Qingbige quanji 清閟閣全集

Qingbige quanji 清閟閣全集, also called Qingbige yigao 清閟閣遺稿, Yunlin shiji 雲林詩集 or Ni Yunlin Xiansheng shiji 倪雲林先生詩集, are the collected writings of the painter and calligrapher Ni Zan 倪瓚 (1301 or 1306-1374), original name Ting 挺, courtesy name Taiyu 泰宇, later Yuanzhen 元鎮, style Zhongduo 衆多 or Yunlinzi 雲林子, from Wuxi 無錫 (in today's Jiangsu province). His family was of Tangut origin.

Ni Zan hailed from a wealthy family, devoting himself to reading, painting, composing poetry, and writing essays, showing no interest in worldly affairs. He launched extensive construction projects, building numerous gardens and pavilions, including the Qingbi Pavilion 清閟閣 (Clear and Serene Hall) and the Xiaoxian Lodge 蕭閑館 (Artemisia Leisure Lodge), and he formed wide friendships with poets and painters. Later, however, he abruptly abandoned his family estate and wandered freely among the lakes and rivers of the region. In 1374, he passed away at a friend's home due to illness.

Ni Zan's collection of bronzes, antiques, and famous calligraphy and paintings was vast, making him highly learned and knowledgeable. He excelled in both poetry and painting. Recognised as one of the "Four Masters of the Yuan Period" (Yuan si da jia 元四大家; the other being Wu Zhen 吳鎮, Huang Gongwang 黃公望 and Wang Meng 王蒙), his painting style, known for its simplicity imbued with complexity, had a profound influence on Ming 明 (1368-1644) and Qing 清 (1644-1911) literati painting. Nearly 300 of his paintings have been recorded, with over 30 authentic pieces surviving today. Among the most renowned are Yuhou konglin tu 雨後空林圖 ("After rain in an empty forest"), Xishan tu 谿山圖 ("Streams and mountains"), and Xiuzhu tu 修竹圖 ("Bamboo grove").

His collected writings originally comprised 6 juan, which were later expanded to a corpus of 12 (Cao Peilian's 曹培廉 edition) or even 15 juan (edition by Ni's grandson). The first eight fascicles consist of regular poetry (shi 詩), including works created in response to or in collaboration with Ni Zan‘s friends. Juan 9-10 include lyric-metre poetry (ci 詞), arias (qu 曲), and miscellaneous prose writings (zawan 雜文). The final two fascicles comprise "Supplementary records" (Waiji 外紀), consisting of anecdotes (yishi 遺事), epitaphs (zhuanming 傳銘), and responses to gifts (zengda 贈答), and commemorations (diao 弔), while the second is dedicated entirely to comments and critiques of Ni Zan's poetry (shiyu 詩語) and painting (huayu 畫語) by various contemporaries and later admirers.

This book contains a comprehensive collection of Ni Zan's poems inscribed on paintings, colophons, letters, and miscellaneous prose, including 題畫詩、跋，以及尺牘、雜文, extending to seemingly trivial details. As such, it presents a multifaceted reflection of his views on painting, his opinions on earlier masters and contemporary artists, and the nature of his interactions with fellow painters and calligraphers of the time.

Ni Zan believed that the essence of painting lies in the expression of personal feeling—what should be sought is a sense of elegant detachment (yiyun 逸韻), while matters of formal likeness or technical skill were of no real concern to him. For example, his friend Zhang Yu 張雨 was not skilled at painting, yet when he casually painted strange rocks drunkenly, the result displayed a certain effortless charm.

Ni Zan came from a wealthy family and was an avid collector, which, combined with his broad social circle, gave him frequent access to the masterpieces of renowned artists from earlier generations. He also maintained regular contact with leading painters and calligraphers of his time. The poems and colophons he inscribed on these paintings faithfully record not only his interactions with these figures but also his evaluations of earlier masters and critical views of the contemporary art scene. Beyond expressing personal sentiments or offering evaluations of individual painters and specific artworks, Ni Zan's inscriptions occasionally provide broader historical overviews or cross-comparative commentary. From these, it is possible to gain insight into Ni's analysis and judgments concerning the evolution of painting styles throughout history and the state of the contemporary art world.

The book discusses various artworks, many of which no longer exist today. However, through the accompanying inscriptions and poems, one can learn about the content of these works and how they were appraised by their contemporaries. Moreover, many of Ni Zan's early creations are lost to us. The details of his life, as presented in various biographies and epitaphs, are often neither complete nor accurate. Nevertheless, the poetry and inscriptions in this book contribute to a deeper understanding of Ni Zan as both an individual and an artist.

Among the "Four Great Masters of the Yuan Dynasty", the poems and writings of the other three are mostly lost. Only the collection of Ni Zan's poetry and prose has been preserved in the most complete form, thanks to the efforts of many scholars throughout history who have continuously collected and organised his works. The state of the painting world during the turbulent period between the Yuan and Ming dynasties can be glimpsed through these works, which makes them especially valuable.

通行本有《四部叢刊》影印明天順四年(一四六〇)蹇曦刻本、明末汲古閣刊本、《四庫全書》所錄清康熙五十二年(一七一三)曹培廉刊本