Recently, Suzhou Museum and Xiling Seal Society Press have cooperated to launch the "Suzhou Museum Collection of Rare Stele and Calligraphy Essence" series. The first batch of five types of works are available, including the Northern Song Dynasty rubbing of "Lushan Temple Stele", the Northern Song Dynasty rubbing of "Duobao Pagoda Stele", Song Dynasty rubbing of "Ancient Lanting", Ming Dynasty rubbing of "Confucius Temple Stele" and Ming Dynasty rubbing of "Seven Princesses' Prerogative House Records", which provide good conditions for related research and appreciation. This article selects some of the things that may be useful for discussion and discussion, and briefly describes them, so as to seek correction from the world's experts and colleagues.
Although the Suzhou Museum's collection of rare inscriptions and calligraphy seems to have not attracted much attention, it recently cooperated with Xiling Seal Society Press to launch the "Suzhou Museum's Collection of Rare Inscriptions and Calligraphy Essence" series, which is still quite surprising: the first five types of works that have been released, whether it is the Tang Dynasty Li Beihai (Yong) "Lushan Temple Stele" handed down from the Northern Song Dynasty, which has been collected by Wang Shu, Li Hongyi, Duan Fang, Jing Pu Sun, He Houqi and He Yanong since the Qing Dynasty, or the "Song Dynasty Rubbing Ancient Lanting" collected by Gu's Guoyun Tower, the Tang Yan Zhen The Northern Song Dynasty rubbings of the Duobao Pagoda Stele by Qing, the Eastern and Western volumes of the Confucius Temple Stele by Yu Shinan of the Tang Dynasty, which was formerly owned by Wu Hufan, the Ming Dynasty rubbings of the Seven Princesses' Quancuozhi, which was inscribed by Tang Han and the old copy collected by Shen Yunchu, are not only recognized masterpieces in the history of Chinese calligraphy, but also rare works collected by famous masters and handed down with a history; what is even more rare is that except for the black-and-white photocopy of the Lushan Temple Stele, which was supplemented with the stele and the back of the stele in the late 1970s but did not include all the inscriptions, the other four are all first-time prints. Now that all the original colors and simulated fine prints are available, it undoubtedly provides unprecedented good conditions for related research and appreciation. As a fellow enthusiast, I have also gained a little from reading and appreciating them. Based on what I know and see in my daily life, I have selected some of them that may be useful for communication and discussion, and briefly described them, so as to correct the experts and colleagues in the world.
The Essence of Rare Books and Calligraphy in Suzhou Museum
Among the best rubbings of the "Lushan Temple Stele" handed down from generation to generation, the Northern Song rubbings with the characters "Sou" in the 16th line of the stele and "闱" in the 19th line of the stele are considered the best. The so-called ones in the old days include the copy collected by the Bi brothers in the Qing Palace (hereinafter referred to as the Qing Palace copy), the copy collected by Zhang Xiaobin (hereinafter referred to as the Zhang Xiaobin copy), the copy collected by Jing Pu Sun and presented by Duan Fang (hereinafter referred to as the Jing Pu Sun copy), and the copy collected by Zhao Shengbo (Shijun) (hereinafter referred to as the Zhao Shengbo copy). In the copy of Zhang Xiaobin copied by the Forbidden City Publishing House in 2010 based on the collection of the Palace Museum, there is a postscript written by Zhao Shengbo in May of Gengshen (1920), in which he commented on the merits and demerits of his own copy, Jing Pu Sun copy, and Zhang Xiaobin copy (then in the possession of Shen An Baoxi):
The "Sou" version of the "Lushan Temple Stele" was rubbing from the Northern Song Dynasty. I have seen three copies: one is the copy in my collection, one is the copy by Jing Pu Sun (now owned by the He family in Lingshi), and now I have seen the copy by Shen An Shilang. From the three copies, Jing's copy was the first to be rubbing, and the rubbing technique is also the most refined. However, from the characters "迹其武" (traces) to the characters "是" (so 沤和正觉) of "是", a total of 56 characters are missing, which is counted in the first opening of the mounted copy; after that, the characters below "英英披雾" (fog) are all missing, a total of 29 characters, and there are still missing characters in the middle. The copy in my collection was rubbing later, and the rubbing technique is also the worst, but it is the most complete. This copy was rubbing the same time as the copy in my collection, and the rubbing technique used is more calm, and most of the missing characters that are halfway left are cut off, which is the biggest difference among the three copies. The so-called "Sou" version is that the "Sou" character in "阿若冥搜" (A Ruo Ming Sou) is not lost, and after that, above "上计于京" (upper part of the book) there are seven characters "别承乐公名光○" (better than the name of Le Gong Ming Guang○). At first, those who studied the order of this stele attached great importance to the "Huangxianhe" version... Therefore, before my copy was published, people did not know that there was a so-called "Sou" version. When I showed it to Mr. Li Zhihui, he was surprised that he had never seen such a thing before. He sighed and said, "I have always suspected that there must be another word above "Shangji Yujing". I have been thinking about it for decades, but now it is clear." I was ordered by Shen An to proofread this version, so I wrote it in detail and corrected it. On the 29th day of the fifth month of the Gengshen year, Zhao Shijun of Nanfeng wrote it down.
