots, often in the company of thpainter Kao Hsiang (i686-ca. 1753).12The prominent Yangchou painter, calligrapher, anpoet Cheng Hsieh also knew the reclusive Chiao. It through Cheng that Chiao's age can be inferred. On onoccasion when Cheng wanted to borrow a robe, he senChiao the following letter in which he politely dispaages one of his own paintings:

This morning I dispatched a servant to present to youone scroll of ink orchids. I suspect that it has alreadbeen submitted for inspection. I beg your instructioand criticism. It is, however, only something to bepasted upon the wall, not sufficient to reach theappreciationof lofty men.Wang Hsi-san's family is holding funeral rites. I amto greet the guests and still need a white-lined outerrobe. I entreatyou to send over the long-sleeved linerobe that I borrowed last year. I'll returnit as soon asI'm finished.When the snow has cleared, we must plan to have happy gathering.DisciplePan-ch'iao,ChengHsieh bowingbefore lderbrotherWu-tou,with affection.13ii. Cheng Hsieh, ChengPan-ch'iaohi (Shanghai:Chung-huI965),pp.5-6.I2. Inadditiono thetwo poems n inscriptionsand2 on tscroll, eeWang,Ch'ao-lin-chi,hiian :Ia-b; :2b; :13a; :2a; :413.For he etter,nowinthecollection f theShanghaiMuniciMuseum,seeCheng,ChengPan'ch-iaohi,p. 201.


10/30

Lo P'ing, Chinese, 1733-99: Chiao Wu-touat His CountryCottage.Ink and colors on paper, album leaf mounted ashanging scroll; 38 x 46 cm. The Art Museum, PrincetonUniversity, gift of Prof. Wen C. Fong, Class of I95I, andMrs. Fong (78-43).

~~~~~"~ 0

IO


11/30

Detail of Lo P'ing's Chiao Wu-touat His Country Cottage,showing Chiao Wu-tou.

Even making allowance for the polite language conven-tional to a letter of supplication, Cheng's form ofaddress and signature indicate that he was writing tosomeone his senior. Being a little older than ChengHsieh, who was born in I693, would make Chiao aboutthe same age as Wang Shih-shen, who was born in 1686.Chiao's advanced years made his friendship with LoP'ing (1733-99), another outstanding Yangchou poet-painter, unlikely. Nonetheless, two poems and a paint-ing attest to his friendship with Lo, the youngest of theso-called Eight Yangchou Eccentrics. Upon sendingChiao off on a journey, Lo wrote:

Seeing you off to Ch'u darkensmy spirit,The thousand mile Yangtze, waves like silver;As always, Mount Ch'u's greenfills the eyes,Who will sympathize that you are a white-haired man?14Given the vagaries of travel in traditional China, a jour-ney often meant a long separation and uncertain re-union. The parting became an occasion to have a lastmeal together and to exchange poems. This poem, writ-ten on such an occasion, expresses Lo's sadness at hisfriend's departure and concern for the elderly Chiao'ssafety on his journey.

Lo's second poem to Chiao is inscribed on a portraitthat Lo painted of Chiao seated in the small garden of acountry cottage. The large album leaf, which is nowmounted as a hanging scroll, is a recent gift to thePrinceton University Art Museum. Lo's inscription tellsof Chiao's leisurely life of reclusion (perhaps somewhatidealized) and alludes to his ability as a poet:

Dreaming, I shift on my pillow and bamboomat,Still audible: the lingering resonanceof a temple bell;Suddenly I recall my goodfriend, the recluse Chiao,Shutting out the world, sitting amid dew, gazing at the

morning glories.On my pillow I haphazardly completed this [poem]to send to the poetry master Wu-tou, and arising atdawn drew a picture to solicit his instruction.Lo P'ing.Liang-feng hua-chi [square intaglio seal].

14. Lo P'ing, Hsiang-yeh Ts'ao t'ang shih-ts'un (Shanghai: Chii chenfang Sung, 1918), p. 26.

WangChi-ch'ienhai wai chienmingchi [rectangularreliefcollector's seal].15The naive quality of this drawing suggests that it is relatively early work by Lo. Indeed, it would have to bsince Chiao, who was more than forty years Lo's seniorwas clearly still alive at the time.In rounding out Chiao's identity, it is interesting tconsider his unusual choice of hao [sobriquet ].16 Wu-tou

15. The poem is recorded in Li Chfin-chih ed., Ch'ing Hua-chishih-shih (n.p., 1930), ting, hsia, p. 12b.i6. Besides the name a person received at birth (ming), it was thpractice to take additional names as one matured. The tzu (courtename) was given to a young man by a relative or teacher when h

reached manhood. This name was thereafter used by others in adressing the person, the given name being used primarily by famiand intimates and by the person referring to himself. Hao is a generterm for studio names, pen names, sobriquets, pseudonyms, onicknames taken throughout a person's life as informal titles. Thewere often occasioned by turning points, such as success in examintions, a new residence, a revelation or enlightenment, retirement, oa personal tragedy. These hao might be chosen by oneself or sugested by another, but they always carriedpersonal significance. Ittherefore appropriate and revealing to consider the meaningChiao's hao.I


12/30

*asl a- 3SII r r p

4cAt!Ma~n

4*t

* aLA'."tI:

A

irsft,?

I's.-

hf.. WE

O

.'.L_!;f

I 'S 'i~~~~~~~~~N~~~~P ~ ~ ~ ~4~~' rI2

.t;. .

. '

A..,?

,.,i.

I

I:.. '" .. "? : ."'r..'l- .. .. - ..~ ~~~~I .-~' . -b..YJ".


