Mozhuji 墨竹記

Mozhuji 墨竹記, full title Zhang Tuigong mozhu ji 張退公墨竹記, is a book on painting written during the Yuan period by Zhang Tuigong 張退公. It was first recorded in Zhan Jingyuan’s 詹景鳳 book Wangshi shuhua yuan buyi 王氏書畫苑補益, a continuation of Wang Shizhen’s 王世貞 Shuhuayuan 書畫苑. 本書名爲一卷，其實僅是一篇，不足五百字，通篇以駢文形式寫成。其主旨在於墨竹技法的傳授，文辭凝煉，多爲經驗之語，頗耐人尋味。 文中説：「傳前代之法則，作後世之規矩。」蓋張退公所言，多屬前輩畫師總結的寫竹妙法和應該注意的事項，作者僅是綜述而已。開篇從墨竹的肇始談起，説墨竹一派由唐明皇首創，傳於唐代畫師蕭悦，蕭悦偶然看見竹影，於是豁然省悟，認真揣摸，提煉爲一系列基本的墨竹的畫法。其次述説不同季節、不同氣候竹子呈現的姿態各異的狀貌。其次闡説寫葉、寫枝、寫幹時的禁忌和假若觸犯規矩引起的後果，條分縷析，簡潔清晰，最後形容佳作的奧妙與常用的墨竹寫法，陳述細膩而不累贅，實爲經驗之談。如曰：「葉要輕重相間，枝宜高下相得。得之心，應之手，心手相迎，則無不妙矣。」又曰：「節不厭高，如蘇武之出塞；爪不厭亂，若張顛之醉書。布勢體似玉龍，舞勢形如金鳳。」又曰：「枝可安於頂節，葉可顛於枝梢。梢貴健而活，葉貴少而清。」描述形象貼切，易於明白，相當實用。 Though titled One Scrol 一卷l, this book is actually just a single essay of fewer than 500 words, written entirely in parallel prose. Its main purpose is to teach the techniques of painting ink bamboo. The language is concise and refined, mostly composed of experiential insights, and is quite thought-provoking. The text states: “Pass on the methods of the past to establish standards for the future.” What Master Zhang Tuigong expounds mostly consists of techniques for painting bamboo that were distilled by earlier masters, along with important precautions to observe; the author is simply summarizing them. It begins by recounting the origins of the ink bamboo tradition, attributing its inception to Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty. The style was passed down to the Tang painter Xiao Yue, who, upon glimpsing the shadow of bamboo by chance, suddenly understood its essence. He carefully studied it and developed a series of fundamental ink bamboo painting methods. The essay then explains how bamboo appears differently depending on the season and weather. It goes on to detail the do’s and don’ts of painting leaves, branches, and stalks, as well as the consequences of violating these principles. The points are well organized, clear, and concise. Finally, it describes the mysteries of masterful works and common methods of ink bamboo painting with subtle detail yet without verbosity, offering true practical wisdom. These descriptions are vivid and accessible, making the techniques easy to understand and quite practical. 本篇雖屬技法傳授，然並非滿足於形似，而是强調墨竹要書出意境，要有寄興，即寫出文人畫所固有的深沉蘊味。作者以爲，墨竹應該能「動秀士之呤情，引騷人之咏句」，「若不識其機」，則「無能得其意」。而真正獨出心杼的佳作，則必免越常格，「若枝葉迸跳，古怪清奇，此妙格之精極也」。總的來説，本篇功用在於指點門徑，對學習墨竹的人士有不小的幫助。然長期湮没，世人罕睹，詹景鳳輯入《王氏書畫苑》後，流傳仍然不廣。清代藏書家錢曾撰《讀書敏求記》，於《竹譜詳錄提要》中述及墨竹之起源，陳説傳聞數種，卻未提到本記以及有關唐明皇的説法，可見本篇之難得。 Although this essay primarily serves as a manual on technique, it does not content itself with mere resemblance in form. Rather, it emphasizes that ink bamboo must express a sense of artistic conception (yijing) and convey personal sentiment—that is, it must embody the profound subtlety inherent in literati painting. The author believes that ink bamboo should be able to “stir the lyrical spirit of refined scholars and inspire the poetic verses of poets.” If one “fails to grasp its essence,” then one will be “unable to capture its meaning.” Truly original and exceptional works, the author says, must break free from conventional patterns: “If the branches and leaves spring forth with spirited motion, appearing eccentric yet elegant, this is the very pinnacle of exquisite style.” In sum, this essay is intended as a guide to the proper path and provides considerable assistance to those learning to paint ink bamboo. However, it was long buried and rarely seen by the public. Even after Zhan Jingfeng included it in the Wang’s Anthology of Painting and Calligraphy, its circulation remained limited. During the Qing dynasty, bibliophile Qian Zeng wrote the Reading Notes for Diligent Study, in which he discusses various accounts of the origin of ink bamboo in the section “Annotated Bibliography of the Bamboo Manual.” Yet he makes no mention of this essay or the story relating to Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, showing just how rare and overlooked this piece has been. 有《王氏書畫苑》本、《美術叢書》本。