Rubbing of the Lushan Temple Stele by Jing Pusun
Compared with the conclusions of related research and appraisal by later scholars, Zhao's statement seems to be "foresighted". For example, Wu Hufan's "Chou Ting Diary" (included in "Wu Hufan's Manuscripts" edited by Liang Ying, published by China Academy of Art Press in September 2004) recorded that he viewed the Jing Pushun version of "Lushan Temple Stele" at He Yanong (Cheng)'s place on April 20, 1931, and said: " I borrowed it to proofread, but unfortunately two pages are missing, and more than 20 words are missing at the end. " When it was returned the next day, it was recorded again: " I proofread the Huang Xianhe version, and found that there are more than ten words. I found that the word '檵' in the stele has no lower mouth, which is suspicious. The ink and paper colors are all from the Northern Song Dynasty. It is hard to predict whether it is a Song translation. ” Another example is Mr. Wang Zhuanghong’s “Supplement to the Stele Collation Notes” (Shanghai Painting and Calligraphy Publishing House, July 1981), in the “Supplement” of the “Lushan Temple Stele” entry: “ In recent years, I have seen a copy with Wang Liangchang’s inscription in the Suzhou Museum, which is the most refined and old. I have collated it in detail with the copy in the Palace Museum in Beijing and the copy in the old collection of Zhao Shengbo, and the record is as follows… In the above three copies of the inscription, the 'search' in the 16th line of '若冥搜想', the '止' in the 17th line of '牧伯萃止', and the '闱' in the 19th line of '硕德高闱' are all correct and can be called the Northern Song version, but each has its own advantages and disadvantages. The copy in the Suzhou Museum is the most refined and old, but unfortunately it is missing more than 70 characters. The Palace Museum copy is slightly later than the Suzhou copy, and there are many mistakes in the description. The six characters '别承乐公名光' in the text are missing. Among the three copies, the Zhao copy is the latest, and the rubbing is rough, but the inscription is complete. "From what Wu and Wang recorded, we know that the basic points are all within the scope of Zhao's previous discussions.
The first rubbing of the Lushan Temple Stele by Jing Pusun
In 2003, Mr. Ma Chengming saw another Northern Song rubbing from Mr. Weng Wange in the United States, which was previously owned by Weng Tonghe. The six characters "别承乐公名光" before "上计于京" at the end of the inscription were all preserved, and were later recorded in his "Records of Rare Inscriptions and Calligraphy Found Overseas" (Shanghai Painting and Calligraphy Publishing House, June 2014). Thus, there is one more Northern Song rubbing of the "Lushan Temple Stele" in existence. In the aforementioned Zhang Xiaobin copy, there is also a postscript by Feng Rujie in Renxu (1922), which states:
Every year on the birthday of Xuan, Yibin would have a banquet with the Grand Tutor Chen Taoan of Min County, the Jingcheng of Nanpi, the Deputy Governor Zhu Aiqing of Lianhua, the Assistant Minister of Changbai Bao Shenan, the Duhu of Jingpu, the Beijing Minister Yang Yin of Wuxi, and the Shijiang of Wanping Yuan Juesheng at Fangjia Garden to appreciate the famous works. This year, I was also present. The Grand Tutor got the Imperial Palace copy of this stele and compared it with several copies. The Imperial Palace copy was comparable to the Jing copy when it was rubbing, and there were inscriptions by famous people such as Wang Linzhou. However, there were many smears, which damaged the charm. The words "乐承名公" and so on were also cut out, which is a bit regrettable.
