Sheng'an huapin 升菴畫品

Sheng’an huapin 升菴畫品, or briefly Huapin 畫品, is a book on painting written during the early Ming period by Yang Shen 楊慎 (1499-1559), who also wrote two other books on art, Mochi suolu 墨池鎖錄, and Danqian zalu 丹鉛雜錄. 本書屬札記性質的著作，是將平日見聞、讀畫心得、以及各類書籍中有關畫人繪事的記載編輯而成的。全書共計四十九條，不成系統，如今給予歸納，大致包括以下内容： 一是繪畫理論，其中有作者自己的心得，有根據前人畫論所作的解釋或闡發，也有直接摘引的前賢語錄，雖大多缺乏創意，偶爾也有議論頗精的。如《同能不如獨勝》列舉許多事實，説明「全能」不如「專攻」：「孫位畫水，張南畫火，吳道玄畫人物，楊惠之塑，陳簡齋詩，辛稼軒詞，同能不如獨勝也。所謂太白見崔顥《黄鶴樓》詩，去而賦《金陵鳳凰臺》。」又如《畫有十三科》，謂「山也打頭，界畫打底。江南之藝，骨氣多不及蜀人，而瀟灑過之。」似摘引前人舊説，然頗精辟。此類畫論書中不少，如《論詩畫》條錄晁以道詩，謂畫貴神，然不廢形；詩貴韻，也必須寫實。楊慎以爲晁氏此詩要比東坡「論書」詩説得全面。又如《九朽一罷》載周志機語，認爲作畫修改數次才定稿，並非妙手，且有礙傳神。若能落筆便成，自然氣韻生動。楊慎贊爲「卓識」。 This book 一卷is a collection of informal notes, compiled from the author’s daily observations, insights on painting, and excerpts from various texts related to painters and painting practices. It contains a total of 49 entries, which are not systematically organized. However, when categorized, its content can be broadly divided into the following areas: First, painting theory—this includes the author’s own reflections, interpretations or elaborations based on earlier painting theories, as well as direct quotations from respected predecessors. While most entries lack originality, some offer rather perceptive critiques. For example, in the entry "Skill in Everything Is Inferior to Mastery in One", many cases are cited to illustrate the idea that being a generalist is not as effective as excelling in a particular area: “Sun Wei painted water, Zhang Nan painted fire, Wu Daozi painted figures, Yang Huizhi sculpted, Chen Jianzai wrote poetry, and Xin Qiji composed ci—being skilled in everything is not as good as excelling in one thing. Just as when Li Bai saw Cui Hao’s poem ‘Yellow Crane Tower’, he turned away and instead composed ‘Phoenix Terrace in Jinling’.” Another example is "The Thirteen Categories of Painting", which states: “Landscape leads, architectural painting forms the foundation. Southern (Jiangnan) art lacks the vigor of Sichuan artists, but surpasses them in elegance.” Though likely quoting earlier sources, this comment is quite incisive. Similar types of theoretical observations are found throughout the book—for instance, in the entry "On Poetry and Painting", a poem by Chao Yidao is cited: painting values spirit, yet should not neglect form; poetry values tone, yet must also depict reality. Yang Shen believed Chao’s poem to be more comprehensive than Su Dongpo’s poem on calligraphy theory. Another entry, "Nine Revisions, One Abandonment", records Zhou Zhiji’s view that a painting requiring multiple revisions before completion lacks mastery and fails to capture spirit. If a painting can be completed in a single stroke, its energy and charm will naturally flow. Yang Shen praised this as “an exceptional insight.” 二是有關畫史和畫壇佚事的記載或考辨，或以人立目，分别叙述，如《張僧繇》、《張慌》、《薛稷》、《程堂》、《楊補之》等；或依題材分類，簡述諸位代表畫師的風格特徵，如《山水》評郭熙、張洵、李成、僧楚安、李思訓、曹仁希、閭丘秀才；《花竹》論尹白、尉遲乙、張僧繇、黄筌、趙昌、郭熙、李煜、唐希雅、僧玄靄、王端等：《人物》記曹仲達、吳道子、周昉、閻立本、王頳；《馬》述趙光輔，韓幹；另有《雜》，叙述善畫猿、鹿、貓、魚等瑣細題材的畫師。此外，《雜説》記有關歷代名師的佚事傳聞，《試題》載宋徽宗畫院中考試情况等，還有關於書畫材料、裝裱方式的記載，所涉相當廣泛。楊慎素以博聞强記、精於考據著稱，本書也有一些條目以考證爲主。或考所畫對象，如《拂林圖》中的「拂林」，《鬼拔河圖》的拔河；或辨所畫故事，如《春宵秘戲圖》、《青楓樹圖》的拔河；或證畫中人物，如《七賢過關》中的「七賢」。不過本書考證的内容並不太多，更多的是各種趣事佚聞的記載，如《畫品之亞》論酒與畫的關係，《墨汁》記梁武帝罰人飲墨汁，《李涉妝點》述畫師較藝爭勝，多能博人一笑。此外，卷末記載了十餘首題畫詩文，大多是名家手筆，如龔聖予，黄庭堅，米芾等。 