13/30

3. Chiao Wu-tou'sthreepoemsmourning he loss of WangShih-shen. Inscribed from October 9 to November 7, I760.

meaning literally five pecks or five gallons (the tou was aunit measuring both dry and liquid volumes), carrieswith it two well-known associations that may haveappealed to Chiao. They are a prodigious drinkingcapacity (five gallons of wine) and the onerousness ofgovernment service (five pecks of rice, symbolic of agovernment stipend). Both associations were linked torecluses who disliked political restraints and sought pur-ity and independence.17To summarize, Chiao Wu-tou emerges as an eigh-teenth-century recluse. He was most likely born in thei68os. Living close to Yangchou, perhaps at MountChiao, he was a friend of Wang Shih-shen, ChengHsieh, Lo P'ing, and Kao Hsiang. He was a tea connois-seur, an accomplished poet, and a collector of, at least,the works of his Yangchou friends, for within their in-timate circle poems and paintings that would havebrought cash from wealthy collectors were freely ex-changed.

Wang Shih-shen died in I759, and it was perhaps thenthat Chiao had Asking for Snow Watermounted as ahanging scroll. Rather than write or affix seals on the17. The reference to drinking capacity comes from the early T'angpoet Wang Chi (590?-644), who earned the hao "Mr. Five Gallons"

(Wu-touHsien-sheng) by reputedly imbibing five gallons of winewithout becoming confused. A free spirit who disliked the respon-sibilities of office, Wang Chi nevertheless held several governmentposts. One of these was a deputy to an official named Chiao, whosefamily made excellent wine. When the winemakers died Wang Chimoaned, "Can heaven no longer supply me with exhilaratingdrink?" and resigned his post. Thereafter Wang Chi compiled a his-tory of winemaking and continued to enjoy drinking. In the case ofChiao Wu-tou, the five gallons may humorously refer to a quantityof tea rather than alcohol.The second association of wu-tou-that of onerous governmentservice-was formed by T'ao Ch'ien (365-427), the great poet-philosopher of the Tsin period (265-419). Having taken a govern-ment job to provide an income for his impoverished family, T'aoCh'ien soon felt himself compromised. The incident that promptedT'ao to resign was an inspection tour by a superintendent who wassent by the district office. A clerk explained to T'ao that he had towear a ceremonial girdle in order to attend an audience with the su-perintendent. T'ao sighed and said, "I will not bend my waist for thesake of five pecks [wu-tou]of rice and earnestly attend to the affairsofpetty men of the district" (see Chin Shu [Peking: Chung-hua, I974],chiian 94, p. 246I). T'ao resigned his position, left the county, andwrote "Returning Home," his famous rhapsody to humble butnoble poverty.

original painting, as was often done, Chiao added widpaper borders around the painting to carry inscriptionUndoubtedly recalling the conviviality of past Ch'unYang festivals, Chiao added a colophon at the lower le(inscription 3), exactly twenty years to the month afteWang's (inscriptions i and 2). Chiao's colophon contains three separatepoems set off by spaces in the calligraphy. The first poem speaks of the unbearable sadneof losing his noble friend. The second praises the qualitof Wang's painting and poems, and acknowledges thdifficulty of imitating his elegant style. The third describes what makes life bearable for Chiao after the losof his close friend: chanting poetry through the nighlong sleep (soundest in the spring with the soothing accompaniment of rain); and a good friend, a tea-lovinsubstitute for Wang. Chiao writes:

When wasin humble ircumstances,metonewhobecambothmy lasting riendandteacher,Claspingthe rozen snow to his breast,he hadthebearinof a wild crane;Whowould havethoughthispurespiritwouldgo to thegrave?Clouds and mistshavepassedmy eyes, andyet I cannotbear hethoughtof it!The expressionof thispaintingand eeling of thepoemsdeserve mmortality,Before he teabrazierbeneath he blue irI randomlyeek to ollow his elegant tyle-a vain dreamOne crockof spring ce, a blazing ire roars.Autumnthoughtsntonedwhile themoonsets behind heFir Studio,Soundsof rain,sleeppasses, it'sspringat thegrasshut;Of thosewho knowmy heart,there s still MasterP'ing-yuan,He is thesubstitutewho asks or waterandbrews ea.References toKuanHsi-ning [Chiao's note].Wu-tou,Chiao Shih-chi, inscribedt my humblehut, thedatekeng-ch'en, autumn,ninthmonth[November1760].Shih-chi [squareintaglio seal].Wu-touhsien-sheng square intaglio seal].

Kuan Hsi-ning, the substitute so precisely identifiein Chiao's note, was also a friend of Lo P'ing an1


14/30

