Shanhuwang 珊瑚網

Shanhuwang 珊瑚網 "Coral net", also known as Wangshi shanhu wang 汪氏珊瑚網, is a book on painting and calligraphy written during the late Ming period 明 (1368-1644) by Wang Keyu 汪砢玉 (b. 1587), courtesy name Yushui 玉水, style Leqing 樂卿, Lexian Waishi 樂閑外史, Shimochi Waishi 石墨池外史, Pingyang Ziyuan Jiuyi 平陽紫源九裔, Pifei Jushi 毗飛居士, Pengfeng Heling Zhongren 蓬峰鶴嶺中人, Yanshui Gulu Zhongren 煙水菰蘆中人, Taohua Tanshui Ren 桃花潭水人, Qishi'erquan Zhuren 七十二泉主人, and more. His family hailed from Huizhou 徽州, Anhui, but Wang Keyu grew up in Xiushui 秀水 close to Jiaxing 嘉興, Zhejiang. He had the office of assistant salt transport commissioner (yanyunshi panguan 鹽運使判官) of the province of Shandong. His father was befriended to the great collector Xiang Yuanbian 項元汴 (1524-1590), and thus transmitted to his son the love for the arts. Wang Keyu also wrote the book Gujin cuolüe 古今鹺略, a book on salt production and administration (see salt administration).

The book of 48 juan length was finished in 1643. It is divided into two parts, the first dealing with annotations (ti-ba 題跋) to calligraphic works (Fashu tiba 法書題跋), and the second one with paintings (Minghua tiba 名畫題跋). The author discusses the paintings of his family collection, but also artworks he saw in other collections, and on which other books provided information—particularly in the field of calligraphic works of which the Wang family did not own a lot. His review focuses on annotations like date and dedications (tizhi 題識, kuanzhi 款識), prefaces and afterwords (tiba 題跋) and applied seals (yinzhang 印章), but also provides catalogues of private collections (I, 22 Shuping 書憑; II, 23 Huaju 畫據). Some of the "prefaces" were written by Wang himself, in case an artwork did not bear such inscriptions.

Fascicles 19 and 20 discuss model calligraphies incised in stone slabs (beitie 碑帖) and stone inscriptions (shike 石刻), and collections of model calligraphies (congtie 叢帖).

Wang's book is an important reference work on the history of painting and calligraphy in the late Ming period and can be consulted along with Zhang Chou's 張丑 (1577-1643) Qinghe shuhua fang 清河書畫舫 and Zhenji rilu 真跡日錄, with Wang's book giving more detailed information than those of Zhang. However, Wang does not in all cases indicate his sources, and includes several forgeries in his lists, like some copies of the stone inscriptions Dingwu Lanting 定武蘭亭 and the inscription Yiheming 瘞鶴銘 at the cliff of Mt. Jiaoshan 焦山, Zhenjiang 鎮江. Content and structure imitate Zhu Cunli's 朱存理 (1444-1513) less famous Shanhu munan 珊瑚木難.

At the end of both parts, some miscellaneous notes are added, namely Shuzhi 書旨 "The meaning of calligraphy" and Shupin 書品 "Classification of calligraphies", and Huaji 畫繼 "Continued [notes] on painting" and Huaping 畫評 "Critique of paintings", respectively.

Wang Keyu's book was an important source for Bian Yongyu's 卞永譽 (1645-1712) Shigutang shuhua kao 式古堂書畫考 and Li E's 厲鶚 (1692-1752) Nansong yuanhua lu 南宋院畫錄. The text is included in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書, Shiyuan congshu 適園叢書 and Meishu congshu 美術叢書.