Second, the book includes records and investigations concerning the history of painting and anecdotes from the painting world. These are organized either by artist, with individual entries such as "Zhang Sengyou", "Zhang Huang", "Xue Ji", "Cheng Tang", "Yang Buzhi", etc., or by subject matter, briefly describing the stylistic characteristics of representative painters. For example: • In "Landscapes", it evaluates Guo Xi, Zhang Xun, Li Cheng, the monk Chu’an, Li Sixun, Cao Renxi, and Lüqiu the Scholar. • In "Flowers and Bamboo", it discusses Yin Bai, Yuchi Yi, Zhang Sengyou, Huang Quan, Zhao Chang, Guo Xi, Li Yu, Tang Xiya, the monk Xuan’ai, Wang Duan, and others. • "Figures" covers Cao Zhongda, Wu Daozi, Zhou Fang, Yan Liben, and Wang Peng. • "Horses" mentions Zhao Guangfu and Han Gan. • A "Miscellaneous" section recounts painters skilled in depicting monkeys, deer, cats, fish, and other niche subjects. Additionally, the "Anecdotes" section records various legends and rumors about master painters across different dynasties. The "Examinations" section details the testing methods used in Emperor Huizong of the Song dynasty’s Imperial Painting Academy. There are also notes on materials used in calligraphy and painting, and on mounting and presentation techniques—the book covers a broad range of topics. Yang Shen was renowned for his wide learning, prodigious memory, and expertise in textual criticism. Consequently, some entries in this book focus on historical verification. These include: • Verifying the subject matter of paintings, such as what the “brushing forest” refers to in "Brushing Through the Forest", or the tug-of-war in "Ghosts Tug-of-War". • Interpreting painted narratives, like the erotic theme in "Spring Night’s Secret Pleasures", or the tug-of-war in "Blue Maple Tree". • Identifying characters in paintings, such as the "Seven Worthies" in "Seven Worthies Passing the Frontier". However, such textual analysis is relatively limited in the book. More prominent are the records of curious and entertaining stories from the painting world. For example: • "Subpar Art Rankings" discusses the relationship between alcohol and painting. • "Ink Juice" recounts Emperor Wu of Liang punishing someone by making them drink ink. • "Li She’s Beautification" describes competitive painting displays that amused onlookers. At the end of the volume, over ten inscriptions and poems composed for paintings are included—most by renowned figures such as Gong Shengyu, Huang Tingjian, and Mi Fu. 本書記載較爲零亂瑣碎，有的頗爲迂腐可笑，如《寫照》中説：「未滿三十，不必寫照，恐奪精神也。」然而雖屬荒唐，我國肖像畫之所以成就不著，恐怕這也是一個重要原因。因爲直至近代，我國某些地區的老人仍不讓人畫像，從楊慎的記載可以明白，這種禁忌由來已久。 The content of this book is somewhat scattered and fragmented, and some parts are rather pedantic or even laughable. For instance, in the section "Portraiture", it states: “Before the age of thirty, one should not have their portrait painted, lest it saps their vitality.” Although such a notion is absurd, it may in fact point to one important reason why portrait painting did not achieve great success in China. Even up to modern times, in some regions of China, elderly people were still reluctant to have their portraits painted. From Yang Shen’s record, we can see that such taboos have a long-standing origin. 上海書畫出版社《中國書畫全書》所收此書，以《函海》清道光五年(一八二五)補刻本作底本，用同書光緒八年(一八八二)重刊本參校，並斷句排印 有《函海》本和《叢書集成初編》本。