4. ChinNung's colophonaboutWangandChiao'sfriendship. nscribed n October6, 176I.

Wang Shih-shen.18 According to Wang's poems, Wangpainted pictures for Kuan. They traveled together,enjoyed tea together, and exchanged gifts, includingspring water for tea.19 In 174I they collaborated withWu K'an on a butterfly and flower painting: on a rainysummer day Kuan painted the flowers and grasses, Wuthe butterflies, and Wang wrote the inscription.20Kuan held a minor official position, but retired due toconsumption and pursued his interests in history, paint-ing, and calligraphy. He painted figures in the style ofthe Sung court painter Ma Ho-chih, and his Odes of Pinscroll was said to be his finest achievement.21 Like manyof his contemporaries-most notably Chin Nung andCheng Hsieh (inscriptions 4 and 5)-he studied andpracticed ancient script styles.The next person to inscribe the scroll was Chin Nung(1687-1764), perhaps the most prominent of the EightEccentrics of Yangchou. His favorite painting subjectswere bamboo, plum blossoms, horses, and Buddhistfigures. Despite his large and original oeuvre, Chin wasprimarily an amateur painter and his accomplishmentsin painting were overshadowed by his activities as a cal-ligrapher, poet, collector, and bibliophile. After his wifedied, he lived alone in Yangchou and became increas-ingly involved in Buddhism.Chin's distinctive calligraphy is visually and artis-tically one of the most outstanding features of the scroll(inscription 4). Following a new scholarly interest in an-cient script types, Chin and his contemporaries collectedrubbings of early stone and bronze inscriptions, incor-porating elements of the ancient designs into theireveryday writing. Chin took as his model a style of cler-ical script like that found on a fourth-century stonestele.22 With tensely drawn brushstrokes, Chin Nung

i8. For a poem by Lo to Kuan Hsi-ning, see Lo P'ing, Hsiang-yehTs'aot'angshih-ts'un,p. 40b.I9. Wang, Ch'ao-lin-chi,chiian 2:7a;2: 5a; 3:2b; 3:5a;3:Ioa; 4:i6b;5:Ib; 5:13a.

20. Kuan Hsi-ning, Wu K'an, and Wang Shih-shen, Butterflies ndFlowers, ink and colors on paper, hanging scroll, 121.7 x 43 cm. TheArt Museum, Princeton University, anonymous loan (L323.70).21. Chen-chiin ed., Kuo Ch'ao Shu-jen chi liieh, 2 vols. (Taipei:

Wen-shih-che, 1971), I, p. 4; Li, Ch'ing Hua-chia shih-shih, wu-hsia,14.

22. For an excellent discussion of Chin Nung's style within the14


15/30

gave new esthetic expression to stylistic features-slant-ing entrances, even stroke widths, and right angles-which were largely a result of the original stonemedium. To create archaic square and horizontal com-positions, instead of the more typical vertical composi-tions of standard script, Chin elongated the horizontalsand shortened the verticals. His characters are denselyplaced in closely aligned columns so that the solid blockof script standing to the right of the painting resemblesan epitaph chiseled in stone.Chiao Wu-tou asked Chin to inscribe Askingfor SnowWaterone year after his own inscription when againChiao's thoughts undoubtedly centered on his deceasedfriend, Wang Shih-shen. Chin's colophon was writtenon the day of the Ch'ung Yang festival in 176I:

Ch'ao-lin, Mr. Wang, lived at a corner of theYangchou city wall. He enjoyed tea all day long in themanner of the Master Yii-ch'uan. Amid piles ofsuperior tea, he never feared the discomfort ofdrinking too much.A member of the same society, the gentlemanChiao Wu-tou, when winter was severe and snowwas deeply piled along the paths, had collected waterabundantly from heaven's own spring. Ch'ao-lintherefore composed a seven-character quatrainandmade this picture in order to request some [water]. Inthe picture, he sketched only a ramshackle hut ofseveral rooms, a sparse fence, young bamboo, andold trees. They all embody purity and a harmoniousatmosphere. Outside the gate a young servant,following his master's instructions, carries the bottleto be presented. In these circumstances, one canimagine the intimacy between the two old friends.It was signed in the keng-shenyear of theCh'ien-lung reign [1740]. Shortly after, Ch'ao-linlost his sight and called himself the Blind Man.Several years later Ch'ao-lin became an immortal.Now thinking back it is already more than twentyyears. Wu-tou has thought of his friend constantly.He had the painting mounted into a hanging scrolland asked me to inscribe a record. Ah, we two old

context of Ch'ing calligraphy, see Shen Fu et al., Tracesof the Brush:Studies n ChineseCalligraphy(New Haven: Yale University Art Gal-lery, 1977), pp. 58-60, I135-36, I88-89.

men rightly follow our hearts' feelings about lifeand death. How can we not weep? Wetting the ink(with my tears), I write.Regrettably I am aging and have many ailments; Ihaven't had the leisure to compose a poemharmonizing with the rhymes of my two old friendsto put beside theirs.Ch'ien-lunghsin-ssu, ninthmonth,ninthday [October6, 176I],for my old riend Wu-tou, nscribingMasterCh'ao-lin'sAsking for Water.Recorded ytheold manoseventy-fiverom Yangchou,Chin Nung.Chin [squareintaglio seal].In his opening sentences Chin emphasizes Wangpassion for tea through allusions to two famous tedrinkers. Master Yu-ch'uan is Lu T'ung, a T'ang dynasty poet and tea connoisseur. Although tea was becoming a popular drink in the T'ang dynasty, it probably still had an exotic quality for Lu. The poem thaChin alludes to is one in which Lu thanks a friend for gift of new Yiieh-t'uan tea. Lu describes how one bowleads to another, and another, and on to increasinlightheadedness and exhilaration: after four bowls onforgets life's cares, after five bowls one's flesh and bone

feel pure and clean, after six one is communicating witimmortals, and with seven one experiences the divine!2If Chin's first allusion implies limitless enjoyment ofine tea, the second-"the discomfort of drinking tomuch"-suggests Wang's limitless capacity to imbibeThis association comes from Wang Meng, an official othe Tsin dynasty (265-419), who loved tea and urgedon his guests. Officials obliged to call on him delicateldescribed visits as days of "liquid discomfort,"24 a problem foreign to Wang Shih-shen.Chin turns from Wang's love of tea and the lighthearteddescription of the scene and servant (see detail oservant in Asking or Snow Water) o more somber reflections. When Wang Shih-shen painted Askingfor SnowWater n 1740, he had already lost the use of his left eyeThis does not seem to have seriously affected his work23. Lu T'ung, "Tsou pi hsieh Meng Chien-i chi hsin ch'a," editeby Ts'ao Yin, Ch'iian T'ang shih, 9oo chiian in 12 vols. (Pekin

Chung-hua, I960), 6, p. 4379.24. Morohashi Tetsuji, Dai Kanwajiten, 13 vols. (Tokyo, I955-6o), 6, p. 6592.