The imperial copy that Feng saw was the one recorded under the entry for "Tang Lushan Temple Stele" in Mr. Zhang Yansheng's "Catalogue of Rare Books and Calligraphy" (Zhonghua Book Company, February 1984): " The Bi's copy kept in the National Palace Museum has not been excavated. The six characters '别承乐公名光' are damaged and the characters are missing. " This copy is also known as the Qing Imperial Palace copy. It is now in the National Palace Museum in Taipei and was reprinted in collotype in 1933. As for Feng's postscript, it says that "乐承名公" in the Imperial Palace version has been cut off, which should be what he saw when comparing it with Zhang Xiaobin's version. In the photocopy of Zhang Xiaobin's version in the Palace Museum by the Forbidden City Publishing House, the six characters "别承乐公名光" that should have appeared before "上计于京" are indeed only four characters "承乐名公". Therefore, among the existing Northern Song Dynasty rubbings of the "Lushan Temple Stele", only the Jingpu Sun version, Zhao Shengbo version and Weng Tonghe version are known to have the six characters "别承乐公名光" at the end of the stele intact. As for Weng's postscripts in the Weng Tonghe version recorded by Mr. Ma Chengming, it is mentioned that " In the third month of the Xinchou year, the historian Fei Xili brought this stele from Suzhou. It was an old thing of Sun Beihai. The felt and wax are exquisite, rich, moist and clean. It is a true Northern Song Dynasty rubbing. The six characters "别承乐公名光" at the end of the stele are also present, which is far better than other versions. " However, since it has not been seen so far, it seems that it can only be heard. In another postscript written on September 15th, 1900, Weng wrote: " In the summer of Gengzi, I was in the mountains. Uncle Peng brought this stele to me. It was corroded and could not be touched. He said he got it from Wu Zimian's house in Laowu City... Zimian lived in the Daoguang period and had a large collection of books, but now his collection is in decline. There is no title on the stele, but there are official seals on the front and back. I quickly bought it at a high price. There are very few missing characters on the stele. The last six characters 'Bie Cheng Le Gong Ming Guang' have never been seen in the recorders, and they are the evidence of the ancient rubbings of the Northern Song Dynasty. I have entrusted it to a skilled craftsman for mounting, so that I can pass it on to future generations. "Not only can it be cross-referenced with the record in Weng Tonghe's Diary (edited by Weng Wange, revised by Weng Yijun, published by Zhongxi Book Company in January 2012) on July 18 (August 23) of the 25th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1889), "Peng Shucai brought the Yuelu Stele with the seal of Sikou Gong", and on August 17 (October 10) of the 26th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1900), "the Yuelu Stele was handed over to Bi Gong for mounting", and on August 28 (October 21), "Bi Zaoqing has finished mounting the Yuelu Stele", but we can also know that Weng specifically pointed out that the Lushan Temple Stele he collected "has the six characters 'Biecheng Le Gong Mingguang' at the end, which has never been seen by any recorder, and is the evidence of the ancient rubbings of the Northern Song Dynasty", which was twenty years earlier than Zhao Shengbo's mention of this point in the postscript to Zhang Xiaobin's version in the Gengshen year (1920). Unfortunately, due to objective conditions, it has not been possible to compare and collate the Weng Tonghe version with the Jing Pu Sun version and the Zhao Shengbo version. However, as far as we know now, in terms of the time of transmission and the quality of the rubbing, the Jing Pu Sun version in the Suzhou Museum is still one of the best.
