Shen Zhou Cangzhou Fun Scroll

[Shen Zhou Cangzhou Interesting Picture Volume]

Cangzhou Interesting Picture Volume, Ming Dynasty, Shen Zhou’s work, paper edition, color setting, 30.1 cm vertical, 400.2 cm horizontal
Introduce Liu Kai’s title “Cangzhou interest”. Later, the paper said to itself, “It is like Dong Jushang to seek the landscape with ink and water. If Cang Bian uses the medicine to cover the nature and then seek the shape of Dong Juyu’s landscape, it will be very easy. Today’s people all call it: ‘I learn from Dong Ju’, which is to seek Dong Ju and leave the landscape behind. This volume is not the one who dares to dream of Dong Ju. Later, Shen Zhouzhi, a scholar, introduced the first seal of” Boiling Stone Pavilion “, and the second seal of” Kai Nan “and” Shi Tian “. Cangzhou in this picture is Cangzhou, which belonged to the Hejian Prefecture of Zhili in the Ming Dynasty. It is located in the north. Shen Zhou has never been there before. He only shows the nature and interest of mountains and rivers, so the picture name is “Cangzhou Interest”. The picture is laid out in a flat and distant way, mainly capturing the scenery of the water town in the south of the Yangtze River. The hills are winding, the water is vast, the slope banks are extended, and the trees are mixed into forests. It is a beautiful scenery of the mountains and rivers in the south. At the same time, it also integrates the majestic momentum of the northern mountains. The stacked mountains and rocks are hard and dignified with sharp edges and corners. The slope banks and platforms are also sharp and straight with sharp edges and corners. Their texture is mostly characterized by the northern mountains, which undoubtedly adds to the majestic momentum of the mountains and rivers. The painting method is also derived from Dong Ju, who uses techniques such as patchy texture, moss, round center and ink rendering, which are good at expressing the landscape in the south of the Yangtze River. However, when using the brush in the center, the outer brush and side front can be seen, and the turning is heavy, and the platform outline is more neat, lines, fine and powerful; Pima chap has also changed into short brush chap of grinding brush style, which is dignified; Dotted moss is also deep ink and thick pen, round and cross. The overall form of the brush and ink is firm and soft, with a beautiful color in the sky. It not only has the elegant charm of Dong Ju, but also has a strong sense of hardness and strength, which properly represents the interest of Cangzhou in Shen Zhou’s mind
The title on the back paper is a good footnote to the artistic expression of this picture. That is to say, Dong Yuan and Juran, the former sages advocated by literati painters, describe natural landscapes like Cang Bian, a famous doctor who uses medicine. They understand the nature first, then seek its shape, so they can’t go anywhere but not easily, and must deeply understand the true nature of the landscape. If you blindly imitate Dong Ju’s pen and ink form, you will only get the appearance of Dong Ju, but lose the authenticity of the natural landscape. The so-called “seeking Dong Ju and leaving the landscape”. Shen Zhou created this painting from the perspective of expressing his familiar natural landscape and highlighting its nature and true interest. Only on this premise can he flexibly use Dong Ju’s pen and ink. Therefore, although he said that “giving this scroll is not the one who dares to dream of Dong Ju”, he actually understood the beauty of Dong Jushan’s water and got its meaning. It can be seen that Shen Zhou’s understanding of “learning from the ancients” and “learning from nature” is quite dialectical, which is also one of the reasons for his success.