I


16/30

v

C

t..

WrI,.;.

4

*I*'

v - b

I

,

.w0oI'-'

$4 ~...^ '.\ : . S T - - ; .-' " . * * / :.4;=-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~".', ':: - ;.

-

; . '- . i4tx~~ ~~ ~~ ~..'.7,~.," -,,

4..... IIoN.A

4r ..

. 4: .H-,, 1**''

4...''it

4)

4

J

%I-, .^ e

.J

f

?.-i

I

&*

f *

P ,PA

,, SitPs I _qpjw

.Iv

r.4.1.., 4. 'O,


17/30

Detail of WangShih-shen'sAskingforSnowWater,showingservant.

for he remained active as a painter and poet. But in1752, Wang lost sight in his right eye as well, forcinghim to give up painting. It was a grave personal tragedyand yet-as Chin Nung well knew-Wang was capableof putting even this into a cheerful light. In the prefaceto a collection of his poems, Chin describes Wang visit-ing him on an early spring day when the snow was afoot deep:

On this day the recluse Wang, Mr. Ch'ao-lin,wearing wooden snow clogs, leaning on a youngservant, paid a call. He said, "In my declining years,I've suddenly lost my sight, but there is no pain orsuffering. From now on, I'll never again have to seemediocre, commonplace people. I think this issomething to be happy about!"25

Wang continues by saying that although he is blind,his heart is sensitive and still appreciative of Chin'spoems: "I'm afraid those who have eyes as large ascartwheels do not necessarily know the marvels of your[poetry]. "26After becoming blind, Wang undoubtedly continuedto enjoy poetry and tea, and although he ceased paint-ing, he is said to have occasionally written large "wildcursive" calligraphy. But these pursuits could not havecompensated for the visual pleasures of a painter's life,and without paintings to please friends and collectors,visitors to Wang's house grew few. Plagued by declin-ing health, Wang's last years were lonely and financiallydifficult. Chin was a close and supportive friendthroughout, caring for Wang when his health was espe-cially frail,27and sending poems of encouragement:

As a good friend I am concerned; I have composedpoems to help console you; the ancients also had theseailments. It is like a hoary cypress having shriveledbranches or a valuable mirror losing its reflection.What difference does that make to their originalessence?28

25. Chin Nung, Tung-hsinHsien-shenghi, preface o San-t'i hih(1752; Li-tai Hua-chia wen chi series, Taipei: Hsiieh sheng, I960),pp. 181-82.

26. Ibid.27. Tsuruda and Yonezawa, Suibokubijutsu aikei, vol. I I, p. 60.28. Chin, Tung-hsinHsien-sheng hi, prefaceto San-t'i-shih,p. 212.

Yet another artist inscribed the Princeton scrollCheng Hsieh (I693-I765) is also traditionally classifieas one of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangchou. Originallyfrom Hsing-hua, Kiangsu, Cheng was the only artist othe circle to earn the chin-shihdegree. After receiving hidegree in I736, he served as magistrate of Wei county inShantung from 1736 to I740, after which he retired toYangchou. Like Wang, Cheng was a master at integrating calligraphy with pictorial images. However,Cheng's unorthodox calligraphicstyle, which combineelements of clerical, seal, and running scripts, has strong painterly quality. His inscription on AskingforSnow Water s a superb example of his eccentric writing(inscription 5).29Cheng's playful calligraphicstyle is especially evident when one compares repetitions of thsame character. For example, examine his regular, archaic, and cursive renderings of the characterfor "gold"(chin), last character in column one, third character incolumn three, and left half of the last character in column nine (see detail of inscription 5 a-c). Or, comparthe two charactersfor "can know" (k'o-chih), he secondand third characters in columns four and six, written inregularand archaicscripts respectively (see d and e). Byhandling his brush as he would in painting and byexaggerating elements of design, Cheng's bold writing-it is by far the largest on the scroll-takes on a ricpictorial quality.Contradicting the literati canon by which an artisshould neither expect nor seek financial compensationfor a work of art, Cheng was an outspoken proponenof artists receiving payment for their work. Unlikescholar-official painters of earlier times, the Yangchoueccentrics had neither private means nor officiastipends; they depended on the rich for their livelihoods.Ironically, in his inscription, Cheng emphasizes Wang'and Chiao's great purity of characterby frankly appraising the scroll's monetary value:

This painting, this poem, this calligraphy areseparately worth a crock of gold. A crock of water inot enough recompense. But the retired scholarCh'ao-lin did not exchange them for gold: he29. Fora discussionof ChengHsieh'scalligraphy nd the integrtion of calligraphywith painting, see Fu, Traces f theBrush,pp. i8o

I89.17


18/30

5. Cheng Hsieh's colophon and poem on the value of thescroll and on the pure characters of Wang Shih-shen andChiao Wu-tou. Inscribedon October I I, I761.

rM

iiia

~;d

i8

a


19/30

Details of inscription 5, showing individual characters.