The inscription on the Lushan Temple Stele by Jing Pu Sun's original work by Fang Duan and Zhang Xiluan
In front of the copy of the Lushan Temple Stele by Jing Pu Sun in the Northern Song Dynasty in Suzhou Museum, there is an inscription by Duan Fang, which says: " The copy of the Yuelu Stele in the Northern Song Dynasty in Pu Sun Du Hu's collection is the best in the world. In the spring of Dingwei, Duan Fang presented it to Jing Pu Sun and wrote the inscription. " It is known that Duan Fang presented it to Jing Pu Sun in the spring of Dingwei, that is, the 33rd year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1907). Duan Fang (1861-1911) was named Wuqiao and was also known as Lao Zhai. He was a member of the Manchu Plain White Banner. In the 8th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1882), he passed the imperial examination and became a member of the Yuanwailang. Later, he was promoted from a prefect to the Governor-General of Liangjiang and the Governor-General of Zhili. In addition to government affairs, he was fond of calligraphy and painting, and collected a wide range of things, so he had a rich collection, including "Lao Zhai Jijin Lu", "Lao Zhai Cangshi Ji", "Ren Yin Xiao Xia Lu", etc. Jing Pu Sun (1876-1926) was originally named Wanyan Jingxian, with the courtesy names Xiangfu and Renzhai. He was a member of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner. They are all famous for their collection and appreciation. Mr. Zhang Boju said in his article "Collectors of Calligraphy and Painting in Beijing since the Late Qing Dynasty" (included in "Collected Works of Zhang Boju", Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, August 2013) at the beginning: " Among the collectors of calligraphy and painting in Beijing from the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republic of China, Wanyan Jingxian should be mentioned first. Jingxian's name is Pu Sun, and he is a Manchu. He is good at appreciation and has a wide range of knowledge. At that time, Duan Fang once traveled with him. He hand-copied "Catalogue of Calligraphy and Painting in Sanyu Hall" (the three Yus are the volume of "Temple Stele" by Yu Yongxing of the Tang Dynasty, the volume of "Draft Epitaph of Princess Runan" by Yu Yongxing, and the volume of "Poxie Lun" by Yu Yongxing), totaling 146 pieces. Under each item, it is noted that it belongs to a certain person or his own property, or it was lost in the Gengzi Year, and many of them were given to Duan Fang. "He also listed the famous works he collected and commented on them from time to time, and also described the general dispersion of his works after his death. Although the author also cited the note by Su Houru (Zongren), who discovered and compiled the manuscript of the catalog, saying that "Jingshi named the hall 'Three Yu', but in fact, none of the three Yus are authentic", he also praised the fine and good ones in his collection. In the "Catalogue of Steles and Calligraphy of Sanyu Hall" attached to the catalog, there is also "Song Dynasty Rubbing of Lushan Temple Stele", which is annotated as "gifted by Tao Shuai", which should be the copy collected by Suzhou Museum now. There are also "Song Dynasty Rubbing of Han Dynasty Huashan Stele Uncut Siming Large Hanging Scroll" and "Twenty-nine Characters of Mount Tai in Seal Script of Ruan Yuan's Old Collection Long Scroll", both of which are annotated as "gifted to Tao Shuai". The former is the only original rubbing of the four handed down copies of the Han Dynasty Huashan Temple Stele, which is particularly rare. In Mr. Shi Anchang's "Chronological Table of Inscriptions on the Han Huashan Temple Stele" (Cultural Relics Publishing House, January 1997), it is mentioned that there is a poem written by He Shaoqi for "Pushan Shilang" in the ninth year of Xianfeng (1859), saying that the stele "had been returned to Chong Pushan at this time", that is, Jing's grandfather Wanyan Chongshi (1820-1876). In the entry for September of the 33rd year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu (1907), according to the inscription by Shen Zengtong in the Song Dynasty rubbing of the Changyuan version, " At the same time, I viewed the two versions in Siming and Guanzhong and the two versions of the Liu Xiong Stele ", we can infer that "at this time, the three versions of the Huashan Stele were all collected by Duan Fang." Therefore, the record in Jing's stele catalog that he gave his ancestral "Song Dynasty rubbing of the Han Dynasty Huashan Stele, a large hanging scroll from Siming, uncut, to Tao Shuai, to complete the story of the three peaks" means that Duan Fang, who had already obtained the two versions from Changyuan and Guanzhong, obtained this and made it into three copies. It must have been around this time, and it was the same year that Duan Fang gave the Song Dynasty rubbing of the Lushan Temple Stele to Jing.
