Guo Ruoxu, a native of Taiyuan, was a famous connoisseur of calligraphy and painting in the Northern Song Dynasty and a critic of painting history. Born in the Northern Song Dynasty, he was the great-grandson of the famous general Guo Shouwen of the Northern Song Dynasty and the nephew of Empress Guo of the Song Dynasty. He successively participated in the war of destroying the Southern Han Dynasty, the Southern Tang Dynasty, and the Northern Han Dynasty, and was well-informed and traveled all over the mountains.
Family anecdotes.Taiyuan painter Guo Ruoxu is the door of the door, his great-grandfather Guo Shouwen Lishi Song Taizu and Song Taizong, when Guo Shouwen followed Cao Bin to pacify Jinling, the Southern Tang Emperor Li Yu was under his persuasion, only to dispel his concerns and go to Kaifeng. Guo Shouwen later followed Song Taizong to capture Jinyang and the Northern Expedition to Youyun Sixteen Prefectures, and after being shot by a stray arrow, his demeanor was still the same, and his command was determined. After Guo Shouwen died, the family had no money to spare, and all the subordinate corporal and pawns shed tears, and even Song Taizong was sad after hearing it, and posthumously named Guo Shouwen as the king of Chen, and accepted his second daughter as his daughter-in-law, which was later Queen Mu who had a good reputation. Although he has a noble family, Guo Ruoxu's career was not smooth, at first he only held some idle positions waiting to be promoted, and later because he had received envoys from the Liao State and told the story of calligraphy and painting with them, he was ordered to send an envoy to the Liao State, but he was demoted because of the loss of the golden wine vessel and the flight of his subordinates.
Because his grandfather and father loved calligraphy and painting, they were shrewd in their identification, and they had a large collection at home, so Guo Ruoxu read a lot of books since he was a child, read the history of painting and painting theory, and learned a pair of fiery eyes. Guo Ruoxu, who is careful in the collection, collection and art appreciation of calligraphy and painting, and is proficient in the way of painting theory, every time he gets a masterpiece of the former dynasty that is lost in the folk, it must be "sitting in the empty court, hanging high on the plain wall, all day long, enjoying and not knowing the size of the world and the complexity of all things", reaching the realm of obsession and drunkenness. What is particularly commendable is that Guo Ruoxu attaches great importance to the appreciation of painting works and the understanding and exchange after viewing, and often appreciates and plays with friends in the calligraphy and painting circles, and learns the art of painting.
Pictures see and hear."Knowing the wind and snow in the desert from afar, and waiting for the half moon spring in the south of the Yangtze River" is a poem inscribed by Su Shi on the painting of Huichong monks, although this painting has not been handed down, the inscription poem on it has been recited for a long time, and people can't help but speculate about the beautiful scenery in the painting. Su Shi's student Huang Tingjian also commented on Hui Chong's paintings, and he also wrote a poem saying, "Hui Chong's pen is full of life, and the clear waves are sunset." The plum shadow is oblique, and the mandarin duck is relatively bathed in red. Guo Ruoxu's "Pictures and Stories" has a record of Huichong monks: "Jianyang monk Hui Chong, painting geese, geese, herons, and birds, especially small scenes." Good for the cold Ting Yuanzhu, the image of the chic and empty, it is difficult for people to reach. ”
For a painter, the real value is reflected in his brilliant artistic achievements. Although Guo Ruoxu was a general, his family had a strong Chinese style and a thorough manner, which enabled him to obtain a good education and artistic edification since he was a child, which provided a good cultural background for his future research on the history and theory of painting.
In the unprecedented prosperity of cultural creation in the Tang Dynasty, the great art theorist Zhang Yanyuan, a native of Linyi, Shanxi, and his glorious work - "Records of Famous Paintings of the Past Dynasties" appeared. This rich collection of the world's earliest monographs on art history has been praised by scholars as the "ancestor of the history of painting" and "the "Historical Records of Painting Art", and the book has become an "encyclopedia" of Chinese painting art theory with rich and detailed content.
Following the "Records of Famous Paintings of the Past Dynasties", Guo Ruoxu completed another important document in the history of Chinese painting, "Pictures and Stories". This work quoting more than 30 works on the history of painting and painting theory is written in six volumes, through three parts: historical theory, painting biography, and painting affairs, and according to the level of social status, it records the life deeds of 284 painters in the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties, the Song Dynasty, and the Liao Dynasty. The study of painting methods on various themes and the description of painting stories in the book enrich the research field of art history and theory. Because the Chronicles of Pictures and Stories are chronologically connected with the Records of Famous Paintings of the Past Dynasties, it is regarded as a sequel to the Records of Famous Paintings of the Past Dynasties, and together with it, it constitutes a complete general history of Chinese painting. The high achievement of Song Dynasty painting was fully demonstrated by Guo Ruoxu's "Pictures and Stories", which was also praised by later generations as a program for painting and painting. Japan and other Asian countries have been widely engraved with this book, and now it is also widely circulated in Europe and the United States, which shows that Guo Ruoxu's "Pictures and Stories" is not only the only glorious masterpiece in Chinese history comparable to "Records of Famous Paintings of the Past Dynasties", but also has a far-reaching influence in the world.
