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Descriptif du lot
An Auspicious Emblem of Longevity: Shen Zhou’s Pine Trees and Calligraphy Formerly from the Qing Imperial Collection
Shen Zhou (1427-1509) was born in the early Ming dynasty into a long-established gentry family in Xiangcheng, Suzhou. Generations of his family devoted themselves to reading, poetry, calligraphy, and painting. In 1454, Wang Hu, Prefect of Suzhou, recommended the twenty-eight-year-old Shen Zhou for official service, whereupon he politely declined and ultimately chose not to pursue either the civil service examinations or official recommendation.
Distinguished by his filial devotion to his mother and his upright character, Shen became a model of virtue among the local gentry. Many leading figures and students of the Wu School after Shen Zhou, including Zhu Yunming, Wen Zhengming, Tang Yin, Chen Chun, and Wang Chong, were burdened in one way or another by the civil service examination system and worldly ambitions. None possessed quite the same transcendent air of reclusion that so clearly distinguished Shen Zhou.
Living quietly in the countryside, Shen never travelled beyond the regions of Wu and Yue throughout his lifetime. Nevertheless, his reputation for virtue, learning, and artistic accomplishment spread widely through the praise of close friends such as Wu Kuan, together with Li Yingzhen and Liu Jue. As a result, he became known among scholar-officials in both Nanjing and Beijing. It is therefore highly possible that Wang Shu (1416-1508), the recipient of this work, had already become acquainted with Shen Zhou after arriving in the south as the prefect of Yangzhou in 1454. In 1468 Wang was promoted to Left Vice Minister of Justice and later served as Minister of War in Nanjing. The two developed a close and enduring friendship over the decades. Evidence of the friendship between Wang and Shen appears throughout Shen’s collected writings and poems, Shitian Ji.
Shen Zhou’s Pine Trees and Calligraphy was painted as a gift for Wang Shu. At the beginning of the scroll are four large seal-script characters by Wen Zhengming reading “Shangshou zhi Zheng” (“An Auspicious Emblem of Longevity”). They are followed by Shen Zhou’s magnificent depiction of an ancient pine extending across the handscroll. It is followed by calligraphy of Shen’s poem Painting a Pine to Celebrate Grand Minister Wang of Sanyuan, which is also collected in Shitian Ji.
The opening section of the painting bears Emperor Qianlong’s seals, including Qianlong Yulan zhi Bao (“Treasure Examined by the Qianlong Emperor”), Shiqu Baoji, and Yangxindian Jiancang Bao, confirming its inclusion in the imperial catalogue Shiqu Baoji. Additional seals of Emperor Jiaqing, together with Emperor Xuantong are also present, further attest to its status as a treasured possession of the Qing court.
According to Puyi’s Catalogue of Paintings and Calligraphy Bestowed upon Pu Jie (Shang Pujie Shuhua Mu), among thirty-five works bestowed on 18 November, the final entry corresponds precisely to the present work.
After the mid-twentieth century, the handscroll entered the collection of Chen Rentao (1906-1968), who treasured it above all. In addition to stamping the scroll with his distinctive square-and-round collector’s seal. Chen also included this work in many of his published catalogues, further testifying to his deep admiration for the work.
The handscroll later entered the collection of Cheng Qi (1911-1988), who resided in Japan, bearing his collector’s seals. At the end of the scroll is Cheng’s colophon dated 1986, in which he enthusiastically introduces the work and remarks with satisfaction: “A famous scholar and a distinguished statesman, each has found his rightful place.”
Shen Zhou’s Pine Trees and Calligraphy was once among the celebrated treasures of the Qing imperial collection, and was later bestowed upon Pu Jie by Emperor Xuantong and exited the palace in the early twentieth century. It subsequently endured decades of displacement and wandering before resurfacing far from its original home. For many years it was known only through its appearance in the Exhibition of Chinese Paintings from Sung to Ch’ing by Chen Rentao. Now it is making its first appearance since.
Shen Zhou (1427-1509) was born in the early Ming dynasty into a long-established gentry family in Xiangcheng, Suzhou. Generations of his family devoted themselves to reading, poetry, calligraphy, and painting. In 1454, Wang Hu, Prefect of Suzhou, recommended the twenty-eight-year-old Shen Zhou for official service, whereupon he politely declined and ultimately chose not to pursue either the civil service examinations or official recommendation.
Distinguished by his filial devotion to his mother and his upright character, Shen became a model of virtue among the local gentry. Many leading figures and students of the Wu School after Shen Zhou, including Zhu Yunming, Wen Zhengming, Tang Yin, Chen Chun, and Wang Chong, were burdened in one way or another by the civil service examination system and worldly ambitions. None possessed quite the same transcendent air of reclusion that so clearly distinguished Shen Zhou.
Living quietly in the countryside, Shen never travelled beyond the regions of Wu and Yue throughout his lifetime. Nevertheless, his reputation for virtue, learning, and artistic accomplishment spread widely through the praise of close friends such as Wu Kuan, together with Li Yingzhen and Liu Jue. As a result, he became known among scholar-officials in both Nanjing and Beijing. It is therefore highly possible that Wang Shu (1416-1508), the recipient of this work, had already become acquainted with Shen Zhou after arriving in the south as the prefect of Yangzhou in 1454. In 1468 Wang was promoted to Left Vice Minister of Justice and later served as Minister of War in Nanjing. The two developed a close and enduring friendship over the decades. Evidence of the friendship between Wang and Shen appears throughout Shen’s collected writings and poems, Shitian Ji.
Shen Zhou’s Pine Trees and Calligraphy was painted as a gift for Wang Shu. At the beginning of the scroll are four large seal-script characters by Wen Zhengming reading “Shangshou zhi Zheng” (“An Auspicious Emblem of Longevity”). They are followed by Shen Zhou’s magnificent depiction of an ancient pine extending across the handscroll. It is followed by calligraphy of Shen’s poem Painting a Pine to Celebrate Grand Minister Wang of Sanyuan, which is also collected in Shitian Ji.
The opening section of the painting bears Emperor Qianlong’s seals, including Qianlong Yulan zhi Bao (“Treasure Examined by the Qianlong Emperor”), Shiqu Baoji, and Yangxindian Jiancang Bao, confirming its inclusion in the imperial catalogue Shiqu Baoji. Additional seals of Emperor Jiaqing, together with Emperor Xuantong are also present, further attest to its status as a treasured possession of the Qing court.
According to Puyi’s Catalogue of Paintings and Calligraphy Bestowed upon Pu Jie (Shang Pujie Shuhua Mu), among thirty-five works bestowed on 18 November, the final entry corresponds precisely to the present work.
After the mid-twentieth century, the handscroll entered the collection of Chen Rentao (1906-1968), who treasured it above all. In addition to stamping the scroll with his distinctive square-and-round collector’s seal. Chen also included this work in many of his published catalogues, further testifying to his deep admiration for the work.
The handscroll later entered the collection of Cheng Qi (1911-1988), who resided in Japan, bearing his collector’s seals. At the end of the scroll is Cheng’s colophon dated 1986, in which he enthusiastically introduces the work and remarks with satisfaction: “A famous scholar and a distinguished statesman, each has found his rightful place.”
Shen Zhou’s Pine Trees and Calligraphy was once among the celebrated treasures of the Qing imperial collection, and was later bestowed upon Pu Jie by Emperor Xuantong and exited the palace in the early twentieth century. It subsequently endured decades of displacement and wandering before resurfacing far from its original home. For many years it was known only through its appearance in the Exhibition of Chinese Paintings from Sung to Ch’ing by Chen Rentao. Now it is making its first appearance since.