The last part of the rubbing of the Lushan Temple Stele by Jing Pusun
The "Catalogue of Calligraphy and Paintings in Sanyutang" notes that the gifts given to Duan Fang include "Song Liang Kai's "Pasturing Cattle and Horses" long scroll (paper version)" and "Yuan Zhao Songxue's "Tianyu Cavalry" scroll (silk version, with a seal script song on paper version attached)"; and the gifts given to Jing by Duan Fang include "Tang Yu Yongxing's "Temple Stele" authentic copy (paper version)" and "Tang Yu Yongxing's "Draft Epitaph for the Princess of Runan" authentic copy (paper version), all of which are among the "Three Yus". There is also "the original half-volume of Thousand Characters in the cursive script by Master Gao Xian of the Tang Dynasty (paper version)", to which Jing himself noted: "It was lost in the Gengzi year, which is a great pity." According to the first volume of Xia'an Qingmi Lu (published in thread-bound form by the Hong Kong branch of the Commercial Press in September 1946), which later acquired this volume, Ye Gongchuo, there is an inscription by Wang Chonglie in this volume, which says: "Pu Sun Du Hu obtained this volume in the Wuxu year of the Guangxu period, and it was an old item from Shen's Couple Garden. It was lost in the city of Shenyang in the autumn of the Gengzi year, and for ten years, I never forgot it for a single day. The Shangshu of the Laozhai suddenly found it in a shop and gave it to him as a gift. I was so happy to have a pearl returned to Hepu, and it has been a romantic story in the ink forest. Du Hu asked me to record the whole process, and it was the Dragon Boat Festival in the Gengxu year of the Xuantong period. Wang Chonglie of Fushan respectfully recorded it. " So we know that Jing obtained this in the Wuxu year (the 24th year of the Guangxu period, 1898) and lost it in the Gengzi year (the 26th year of the Guangxu period, 1900). Ten years later, in the second year of the Xuantong reign (1910), Duan Fang bought it and gave it back to the original owner. All of this seems to give us a glimpse of the exchange of calligraphy and paintings between the two. In addition, Miao Quansun (1844-1919) also mentioned the past of Duan Fang and Jing Pushun in his Diary of the Old Man Yifeng (included in the Complete Works of Miao Quansun, edited by Zhang Tingyin and Zhu Yuqi, published by Phoenix Publishing House in September 2014):
The diary of Dingwei (the 33rd year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu, 1907) on September 21st records: " Marshal Lao invited us to have breakfast at Banshan Temple. Cheng Le'an, Shen Zipei, Shen Youyan, Wang Hanfu, Jing Pushun and Mr. De Si were at the table. " Wang Hanfu is the Wang Chonglie who wrote the inscription on Gao Xian's cursive script "Thousand Essays" mentioned above.
Diary of Jiyou (the first year of Xuantong, 1909) on April 21st: " In the evening, Marshal Lao invited Paul Pelliot to accompany him. Wang Xiaoyu, Zhang Shizhi, Kuang Kuisheng, Jing Pusun, Liu Shengshu, and Chen Shanyu sat at the same table. "
The diary of the Xinhai Revolution (the third year of the Xuantong reign, 1911) records the following on the 14th day of the first lunar month: " Xu Jiuxiang invited me to drink. Lao Zhai, Zhong Gang, Su Kan, You Yan, Jin Rengzhu, Jing Pushun, and Yu Dongping were all at the same table. " Su Kan was Zheng Xiaoxu (1860-1938). The Diary of Zheng Xiaoxu compiled by Lao Zude (Zhonghua Book Company, October 1933) also records:
Xinhai Diary (Xuantong Year 3, 1911) January 7 (February 5): " I went to meet Marshal Wu, and met Xu Lisheng, Hua Zhusan, Chen Aishi, Shu Zhifu, Jing Pushun and others. "
On the 14th day of the first lunar month (February 12): " In the afternoon, I passed Yue Fengwu and then went to Baohualu to meet with Xu Jiuxiang. Wu Shuai showed the Ni Yuanlu painting stone he bought. We went to Jing Pu Sun Banmu Garden together to see the Quanben "Ge Tie" and two paintings by Dong Beiyuan. I left first. "