V

b c

U

e

exchanged them for water. Therefore one can knowCh'ao-lin's pure character. And they were notexchanged for just anyone's water, but for thegentleman Chiao Wu-tou's water. From this one canreadily know master Chiao's pure character. The oldman Pan-ch'iao composed a poem as follows:Claspingthe crockat thebrushwoodate in earlymorningmists,Thepainting,unsulliedanddistant,couldenter herealmofimmortals.Don't say coldthingsarewholly without use:

Snowjuice thesedaysis worthten thoutsandash!Ch'ien-lunghsin-ssu ninthmonth, ourteenthday[October II, 176I ].Cheng Pan-ch'iao [square intaglio seal].Hsieh ho-ch'u chih yu yen [square intaglio seal].Ko ch'ui ku Yang-chou [rectangular relief seal].About three months after Cheng inscribed the scrollanother inscription was added by Yang Fa (active midi8th century). Yang was originally from Nanking anwas an accomplished calligrapher, painter, and seacarver. In his inscription, Yang notes that both Wan

I


20/30

and Chiao were his friends.30 Yang also befriendedChin Nung, who dedicated three poems to him. In apreface to those poems, Chin declares his unabashedaffection for the circumspect Yang Fa:31Yang Hsiao-fu of Nanking is by nature principled andcautious. He excels at strange seal script that has theheritage of an unrestrained Stone Drum style. Uponmeeting people he scolds them endlessly. I amexceedingly fond of him!Recently he came from Nan-yiieh [Heng-shan inHunan] to live in Yangchou. We met and discussedthe world. I have composed some poems to present tohim. These moreover are imbibed from the spring ofreckless ardor. [Will he] coldly chant them andsarcastically laugh? What about it?32

Chin recognizes differences between Fang's cautiouscharacterand his own rash and more passionate disposi-tion, and his last line teasingly wonders how Yang willreact to the poem.In his cursive calligraphy-ironically, the most wildlyabstract writing on the scroll-Yang records a poemthat he composed twelve years earlier (inscription 6).One wonders if the person offering water mentioned inhis poem was Chiao Wu-tou. Yang writes:A guest rom a greatdistancebroughtme waterrom threechasms;Sensinghisextremely oftymanner, acceptedhegift withsecrethappiness n my heart.I've treasuredtfor a longtime, butdon'twant it allformysef:In keng-wu [I750] during hisauspiciousirstmonth,Irespectfully resent t toyou all;The thingis smallbuttheprincipleprofound, 'm notashamedo behonestandstraightforward;Witheverywordyou gentlemenattempta song, leisurelyfeelings are like that.

30. For two poems by Wang Shih-shen to Yang Fa, see Wang,Ch'ao-lin-chi,chiian 3:Ia; 6:14a.31. Chin, Tung-hsinHsien-shengchi, p. 206.32. The terms Chin uses to contrast his personality with Yang'sare drawn from a passage in the Analects in which Confucius de-scribes two types of disciples: "The Master said, 'Since I cannot getmen pursuing the due medium, to whom I might communicate my

20

The poem recorded here, "Water from ThreeChasms," I wrote long ago. Now, seeing this pictureI have a feeling of destiny. Both Ch'ao-lin andWu-tou were my friends. I am haphazardlywritingon this scroll to show that he who saw it was one wholost an old friend.Ch'ien-lunghsin-ssu year, twelfthmonth,twenty-sevenday [January i8, 1762].Hsia-fu, YangFa remembering.Ssu-chun[or I-chun(?);square intaglio seal].YangFa [square intaglio seal].The title of Yang Fa's poem "Water from ThreChasms" refers to a story about two famous scholarofficialsof the eleventh century. Wang An-shih asked STung-po to bring him water from a particularspot in mountain chasm. Su, seeing no need to go out of hiway, drew the water from farther down the gorge andelivered it to Wang An-shih. Wang, upon tasting temade with the water, immediately recognized its inferority. He asked about the origin of the water, but Sinsisted he had followed instructions. When Wang Anshih minutely described the differing aspects of the waters, Su was forced to admit his deception.33 It does no

matter that the story is a fiction-it surely pleased theighteenth-century connoisseurs of water and tea whoprided themselves on similar sensitivity. Yang's choicof allusion demonstrates once again the pleasure that theducated elite took in seeing themselves within a lonhistorical tradition.Although the remaining eighteenth-century colophons are undated, they were most likely written ithe early I76os when Chiao Wu-tou circulated thscroll. The poems lead one to believe that these four inscribers knew Wang Shih-shen, and probably Chiao, awell.

instructions, I must find the ardent and the cautiously-decided. Thardentwill advance and lay hold of truth; the cautiously-decided wikeep themselves from what is wrong.' " See Analects, Tzu-lu, boo13, section 2I, James Legge trans., The Chinese Classics,7 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, I893), I, p. 272. The ardent are impulsivand headstrong but are admired for their intense commitment. Thcautiously decided, though slow to act, are praised for the thoughful consideration that prevents them from making mistakes.

33. See Hsii chih-kuch'i kuan, 2 vols. (Hong Kong: Wen Fan shuwu, I964), 2, pp. 504-5.


21/30

6. YangFa'spoem abouta gift of water.Inscribedon January 18, 1762.

Min Hua, a poet from Chiang-tu,34 probably knewWang Shih-shen through his friendship with ChinNung. Chin wrote of their visit to the Little TranslucentMountain Cottage at the invitation of Ma Yiieh-kuanand Ma Yiieh-lu.3s On another occasion, Min prepareda banquet for the departing Chin.36 In his poem (inscrip-tion 7), Min imagines the interior of Wang's hut, praisesthe character and poetry of Wang and Chiao, and notesthe pain of being a survivor:By paperwindows in a brightbamboohutA tablespotlesswithoutdust;There s a carefree rewerof tea,And themanwho sent snow on a clearcoldday;Theirdeepriendship s aspureas thewater,Selective n usingtheirtalents,theirpoemsare resh;TodayI spreadout thescrollto look,Survivoranddeparted, he samegrievingspirit.Yii-ching,Min Hua inscribed.Yui-ching square intaglio seal].

