Zhao Shilei’s Small Scenery of Xiang Xiang

[Zhao Shilei’s Small Scenery of Xiang Xiang]

The Small Scenery of Xiang Xiang, painted by Zhao Shilei in the Song Dynasty, in silk, with colors, 43.2 cm vertically and 233.5 cm horizontally
On the front waterproof yellow silk, there are inscriptions such as “□ Shi Lei Xiang Xiang Xiang” written by Zhao Ji, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty in thin gold. There is a poem inscribed by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty on this painting, and the tail paper has Gu Congde, Xiang Zijing and Xie Songzhou postscript. The seals of Xiang Zijing, such as “Zijing’s Secret”, “Zijing’s Father’s Seal”, “Xiang Yuanbian’s Authentic Verification”, and the seals of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, such as “Sanxitang’s Precise Seal”, “Treasure of Emperor Qianlong’s Imperial Tour”, “Guxi’s Son of Heaven”, and Emperor Jiaqing’s “Treasure of Emperor Jiaqing’s Imperial Tour”, and Emperor Xuantong’s “Treasure of Emperor Xuantong’s Imperial Tour”
This picture is an open Pingyuan style composition, with winding Tingzhu and weeping willows in the long view, a midsummer scene; The middle view is the vast water surface, with egrets, wild ducks, mandarin ducks and other waterfowl playing in the waves, full of interest; Close shot of tall pines, luxuriant and vigorous. The trees in the picture are represented by the method of leaf clipping commonly used by the Song people. The dense leaves are painted with neat double hooks, and the branches and leaves are superimposed on each other, which is both hierarchical and trivial. Although the small scenery on both sides of a lake in this picture lacks the magnificence of Li Tang’s and Fan Kuan’s high-view, it also lacks the artistic conception of idyllic poetry
Songneifu’s Xuanhe Paintings, Wang Keyu’s Coral Net in the Ming Dynasty, Ruan Yuan’s Essays on Shiqu in the Qing Dynasty, and Wu Sheng’s Grand View, etc
This picture has a long history. At the beginning, Zhao Ji, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, received the money from the Neifu. In the Ming Dynasty, it was sold to folk collectors and sold to each other. According to the inscription on the picture, Gu Congde got it from Huang Maofu’s family at “Jiajing Xinchou Winter for 50 gold” and Xiang Yuanbian “bought it from Gu’s family in Shanghai at the original price”. During the Kangxi Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty, it was presented to the Qing Palace and recorded in the “Peiwenzhai Calligraphy and Painting Manual” edited by Wang Yuanqi. At the end of Yongzheng’s reign, the royal family gave it to Xie Songzhou, who was responsible for identifying the famous painting books in the palace. Xie wrote this title, “It was obtained by Xie Songzhou of the Wu Clan in 195 years from the Xinchou of Jiajing”. But before long, it was taken back by Emperor Qianlong. During the reign of Xuantong (1909-1911), Puyi smuggled it out of the palace and was captured by Wang Xue’an, a soldier of the puppet Manchurian state. Forced by the war, Wang buried his income in the ground, and then transferred to his friend Wang Simin. After liberation, it was owned by the National Cutural Heritage Administration, which handed it over to the Palace Museum. At this time, nearly two thirds of it was damaged due to mildew and decay. The experts of the Palace Museum re-mounted it, patched it with silk and patched it with color, and it was able to play back its splendor.