In addition, as of May 9, the first year of the Xuantong reign (1909), Miao Quansun still wrote in his diary: " Marshal Lao handed over 100 gold coins from Ying, three Huayue steles, and two Song Dynasty rubbings of Lushan Temple Stele. Jing Pu Sun, Zhi Shuping, and Kuang Kui were born. " This seems to be consistent with Mr. Sang Zhen's "Record of Modern Photocopied Rare Books and Calligraphy" (Shanghai Painting and Calligraphy Publishing House, December 2022), which records that in the fourth year of the Republic of China (1915), Youzheng Book Bureau's stone-printed "Lushan Temple Stele in the Song Dynasty in the Lao Zhai Collection" (the 33rd year of the Guangxu reign, 1907), there is a postscript by Li Baoxun on the 20th day of Jiaping in Dingwei (the 33rd year of the Guangxu reign, 1907), recording that he saw as many as five rubbings of "Lushan Temple Stele" in Duan Fang's Baohua Temple, and said, "I have recently checked several copies and this one is the best, and I am amazed at it." But if Jing Pu Sun happened to be visiting on that day, he might have seen the "three Huayue steles and two Song Dynasty rubbings of Lushan Temple Stele" that Duan Fang gave to Miao. In addition, the copy mentioned by Zhang Xiaobin also has Jing's signature: "The word 'sou' has not been cut out on this rubbing. It is in front of the original copy of Yuhong and the copy formerly owned by Wang Wenmin. Six days after the winter solstice of the Dingwei year, Jing Xianguan respectfully noted this. " There is also another note: " On December 3rd, Dingwei year of the Guangxu period, Fei Moqishan and Jining Wang Zhen visited together, and Zhen wrote this. " This Jining Wang Zhen should be the same person who signed the inscription on Jing Pu Sun's copy. As for Jing Pu Sun's copy, there is another line of inscription by Zhao Liewen (1832-1893) in the middle of spring of Dinghai (the 13th year of the Guangxu reign, 1887). It was probably written by Zhao Liewen at the request of Yuanchen, the adopted son of Li Hongyi (1831-1885), who had once collected this copy, when he was identifying the remaining inscriptions and calligraphy of Li. Zhao's "Nengjingju Diary" (compiled by Liao Chengliang, Yuelu Publishing House, July 2013) recorded the whole process in great detail.
Part of the rubbings of the "Seven Princesses" in the Suzhou Museum
Suzhou Museum has Song Ke's "Ming Dynasty Rubbing of the Records of the Seven Concubines" written on stone in the early Ming Dynasty, which was given by Wu Hufan to his son-in-law Wu Jiqun. According to Wu's long inscription and the date in the album, it is known that this copy was treasured because it was "known as a genuine rubbing and has been passed down for hundreds of years", and there is a postscript by Shen Shitian (Hao), a Ming loyalist. In the Gengwu year of the Republic of China (1930), Wu obtained "the re-ink copy of the old collection of Lu in Taicang, and then obtained the copy in Huang Xiaosong's collection to examine it, and then he determined the true face of Song's "Records of the Seven Concubines". The conclusion was that "the copy in Lu's collection was a solitary rubbing", so he removed Shen Shitian's postscript and moved it to the old collection of Lu in Taicang; it was reassembled and given to Wu Jiqun again in the winter of Guiwei (1943). The "Imitation of Chen Qiushui's Long Bridge and Moon Viewing" at the beginning of the album by Wu is dated Gengwu (1930), which should be an old work at that time. The first opening of the rubbing is the five characters "七姬权厝志" in seal script, which are mounted in two lines. On the right side, there is a note by Wu: " Ming rubbing of the "七姬权厝志", a copy from the old collection of the Shen family in Chuansha. It was once owned by Wu An in the Tang Dynasty and passed to the Shen family. Wu Hufan wrote it." In the lower left corner of the seal scripture, on the old collection of scriptures paper, in addition to Wu's inscription " Song Shu Quan Yu, Hufan wrote the "七姬志" to commemorate the wise nephews ", there are two other seals: the red " Wu An Pingsheng Zhenshang " and the white " Changshou Shending ". Because I recalled that I had seen it in Tang Han's "Wei Zimian Zhai Changwu" (Wu'an), I checked Tang's book in the "Wu Zhong Literature Series" photocopied from the original by Guangling Book Society in 2018, and found that "Ming Dynasty Reprint of Yuan Pan Zhongzhao's Records of the Seven Concubines" was recorded on the volume, with a brief note: " The original stone of "Seven Concubines Records" is more valued than the original. This one has a postscript by Shen Shitian. " This not only proves that Tang did have this copy, but also shows that it was titled "Ming Dynasty Reprint" at that time.
