Xiang Yuanbian

Ming Dynasty, Portrait of Xiang Yuanbian, collected at Shanghai Museum
Painting by Xiang Yuanbian, Autumn Pond

Xiang Yuanbian (chinese:项元汴,1525–1590), also known by courtesy name Zijing (子京) and art name Molin (墨林), was a native of Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. He was a prominent Ming dynasty collector and connoisseur of paintings and calligraphies.[1]

Life and work

Xiang was of short stature and plain appearance. He was born into a prosperous family of businesspeople, his family's wealth ranked among the top in the Jiangnan region.[2] He was knowledgeable in appreciation and an avid collector of ancient bronze artifacts inscribed with text, stone steles, calligraphy works, and paintings.[3]

His collection included works from a number of well-known calligraphers and painters from the Three Kingdoms, Jin, Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties. He constructed the Tianlai Pavilion (天籁阁, Tianlai Ge) as a private museum for calligraphy and paintings.[4] He frequently hosted appreciation events attended by elites, connoisseurs, literati, and artists of his time. Among his guests there were esteemed painters such as Wen Zhengming, Qiu Ying, and Dong Qichang.[5]

He had an obsession of stamping his collection seals on authentic works and marking their prices. For example, he stamped 98 seals on the calligraphy work "Lantingji Xu" by Chu Suiliang, and over 70 seals on the calligraphy work "Huaisu's Autobiography" by Huai Su. Such a practice was criticized by Ming and Qing scholars as excessive, profit-driven, and disrespectful to the authentic art works.[6][7] Although it was commended by contemporary researchers that these markings provided critical information for the collection and trading of art works at Xiang's time.[8]

Xiang himself was proficient in calligraphy and landscape painting, learning calligraphy from Zhao Mengfu and painting from Huang Gongwang and Ni Zan. His painting "Bamboo and Chrysanthemum" was included in the Catalogue of the Stone Canal Treasure (石渠宝笈), a Qing dynasty art collection of the imperial family. His collection was nearly looted during the early years of the Qing dynasty. Today, over 650 calligraphies and 790 paintings of Xiang's collection are trackable, they are housed at the Palace Museum in Beijing, the National Palace Museum in Taipei, as well as in various museums and private collections in Hong Kong and Japan.[8]

Family

Xiang had six sons. The eldest son was Xiang Dechun, also known as Xiang Mu, the author of Shufa Yayan (书法雅言) and Yuanzhenzi Shicao (元贞子诗草). The second son was Xiang Decheng, who served at the imperial court office for calligraphy and painting. The third son was Xiang Dexin, a painter. His grandson Xiang Shengmo was a noted landscape painter.[5]

Work

  • "Shancai Paying Respect" (善才顶礼), housed at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan.  
  • "Imitating Su Shi's Longevity Bamboo Painting" (仿苏轼寿星竹图), housed at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan.
  • "Bamboo Arrow Painting" (梓竹图), housed at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan.
  • "Orchid and Bamboo Painting" (兰竹图), housed at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan.
  • "Cypress Tree Painting" (柏子图), housed at the Palace Museum in Beijing, China.[9]

References

  1. ^ "项元汴". 故宫博物院. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  2. ^ Du, Juan (2014). "王世贞与项元汴：明代中后期两种不同类型的书画鉴藏家- 兼论二者交游疏离之原因". 故宫博物院. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  3. ^ 董其昌,《项墨林墓志铭》中云：“公蒙世业，富贵利达，非其好也，尽以收金石遗文、图绘名迹，凡断帧只行，悉输公门，虽米芾之书画船、李公麟之洗玉池，不啻也。”
  4. ^ 明, 冯梦祯《快雪堂集．快雪堂日记》卷之五十七〈己亥〉载，“饭后，小舆入城，看墨林所藏法书名画于四、五两郎宅，有晋唐名迹及宋元诸公甚多，所观仅四之一，已三十卷矣。观过者细录一通附焉：褚模〈兰亭〉、卢鸿〈草堂十景〉，后杨凝式跋、褚模王大令〈飞鸟帖〉、〈保母帖〉、献之榻羲之〈清和帖〉墨迹、桓宣武〈旱燥〉手迹、唐宋元名画十册、王右军〈曹娥碑〉、王摩诘〈山阴图〉、颜鲁公〈湖州帖〉、杨凝式〈韭花帖〉、王大令〈鹅群帖〉，李北海跋、赵松雪〈二羊卷〉、孙过庭〈景福殿赋〉、倪云林〈狮子林图〉、文与可〈盘谷图〉、赵千里〈丹青三昧图〉、锺元常〈戎辂帖〉、怀素〈苦笋帖〉、张畴斋收藏定武〈兰亭〉、马和之〈毛诗十二段〉、虞永兴〈夫子庙堂碑〉、唐模神龙〈兰亭〉、《苏长公手简》一卷、赵松雪《净土诗》一卷、沈石田《画记》一卷、周东邨写人物。闰四月初一，看定武〈兰亭〉，范希文、米南宫、宋景濂具有跋；吴仲圭《西湖十景册》；文与可〈暮蔼横看〉高卷，黄山谷跋，惟〈金庭紫芝〉，盖诗托谢康乐，即为伪迹矣。”
  5. ^ a b 韩, 丹 (2022-07-08). "项元汴时代的江南书画世界". yangbo.cctv.com. Retrieved 2024-05-10.
  6. ^ 清, 姜绍书,《韵石斋笔谈》：“以明珠精锣聘得丽人，而虞其它适，则黯面记之。抑且遍黔其体无完肤，较蒙不洁之西子，更为酷烈矣。”
  7. ^ 明, 孙承泽,《庚子销夏记》: "项墨林收藏之音太多，后又载所买价值，俗甚."
  8. ^ a b Zhao, Jing (2021). "《项氏旧藏书画统计》订补; (Revision and Supplement to "An Index of Calligraphy and Painting in the Collection of Xiang Yuanbian")" (PDF). 故宫学刊 (Journal of Gogong Studies). 22. Retrieved 2024-05-12.
  9. ^ "项元汴柏子图轴". 故宫博物院. Retrieved 2024-05-12.