Zheng Xie’s ink brush, bamboo and stone picture axis

[Zheng Xie’s ink brush, bamboo and stone map axis]

The ink brush, bamboo and stone map axis, Qing Dynasty, Zheng Xie’s painting, paper, ink, 127.6 cm vertically and 57.7 cm horizontally
The caption on the painting is: “The four elder brothers of drinking cattle are as strong as bamboo, as clear as orchid, and as firm as stone. There is no such person in the generation. They have repeatedly asked for the painting, but have not responded to it. In the ninth autumn of the fifth year of Qianlong’s reign, they were given to the apartment because of the inspection of the old paintings in the family. The bamboo has no pole, the blue leaves are slanted, and the stone is narrow, which may not be enough to be a gentleman’s intention. They will redeem their ears as good paintings in the future. The younger brother of Banqiao, Zheng Xie.” The seal of “Zheng Xie” and “Ke Rou”. The fifth year of Qianlong was 1740
Zheng Xie likes to draw orchids, bamboos and stones most. He believes that they have festival, fragrance and bone. The “Four Gentlemen” in his works expand the connotation of self-entertainment in literati paintings, either to express the “aspiration to use the world”, or to eulogize the spirit of being unyielding and firm. This kind of outside meaning breaks through the barrier of self-expression of literati painting. This picture was given to a friend by Zheng Xie. From the perspective of the inscription, it was a painting that he temporarily found from his own collection, and then added the inscription to give it. In the picture, the strength of bamboo, the elegance of orchid and the tenacity of stone are used to describe the noble character of the “four elder brothers of drinking cattle”. Orchids and bamboos are placed among the steep rocks, crisscrossing, natural, elegant and free, showing a kind of tenacious vitality. In terms of painting, bamboo is painted with powerful official script strokes, orchids are painted with vertical cursive strokes, and steep rocks are sketched with side peaks, which are slightly chapped. The three complement each other. The inscription on the rock makes the oblique diagonal composition of the picture itself stable and thick. In addition, the “six and a half” script with regular script and seal script is used to offset each other, which is clear, powerful and elegant, and also strengthens the connotation of the theme.