The Suzhou Museum's copy of the "Seven Concubines Records" opens with the seal script "Seven Concubines Records" and Wu's postscript
However, even so, it still has a value that cannot be ignored. As far as appreciation is concerned, among the important rubbings of "Seven Princesses" known to the world, the Huang Xiaosong copy with inscriptions by Weng Fanggang, which was once owned by Huoqiu Pei Jingfu and later transferred to Wu's Siou Hall through Jiang Gusun, and was once regarded by Wu as a rubbing of the original stone, and the copy said to be the Yulan Hall copy of Wen's family, are now missing; that is, the copy of the collotype photocopy of Shanghai Changyi Society in 1934 is also hard to find. The "Taicang Lu's copy" that Wu finally identified as the original stone is said to still be in the Shanghai Museum, but the original has not been seen so far. Therefore, the copies of Tang Wu'an, Shen Yunchu, Wu Hufan and Wu Jiqun in the Suzhou Museum are almost rare. From the perspective of research, it is also of special value. Not to mention that once the "Taicang Lu's Edition" is republished, the Suzhou Museum's copy must be used for collation. Just from Wu's note after reading the "Taicang Lu's Edition" that year, " The right copy is missing two characters, the largest of which is 40 and a half characters, and the smallest is 13 characters. I used mud and gold to supplement it, and copied it according to the solitary copy of Lu Runzhi. Hu Fan's note. " If his collation is basically reliable, it can also indirectly get a glimpse of the similarities and differences between the "Taicang Lu's Edition" and other copies. First, we tried to collate the Suzhou Museum's copy, the Huang Xiaosong copy reprinted by Changyi Society, and the Wen's Yulantang copy. However, Wu copied the characters based on the "Taicang Lu's Edition", and there is no way to check the shape, strokes, and damage of the characters. In addition, due to the limited space of this article, it is impossible to list all the collation results one by one. Let's just select two slightly typical variant texts as examples.
The last part of the rubbing of the "Seven Princesses" in the Suzhou Museum
The third line on the left side of the first leaf of the copy in the Suzhou Museum is "善女红", which is the same as the Huang Xiaosong copy, and the Wen family Yulantang copy is "善女工". This example has been proofread by Mr. Wang Zhuanghong in the past, and recorded in his "Chongshanlou Notes" (Shanghai Bookstore Publishing House, October 2008) under the "Seven Princesses' Quancuo Records". As for saying that it is a mistake, it is not known that "女红" and "女工" are originally interchangeable, but this version is different.
In the Suzhou Museum's copy of the rubbing, the third page on the left side, the fifth line reads "Alas, the ancient historians recorded it". The two characters "Alas" and the character "side" above them were both written by Wu in gold. However, in Huang Xiaosong's copy and Wen's Yulantang copy, the two characters "Alas" are both written as "try to see". In the aforementioned "Wuzhong Literature Collection", the text of this record in "Seven Princesses' Ode to the Forest" compiled by Bei Yong during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty also reads "try to see", and Bei was one of the people who once collected the old rubbing of "Seven Princesses' Records" and reprinted it based on it and handed it down to the world.
For these two examples, if Wu's revisions can truly reflect the original appearance of the "Taicang Lu's Edition", perhaps under the existing conditions, it can provide a reference basis for studying the relationship between the "Taicang Lu's Edition" and the Suzhou Museum's edition, Huang Xiaosong's edition and Wen's Yulan Hall edition, as well as the relationship between the Suzhou Museum's edition, Huang Xiaosong's edition and Wen's Yulan Hall edition.
Title painting of Su Boben's "Qi Ji Zhi"
Wu Hufan's collection of rare inscriptions and rubbings, in addition to the commonly seen seals and inscriptions and relatively rare door paintings, also has another unique feature. Like his collection of ancient calligraphy and paintings, he also liked to write lyrics to express his appreciation and recorded them on them. Many of them were later included in his collection of lyrics. In the second volume of Wu's "The Traces of Song Poems" reprinted by Shanghai Bookstore Publishing House in 2002, there is "Seventh Lady: Ming Rubbing Solitary Seventh Lady's Prerogative House Records", which should be titled "Taicang Lu's Edition". I wonder if this work is also included in that edition? Immediately following it is "Qingpingle: Changqiao Wanyuetu". Although it is not specified whether it was written for "Seventh Lady's Records", it can be inferred from the title that it is likely to be somewhat related to the door painting in front of the Suzhou Museum's copy.
