Xiaoshan huapu 小山畫譜

Xiaoshan huapu 小山畫譜 is a book on painting written by Zou Yigui 鄒一桂 (1668-1772), courtesy name Yuanbao 原褒 or Xiaoshan 小山, style Rangxiang 讓鄉, Erzhi 二知, Erquan Shanren 二泉山人 or Qingsenzi 卿森子, from Wuxi 無錫, Jiangsu. He was a son-in-law of the famous painter Yun Nantian 惲南田 (1633-1690). He obtained the brevet title of Minister of Personnel (libu shangshu 禮部尚書). Apart from his coloured paintings, he is known for his writings Xiaoshan shiji 小山詩集 and Dayatang xugao 大雅堂續稿. His book on painting, with a length of 2 juan, was finished in 1758.

The Xiaoshan huapu is a painting techniques book, specifically focusing on flower painting techniques. It is divided into two volumes. The first volume is composed of a general discussion followed by sections on individual flowers. In the general discussion, the author categorises painting techniques into the "Eight Methods" (bafa 八法) and the "Four Knowings" (sizhi 四知). The "Eight Methods" are composition method (zhangfa 章法), brush technique (bifa 筆法), ink technique (mofa 墨法), colour application method (shesefa 設色法), dotting and shading methods (dianranfa 點染法), toning methods (hongyunfa 烘暈法), tree and rock methods (shushifa 樹石法), and moss and ground methods (taichenfa 苔襯法). The "Four Knowings" refer to knowing Heaven (zhitian 知天), knowing the earth (zhidi 知地), knowing people (zhiren 知人), and knowing things (zhiwu 知物).

In the first part, the author merely describes the shapes and characteristics of the flowers, without discussing how to actually paint them. This inevitably leaves a sense of insufficiency. The second volume contains excerpts from the painting theories of ancient masters, combined with the author's own insights. It also includes practical notes on materials like alum-glued paper and silk, painting dishes and brushes, and methods of water usage. The appendix titled "Treatise on Western Chrysanthemums" (Yangjupu 洋菊譜) includes a preface and descriptions of 36 varieties of Western chrysanthemums, detailing their names and forms. Among these three sections, the painting theories presented in the first are the most important. The author, being a bird-and-flower painter with extensive practical experience, offers insights into painting that are particularly valuable. For example, in the section on "Natural vitality" (Tianqu 天趣). That the author — a court painter serving in the imperial Hanlin Academy — could attain such a level of artistic insight is no small achievement.

Zou Yigui's Xiaoshan huapu is the first painting manual devoted specifically to flower painting techniques. Therefore, even though this work is relatively brief in length and lacks illustrations for reference or copying, its detailed descriptions of the forms of various flowers, along with the author's reflections on painting them, still provide valuable material for later generations to study and learn from.

The book is included in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書, Jieyueshanfang huichao 借月山房彙鈔, Zeguzhai chongchao 澤古齋重鈔, Shiguju huichao 式古居彙鈔, Yueyatang congshu 奧雅堂叢書, Cuilangganguan congshu 翠琅玕館叢書 and Sitongguzhai lunhua jike 四銅鼓齋論畫集刻.