i?1* 1 '

X,^ Hi.i

4.1S 11- f '

Ii

.1 L1 I 'A.

Ch'en Liang, author of the second undated colophon,was apparently a poet and calligrapher, and anotherfriend of Chin Nung and Wang Shih-shen. In "En-comium on Ink Stones" (Tung-hsin Chai Yen Ming,preface dated 1733), Chin describes Ch'en's ink stone,which was especially suited for composing irregularverse,37 and refers to him as student Tui-ou, suggestingthat Ch'en may have studied with Chin. Wang wrotetwo poems to Ch'en, one rejoicing at his return fromTientsin, and the second sending him off on another tripto Tientsin.38 Ch'en's simple poem (inscription 8) re-flects his feelings of loss in Wang's absence:In asking or water,what's the need topaint a picture?This refinements something he ancientswerewithout;And now, desolateamidshadowsof blue ir,Readingpoemson thepainting, my eyes ill with tears.34. See Li, Yangchou Hua-fang lu, p. 9I, for brief biographicalinformation.35. Chin, Tung-hsin Hsien-sheng chi, p. 127.36. Ibid., p. 24.37. Ibid., p. 174.38. Wang, Ch'ao-lin-chi, chiian 4:5b; 4:9a.

2I1


22/30

. 2.

. ielow: 7. Min Hua's poem describing Wang's hut andpraising Wang and Chiao. Inscribed ca. 1762.Right:8. Ch'en Liang's poem remembering Wang Shih-shen.Inscribed ca. I762.

.. . ' .:. :: :_


23/30

9. WuChiin'spoem on missingWangShih-shenand on thepermanence f friendship. nscribed a. 1762.

Tui-ou, Ch'en Liang.Tui-ou [square relief seal].Ch'enLiangchihyin [square intaglio seal].The third of the undated eighteenth-century col-ophons is by Wu Chin. Wu's poetry earned him fame inYangchou and Wang openly admired his literary abil-ity.39 Wu and Wang wrote poems harmonizing eachother's rhymes, exchanged visits, and enjoyed tea to-gether. Wu's poem (inscription 9) describes missingWang, but suggests that friendship can survive evenpermanent separation:Paintinga picturerequestingwaterof the easternneighbor,The event is passed,time has lown, yet the scene s stillfresh.I pass againthe Fir Hall, thegate and lane have changed,Where anI now seek or the tea drinker?Inksubtle,poetry refined-both of the irst rank!Witheachreadingof the scroll-a lifetimeof melancholy!Aftertheold rienddied, the sentiment emained rofound,Whyshouldriendship astmerely nto oldage?Mei-ch'a, WuChiin inscribed.Yii Chou [squarentaglioseal].A fourth undated colophon (inscription io) is signedChiang Ch'i. Although Chiang Ch'i remains uniden-tified, the style of his calligraphy suggests a conservativeeighteenth-century hand. The roundness of the brushstrokes resembles Wang's writing, and the occasionaluse of an archaic form40 bespeaks an experimental at-titude toward combining script types in the manner ofCheng Hsieh (inscription 5). In a lavish compliment toboth Wang's calligraphy and stature, Chiang pairsWang Shih-shen with the great T'ang dynasty callig-rapher Yen Chen-ch'ing (709-85). Eventually, admira-tion gives way to sentiments of loss and futility:In thepast YenChen-ch'ingwrotea letterbeggingor rice,Now the one beggingor water is Ch'ao-lin.Styleand humoremergen readinghiswonderful ainting,Is itpossible hatthe autumnmosshadsomespecialquality?

34J

.iA.

,1~

[I, 4k!Lf8.tA

. '. I

I)^

t?V.? .

... .

I

ps

i.39. Li, YangchouHua-fang lu, p. 297, and Wang, Ch'ao-lin-chi,chuian 6:I4b; 7:2a; 7:8a-b.40. For example, see the first character Yenand the second to thelast characterku (inscription IO).

23

I

-_


24/30

L.* 9rtz L

. .. ..

?.,.. '.? ?*.*.**': ^ * 1 ?.,,,,,s-^.!..

i

Left: o. ChiangCh'i'spoemadmiringWang'sartistic alentsInscribed a. I762.Facing age:I i. WuCh'ing-p'eng'spoem describingChiaoWu-tou as a meddler. Inscribed bout March20, I848.

From thebamboo-coveredrazier,smoke in boundlessbillows,Amid the moon-lit ir, a nightdarkanddeep;FacingthisscrollI sigh overlife anddeath:Indifferentchoes n an empty valley.Chiu-yen, Chiang Ch'i inscribed.ChiangCh'i [square intaglio seal].Chih Shih [square relief seal].The last four inscriptions were written almost a cen-tury later by two scholar officials. The comments ofthe nineteenth-century inscribers are understandablyless personal than those of Wang Shih-shen's contem-poraries. By reading the earlier colophons, however,the story comes alive and elicits powerful responses.Wu Ch'ing-p'eng (I786-185?) was invited to inscribethe scroll by its mid-nineteenth-century owner, ChangTzu-ch'iu. Wu earned his chin-shihdegree in I817, andfrom I834 to I84I was a conscientious vice-governor ofShun-t'ien prefecture.41 After his retirement from official life, he served as director of the An-ting Academy inYangchou, an academy established exclusively for thetraining of salt merchants' sons. Through his reading ofthe scroll, Wu formed strong opinions of the partici

pants. On the vernal equinox, about March 20, I848,Wu, in the first of his three inscriptions, described WangShih-shen as a recluse of the noblest kind, enjoying aclean and simple life. He saw Chiao Wu-tou as a fuss-budget, foisting his pretentious overly refined taste[water from snow] on Wang (inscription II):Withhis hand hepaintedscrollsofplum blossoms,In his hearthe hoarded oemsof ice andsnow;Ch'ao-linwas a loftyhermit,Drinkingwater was certainlyappropriateor him;Mr. Chiao who liked to make afuss,Insistedongiving a pot of coldwater.Todayneitherman can beseen,But hereI am, able toperusethis scroll.It makesmethinkof the returnhome [i.e., T'ao Ch'ien],But don'tcomparemy clumsywords[tohis].From mountain eaches,he returns lasping hecrock;Sittingalonebrewing ea,41. Arthur H. Hummel, EminentChineseof the Ch'ingPerio1644-1912 (Washington,D.C., I943-44, reprint, Taipei, I964),p. 869.

