Ni Zan’s Cold Pine Map Axis

[Ni Zan Cold Pine Map Axis in Youjian]

The Cold Pine Map Axis in Youjian, Yuan Dynasty, by Ni Zan, paper, ink, 59.7 cm in length and 50.4 cm in width
This painting was written by Zhou Xunxue, a friend, and was inscribed with a five-character poem: “In the autumn heat, people are sick and drink, and they are angry about the road. The pines and streams are rustling, and the clear shade fills the house. The cold springs slide on the cliffs, and the white clouds gather in the morning and evening. The bosom is as beautiful as gold and jade, and Zhou Zimei is extravagant. The rest of the scenery is matched by the bridge, and the smiling words are thinking and meeting.” Ni Zanqing holds high integrity, and is not an official all his life, He “looks at worldly things with white eyes, and his pure words bend the times. He is rich and noble with black feet, and his thoughts hang on to the present name.” (“Shuhuai Poem”) not only holds his own attitude towards life after birth, but also firmly opposes friends’ entry into the world as officials. This picture is a farewell to a friend, and it is more to persuade the friend to “stop” and “rest” his official thoughts, which contains a strong “hidden meaning”. Pingyuan draws the valley of the stream, and the mountains and rocks gradually recede. Two pine trees stand upright in the cold spring at the bottom of the stream. The artistic conception is bleak and detached, which seems to imply the danger of official career and the complacency of seclusion. The composition of the picture does not use the common two-part method of “one river and two banks”, but like most of his works, a large blank space is left at the top of the picture, which makes the viewer unable to distinguish between water and sky. The color of the mountain stone is light, the brushwork is beautiful and steep, and the side edge of the brush is eager to be folded and chapped, clean and full of changes. The pine tree is in a rusty state, with strong strokes
Ni Zan painted this painting without much ink but with deep artistic conception, “sparse but not simple”, “simple but not many”. His style of painting, which is simple in shape and pays attention to the expression of spirit, is called “Yipin” by later generations. In the Ming Dynasty, it was even more “people in the south of the Yangtze River should be clear about what they have”, and its clear elevation was always respected as “the high scholar among the high scholars” in the minds of scholars and doctors of all dynasties
This painting is simple and elegant. Although it has no model year, it can be seen from the change of calligraphy from vertical length to flat square, as well as the famous style and painting style, it should be a work of late years.