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On the Inauthenticity of Ten Odes by Zhang
Xian of the Northern Song Dynasty
Wu Gan
China Central Institute of Fine Arts
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Ten Odes, by Zhang Xian (990-1078) of the Northern Song dynasty,
was in the collection of the Qing dynasty (1644-1912) inner court, according
to the second edition of the imperial inventory Shiqu baoji
(completed 1793) and the Shiqu suibi (Notes on the
Shiqu baoji, completed 1793 by Ruan Yuan, 1764-1849). Afterwards, the
painting left the palace as one of the items stolen away from the Palace
Museum by the last Qing emperor Puyi (1906-1967). In October 1995, The
Palace Museum in Beijing bought it back during the autumn sales of the
Hanhai Auction Company autumn sales for a price of RMB18 million.
Although the painting comes from the Qing imperial collection and has
been vetted as an authentic work of Zhang Xian, this author meticulously
examined the entire painting and analyzed it with regard to the textual
evidence, and can prove without a doubt that it is spurious. The earliest
record of this painting is in the entry for "Master Zhang's Ten
Odes," in Qi dong ye yu (Wild Words from East of Qi),
by Zhou Mi (1232-1298) of the Southern Song, indicating that he and
his father Zhou Jin (or Zhou Mingshu) acquired the painting. This detailed
account of possession by the Zhou family is in fact the first reliable
documentation of Ten Odes. Furthermore, it provides the foundation
upon which to judge the authenticity of the painting.
This author carefully compared this painting with the account in Qi
dong ye yu as well as in other documents*, and discovered several
careless errors. A brief outline follows:
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Characters
The ten narrative poems (yong)
referred to in the painting and those recorded in Qi dong
ye yu diverge in 27 places. Among the poems on the painting,
the number of omissions and inaccuracies increases, and there
are obvious inconsistencies in the rhymes.
Prefaces and inscriptions
Inscriptions by Sun Jue (Southern
Song), Chen Zhensun (Northern Song), and Xian Yushu (Yuan) all
contain questionable sections. For example, several portions written
by Sun and Chen do not correspond to the Qi dong ye yu.
In addition, contradictions appear in Chen Zhensun's discussion
relating to the period before and after Zhang Xian produced this
painting and in Xian Yushu's commenting on his complete ignorance
of Zhang Xian's and Xian Yushi's generation and the friendship
between the two men, etc.
Collectors' seals
The Song dynasty seal of Jia Sidao is
a forgery.
Style
The period style, painting technique,
and calligraphy all demonstrate that this painting diverges considerably
from the work by the painter Zhang Xian.
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*Including the second edition of the Shiqu baoji and Song
xue zhai ji (Collected Works from the Pine and Snow Studio, 1991)
by Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322), among others.
For another viewpoint, see "Zhang
Xian's Ten Odes" in this issue.
Two other articles, "New Discoveries
of Calligraphy and Painting. . ." and "Exhibition
of Treasures of Painting and Calligraphy Acquired by the Palace Museum
over the Last 50 Years," also mention Ten Odes.
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Yin Jinan
China Central Institute of Fine Arts
Nixi Cura
On the State of the Field
Scholarship in the History of Ancient Painting in the 1990s
by Xue Yongnian
Puyi's Legacy
New Discoveries of Calligraphy
and Painting from the Palace Museum's "List of Lost Works"
by Liu Jianlong
A Record-Breaking Purchase by the Palace Museum
Zhang Xian's Ten Odes
by Yang Lili
Zhang Xian's Ten Odes: Counterpoint
On the Inauthenticity of Ten
Odes by Zhang Xian of the Northern Song Dynasty
by Wu Gan
Select Bibliography on Chinese Painting
Palace Museum Exhibition
"Treasures of Painting
and Calligraphy Acquired by the Palace Museum over the Last 50 Years"
by Fu Dongguang
Palace Museum Exhibition
"Grand Exhibition
of Cultural Relics Collected over the Last 50 Years"
Palace Museum Symposium
Academic Symposium Accompanying
the "Grand
Exhibition of Cultural Relics Collected over the Last 50 Years" at the Palace
Museum
by Wang Qi
Shanghai Museum
The Shanghai Museum
Holds A Symposium on Its Exhibition of Masterpieces
by Xue Yongnian
Liaoning Provincial Museum
An Assembly of Masterpieces,
Presented in Radiant Splendor: Record of the "Exhibition of Treasures from
the Ten Great Archaeological Discoveries in Liaoning"
by Ma Cheng
Important
Results from the Liao Tomb Excavation at Jarud Qi
by Tala, Yang Jie, and Dong Linxin
Three Eastern
Han Tombs with Wall Paintings at Otog
by Wang Dafang and Yang Zemeng
"Appreciation
and Analysis of the Murals Unearthed from a Song Tomb at Wang Shang Village
in Dengfeng, Henan Province
by Zhang Songlin and Zhang Deshui
"A
Breakthrough in the Interpretation of the 'Stone Carvings' at Junshan"
by Chen Xiangyuan
"Notes
on the Excavation of Han Tomb No. 1 at Huxi Mountain, Yuanling"
by Guo Weimin
"Animal
Designs and Chinese Script on the 'Five Stars of the East Favor the Central
Kingdom' Brocade"
by Li Ling
Extracts
from China Archaeology and Art Digest 3:2/3 (January 2000): Painting
and Pictorial Arts
Ding Xiyuan on Quehua
qiuse tu
Hao Junhong on Ma
Shouzhen
Shan Guoqiang on "Haipai"
Yu Hui on Yuan court artists
Macao Art Museum
"The Efflorescence of a Prosperous Age: Fine Works of Qing Dynasty Painting
and Objects of the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong Reigns in the Collection
of the Palace Museum"
National Gallery, Washington, DC
"The Golden
Age of Chinese Archaeology: Celebrated Discoveries from the People's Republic
of China"
by Andrew K. Y. Leung
The
Qingming shanghe Scroll and Qingming shanghe Studies
by Wang Qi
On Qingming
shanghe Studies
by Nie Chongzheng
Chai Zejun: Collected
Works on Ancient Architecture
Fifty
Years of Archaeology in New China
Volume 1, Issue 1 (October 1999)
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