4

24

6 4xo

w v


25/30

~~~~~k.~~~~~t

141.

I.s.

a

I

~~~~~~~ ipI

4

-flllr

:.

?s . . .


26/30

12. Wu Ch'ing-p'eng correcting error.Inscribedshortly after inscription I I.

:4 .:A&^ fF* r . !,_ *gj4yhj; * 1W.a

26

A


27/30

A cool moon illuminateshebowlsandbasins,Wispsof vaporrise rom thethatched ottage.How could uch water be so rare?Suchevents are also common;Coarsegoodsandgauze do notgo together,Whatwas thepoint of boilingsnow?Weonly hear [Chiao] laughingat others,It simplymakeshimself aughable.

Tao-kuang wu-shen on the vernal equinox [ca. 20March i 848 ].Hu an, WuCh'ing-p'eng nscribed.WuCh'ing-p'engyin [irregular square intaglio seal].In his poem Wu Ch'ing-p'eng mentions "the returnhome," a reference to T'ao Ch'ien, the famous recluse-poet of the fourth century.42 Reflecting on Wang's lifeof seclusion and the figure approaching the gate, Wuwas reminded of T'ao's poem "Returning Home," inwhich T'ao described the pleasures of his quiet and sim-

ple existence. With appropriatemodesty, Wu notes thathis verse cannot stand comparison with T'ao's greatwork.After writing his first inscription (it is not clear if itwas days or years later as he did not date the later in-scriptions), Wu viewed Asking or Snow Wateragain anddiscovered that he had been mistaken in implying thatthe figure in the painting was returning home; insteadhe was arriving to deliver the water. In mentioning hiserror (inscription 12), Wu takes the opportunity to reit-erate his praise of Wang Shih-shen as a plum painter,and to take note of the artistic importance of the inscrip-tions (inscription 12).

For a generation Mr. Ch'ao-lin was famous for hisplum pictures. His paintings are not easy to see. ThisAsking or WaterPicture s hoary, forceful, andaccomplished, filled with lofty elegance. Theinscriptions are primarily by Wang's old friends. Allare authentic examples of famous calligraphersthatare not easy to find!I don't know how many years the scroll has driftedabout. Now it has come to the gentleman ChangTzu-ch'iu. Tzu-ch'iu's collection has long had twoplum paintings by the master; I have inscribed both.42. See note 17, above.

Previously he asked me for a poem. Because I admirehis lofty style and good taste, I inscribed severalwords. Then after carefully reading Tung-hsin's[Chin Nung] inscription, I realized I was wrong inassuming that the person clasping the crock in thepainting was one sent by Wang and did notunderstand that he was dispatched by Chiao. Hencemy sentence: "From mountain reaches he returnsclasping the crock." Therefore I also wrote thiscolophon.[Signed: Hu-an inscribedgain.Hu-an [squarerelief seal].WuCh'ing-p'engyin [irregularsquare intaglio seal].Having realized that the figure was not Wang Shihshen's servant but one sent by Chiao, Wu also reaized that it was Wang who had initiated the gift. Thidiscovery altered his impression of Chiao Wu-touWhereas his first inscription depicted Chiao as a meddler, making a fool of himself by foisting snow water oWang, his third inscription shows Chiao as a sympathetic friend who understands Wang's passion for teand fine water. Wu also notes that his comparison oWang to T'ao Yuan-ming was inappropriate.This second poem vividly evokes images of WangChiao, and the painted scene. He mentions in the conclusion of his inscription that his own thirst is slaked bopening the scroll (inscription 13):He wasn't drivenby hunger,But at a hintof thirsthe became gitated.Ch'ao-lin was a waterdrinker,Making request f a neighborwasfitting;Who wouldserveto introduce im?A paintingand a poem.It's notquite ike T'ao Yuan-ming,The returnhomewasmy clumsyphrase.Mr. Chiao of courseunderstoodhematter,And so immediatelyenta crockof snow.In life'scoolpurities,The two oldmendeeplyunderstood ne another.Todaythesemen aregone,But thepaintingstillpresents hem.And what more s there

Knowingit is theseasonof the westernwind[autumn}.

27


28/30

Akd

'9

5I )'4

7-.?jJL: .: ..

_ r... 'Ab-'^ **/

f

.3 s^.3;

*Ii

A4:*

.

...... .. ...

_';' ? .. '.' g. :i .:**^. 4. .

- H : "~:" : '"......a

''^ l """'* B -?~:::.:..:-.-~.,, ::: . ......:'::~i::'..,1.:i;,!',......:. -.:,. ,:, i''iinctf -e

^

t

fl:

4,'

,.&

* 'A* '.*'*. *-'..,'..