The Eastern and Western copies of the Confucius Temple Stele from the Suzhou Museum
The Suzhou Museum has a collection of the Ming Dynasty Rubbings of the Temple Stele of Xi'an City Wuben, which, like the Ming Dynasty Rubbings of the Seven Princesses' Quancuozhi, was donated by Wu's daughter and son-in-law Wu Si'ou and Wu Jiqun. According to the Mid-Autumn Festival inscriptions by Wu Hufan in 1939, it was originally intended for his wife Pan Jingshu to practice, but unexpectedly, " Mid-Autumn Festival fashion came from Suzhou, and his wife was already ninety days old ", so " Shan's daughter studied her mother's calligraphy, and her mother's calligraphy was from the Temple Stele, so she gave it to her as one of her last memories. " Shan's daughter is Wu Si'ou, so this volume should have been taken with her when she married. Si'ou married Wu from Suzhou in the summer of 1943, but not many people seem to pay attention to this matter. The ten volumes of the Qing Dynasty copy of "Sixty Poems of the Southern Song Dynasty" in the old collection of Wu's Meijing Book House in the Shanghai Library have Wu's inscriptions, one of which specifically records:
This book was obtained before the Ding Chou Incident. At that time, I wanted to collect the collections of Song Dynasty scholars to make a grand collection. Unfortunately, the incident happened soon after, and this ambition was put to rest. A year later, Mrs. Jingshu passed away, and I was seriously ill for more than two years. I was extremely discouraged and just put it on the shelf. In the summer of Guiwei, Shan's daughter married Wu from the same county. Ji Qunxian's nephew was very fond of books, so I gave it to him, and he would not let him down. Five days after the winter solstice was the New Year's Day of the 33rd year of the Republic of China. Written in Meijing Book House. Qian'an Wu Hufan.
One of the inscriptions by Wu Hufan on the combined Eastern and Western copies of the Confucius Temple Stele in the Suzhou Museum
Here, Wu's words "My nephew Ji Qunxian is quite fond of calligraphy" seem to be more than just an ordinary courtesy, because in the postscript in which he presented his old collection of "Ming-rubbing of the Seven Jis' Quancuozhi" to his son-in-law in the winter of Guiwei, he also said: " This volume was obtained from my maternal family Shen, and has been in my collection for fifteen years. I am giving it to my nephew Ji Qunxian because he loves calligraphy and engraving, and his home is in Xie Ya in Suzhou, only a few dozen steps away from the Seven Jis Temple. It is also a beautiful conversation in terms of words. " Among the many pieces of fine rubbings of "The Epitaph of Lady Dong" recorded in Mr. Wang Zhuanghong's "Notes of Chongshan Tower" mentioned above, there is a fine rubbing of a whole paper folded and mounted. Wu Hufan re-recorded the "Golden Thread Song" composed of Song Dynasty poems when he obtained a fine rubbing of "The Epitaph of Lady Dong" in Dingmao year (1927), and added a note: " In the summer of Guiwei, my nephew Ji Qunxian showed this copy collected by my brother Zhongpei and asked him to copy the old work. Qian'an Wu Hufan also signed it. "Another famous modern scholar Wu Mei (Zi Qu'an, Hao Shuang'ai, 1884-1939) signed the inscription: " Sui Dynasty's "Epitaph of Lady Dong", the copy collected by Zhongpei's second brother. Written by Shuang'ai." There is also a postscript in June of Bingzi (1936), which says: "Since Hufan collected poems and inscriptions based on this epitaph, people all over the country regard it as a treasure. I once got a copy when I visited a shop in February of Wuzi; Zhongpei also got this last year, so "Beauty" all belonged to the Wu family. " He also attached the lyrics of "Remembering Yao Ji" written in response to Wu Hufan's request. Wu Zhongpei was Wu Mei's cousin, and he was also an elegant man in Wu at that time. It seems reasonable that his son Ji Qun inherited his family's education and benefited from it, so he "loved calligraphy" and "loved calligraphy and engraving."
(The original title of this article is "First Sight at Fine Rubbings and Preview of Rare Books - Notes after Reading "The Essence of Rare Books and Calligraphy in Suzhou Museum")