Guo Ruoxu's "Pictures and Stories" consists of six volumes, and the most commendable is his first volume, "Narrative". In this volume, sixteen essays address the theoretical aspects of painting from different perspectives. Such as the production model that expresses the appearance of different characters and the characteristics of objects, as well as the three diseases of "version", "carving" and "clean" brushwork; It also expounds the profoundness and characteristics of the "Three Northern Schools" landscapes of the Northern Song Dynasty Li Cheng, Guan Tong and Fan Kuan, and the two flower and bird painting schools of Huang Jian and Xu Xi, and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of ancient and modern painting from the perspective of the rise and fall of painting ("Buddhist and Taoist figures are not as good as the ancients" and "landscapes, flowers and birds are not as ancient as the present"), etc., and concentrates on the author's theoretical views and propositions on painting art. Then there are the problems of social and political education in painting, the problem of the selection of subject matter, the problem of image shaping, the technique of expression, and the relationship with the object of depiction, etc. In terms of the standard of criticism of painting, although Guo Ruoxu still follows the traditional standard of "six laws", he attaches great importance to the charm of qi. That is, the so-called "brilliance is born in the pen", and the essence and qi complement each other, which is "all paintings must be full of charm". He also proposed that "painting has three diseases, all of which are based on the brush, the so-called three, one is the board, the second is the carving, and the third is the knot", which paved the way for the prosperity of the art history of the Song Dynasty.
Guo Ruoxu faced up to the changes in the subject matter and the length of each generation in "On the Advantages and Disadvantages of the Ancient and the Modern", and believed that "if you talk about Buddhist and Taoist figures, ladies, cows and horses, it is not as close as the ancient; If we talk about mountains, rivers, forests and stones, flowers, bamboos, birds and fish, they are not as ancient as they are near." What is said is the difference between the Tang and Song dynasties, in one sentence. On the characteristics of Li Cheng, Guan Tong and Fan Kuan's "Three Landscapes", and on the painting of flowers and birds, Huang Jiafugui and Xu Xiyeyi, etc., are all well aware of the theory of painting, the way of painting, and the words of knowing people and discussing the world. In terms of image shaping, Guo Ruoxu believes that figure painting should focus on the portrayal of the era, identity, personality and temperament of the characters. Paintings of birds and beasts should focus on expressing temperament and posture. Landscape, tree and stone paintings should focus on expressing the feelings of quality, quantity, movement and stillness.
Guo Ruoxu emphasizes the educational function in the aesthetic thought of painting. He believes that the shaping of various characters should reflect the commonality of all kinds of characters, that is, the so-called "production model", and pays attention to the generality of various figures, which has the characteristics of early painting theory, ignoring the particularity of the character image, and the characteristics of personality are relatively obvious. Guo Ruoxu adheres to the "** theory" in art, and regards it as a theory that is "eternal", in which he particularly emphasizes that "vividness" is the essence of a work of art. He directly linked "Qi Yun" with the artist's character, saying: "Since the character is already high, the Qi Yun must be high." The charm is already high, and the vividness has to come. He also said: "The charm is based on the heart, and the color is born from the pen." When analyzing excellent paintings, he pointed out that they are "all unexpected" and achieve perfect results, which is the fundamental law of artistic beauty creation.
Guo Ruoxu said in the reason for the formation of the ** artistic style: "The Huang family is rich and noble, and Xu Xiye is easy." The difference in the style of art mainly lies in the different ideological tastes of the artists who "have their own aspirations"; Another point is that the different living environments of the artists who are "accustomed to the ears and eyes" cause Huang Zhen and Xu Xi to have completely different painting styles. The pen becomes a treasure, and the stroke is exemplary. ”
Five generations of Huangquan fine silk flowers and birds.
The Illustrated Records of Pictures and Stories were already relatively advanced in the Song Dynasty, citing the genres of famous artists in the past 1560 years, which is quite commendable. On the principle of production, it won the purpose of painting, and Ma Duanlin in the Yuan Dynasty called it "the program of looking at paintings". Guo Ruoxu devoted his whole life to the history of painting, collating the chaotic industry market forms of various walks of life before the Song Dynasty, and completely recording the life deeds of Tang, Five Dynasties, Song and Liao painters in traditional Chinese painting, and making immeasurable contributions to the study of painting history for future generations. He grew up in the environment of a strong family painting collection, obsessed with paintings, although he did not develop in the career, but the book "charm is not a teacher" is enough to see that he is a talented man, elegant heart. Guo Ruoxu, his person and his works, have left a strong mark in the history of painting.