'.., ,. ..:.: ~.'.,.-" :..'':'.:'^- '?-L ,..?..':-,:'?':!;:'-' :i.v5~::....

? _

.

..~ ,., .Xi..., ... ~ , S.Si.

tR:S. -"'..;,'-':.'_??;;:^*^*'t""/......., ,-. ' ,b. .' s :

r^-^~~~~~'~'


29/30

I3. WuCh'ing-p'eng'srewrittenpoem. I14. T'angI-fen'spoem relivingstory.Inscribed after inscription I2. Inscribedin the winter of 1849.

A servantcarrying omething o delivercomesSlowlyfrom the mountain reading n leaves.Notfar from the thatched ate, .. . _ _i.Severaltreesrise abovethesparseence;Within here s an oldhut,Pillars leanandtilt;Weneednotpursuethesedetails:The scenealreadyconveysthe ideas.^As it happens,I am terribly hirsty, _Therefore follow my impulseandunroll [thescroll . ^My previouspoem had errorsand was confusedwith ^ ^ 8poems on brewing tea; therefore I have changed it. ^ & 1[Signed:]Hu-an wroteagain.Hu-an [square relief seal].WuCh'ing-p'eng [square intaglio seal].The last inscription was written by T'ang 1-fen i(1778-I853). T'ang served as an official in Nanking and "4practicedpainting, calligraphy,poetry, lute, fencing, 4 a 7 Jand wei-ch'i (a board game similar to chess). In I853, 1Jr Jdwhen Nanking fell during the T'ai-p'ing rebellion,T'ang committed suicide. His poem, which was writtenin the winter of I849, opens with two allusions: a line * 'l /qfrom the T'ang poet Tu Fu (712-70) suggesting a snowy / A.

mountain in midwinter,43 and a phrase likening the po- ^Three Chasms, the source of the water desired by Wang

Chasms; .....?.

outpouring onhecroll atergushing fromde-ep'::::'.; i::.

As his trueintimate,only an immortaliving amongmen, : . fFortenthousand gestheirhearts trikechords.'* ^Vl : -1" ...; :''.Like Lu T'ung's dilapidated tudy,a place uniquelypure A 4 -andremote, -.: ^ . '''Behind shuttereddoors he drank water and sang of" - - ;. : '';..exhilaratingutumn. s n o w. Af": .The ink still drippingwet, the wonderful torystill alive: ;Abamboo brazier's smoulderingembers, clouds driftand ?^By':E' :linger. ^: __..Tao-kuang chi-yu (I849), mid winter, 72-year-old :- ' .

..*. ~,;.~... :~: ~ /;1.~,:''

43. Tu Fu, "T'ung-ku Hsien Ko," Ch'iian T'ang shih (chuan 218), : . . "4, p. 2298.29


30/30

T'ang 1-fen wrote at Pai-men Ch'in-yin-yuanfollowing Mao-chou's water rhyme.Yuii[round relief seal].Sheng [round relief seal].

The concluding lines of T'ang 1-fen's inscription areeminently suited to complete this series of inscriptions.He subtly returns our attention to the painting itself, tothe humble, yet pure and elegant studio where WangShih-shen sits brewing tea and reciting poetry in thecold, crisp, elegiac autumnal season. Though T'angviewed the painting over a century after it was executedby Wang Shih-shen, the ink appearedfresh and vibrant,as if still damp. When reading the inscriptions byWang's friends and later admirers, the "simple" occa-sion came wonderfully alive for him, revealing charac-ter and personality in both the touch of the variousartist'sbrushes and in their literary compositions.By collecting the inscriptions, Chiao Wu-tou createda memorial to his friend Wang Shih-shen and increasedthe artistic importance of the work. By not only pre-serving the painting, but presenting it to those whotruly appreciated its worth, Chiao fulfilled splendidlyCh'ing dynasty ideals of connoisseurship and art ap-preciation. For the modern scholar this scroll is an im-portant art-historical document, serving as a memorialto Chiao himself, and to his friendship with WangShih-shen, Ching Nung, Cheng Hsieh, and other eigh-teenth-century artists.Clearly, the inscriptions were not added casually.

They were thoughtfully composed and intended for thenjoyment of latergenerations. The serious natureof inscribing is further evidenced by the fact that the midnineteenth-century owner, Chang Tzu-ch'iu, and otheowners before and after him refrained from writing othe scroll. Their restraintis, indeed, praiseworthy. Onshould not inscribe unless one has something to contribute to the artistic whole. Ideally, the inscriber relivethe story and emotions contained therein and in prevous inscriptions, then participates in the creative athrough his own contribution. He thus enhances the atistic, literary, and scholarly importance of the scroljoining in an open-ended, ongoing collaboration.By these high standards, Wu Ch'ing-p'eng's inscriptions, pedantic and written in rather routine calligraphare less successful than those of his eighteenth-centurpredecessors or those of his contemporary, T'ang I-fenWu's efforts demonstrate the challenge presented to thChinese artist or scholar; his relative failure enhanceour appreciationof the other inscribers.Our story concludes with Askingfor Snow Water nnew world. It has traveled abroad and now rests in aAmerican museum, an environment unimaginable tthe artists who created it. Yet, even within China, thculture and character of men who produced this worhas all but passed from the scene, irrevocably tranformed. Nevertheless, the painting and the inscriptionretain a unique power to move the informed viewer; awith all important works of art, it is a talisman througwhich we attempt to revivify the past and thereby enrich the present.

(1978) murck ~ wang shih-shen's

Documents