1
王時敏族侄鑑子撰孫原祁原祁曾孫宸
Wang Shimin, his clan nephew Wang Jian, his grandson Sun Yuanqi, and Yuanqi's great-grandson Wang Chen.
2
陳洪綬崔子忠禹之鼎余集改琦費丹旭
Chen Hongshou, Cui Zizhong, Yu Zhiding, Yu Ji, Gai Qi, and Fei Danxu.
3
釋道濟髡殘硃耷弘仁王翬吳歷楊晉黃鼎方士庶
Shitao (Daoji), Kun Can, Bada Shanren, Hongren, Wang Hui, Wu Li, Yang Jin, Huang Ding, and Fang Shidu.
4
惲格馬元馭王武沈銓龔賢趙左項聖謨查士標
Yun Shouping, Ma Yuanyu, Wang Wu, Shen Quan, Gong Xian, Zhao Zuo, Xiang Shengmo, and Zha Shibiao.
5
高其佩李世倬硃倫瀚張鵬翀
Gao Qipei, Li Shizhuo, Zhu Lunhan, and Zhang Pengchong.
6
唐岱焦秉貞郎世寧張宗蒼余省金廷標丁觀鵬繆炳泰
Tang Dai, Jiao Bingzhen, Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining), Zhang Zongcang, Yu Sheng, Jin Tingbiao, Ding Guanpeng, and Miu Bingtai.
7
華嵒高鳳翰鄭燮金農羅聘奚岡錢杜方薰
Hua Yan, Gao Fenggan, Zheng Xie, Jin Nong, Luo Pin, Xi Gang, Qian Du, and Fang Xun.
8
王學浩黃均
Wang Xuehao and Huang Jun.
9
王時敏，字遜之，號煙客，江南太倉人，明大學士錫爵孫。 以廕官至太常寺少卿。 時敏係出高門，文采早著。 鼎革後，家居不出，獎掖後進，名德為時所重。 明季畫學，董其昌有開繼之功，時敏少時親炙，得其真傳。 錫爵晚而抱孫，彌鍾愛，居之別業，廣收名跡，悉窮秘奧。 於黃公望墨法，尤有深契，暮年益臻神化。 愛才若渴，四方工畫者踵接於門，得其指授，無不知名於時，為一代畫苑領袖。 康熙十九年，卒，年八十有九。
Wang Shimin, whose style name was Xunzhi and sobriquet Yanke, came from Taicang in Jiangnan and was a grandson of the Ming Grand Secretary Wang Xijue. Through yin privilege he rose to Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. Shimin was born into a distinguished family and showed literary gifts from an early age. After the fall of the Ming he remained at home, mentored younger artists, and was widely esteemed for his reputation and integrity. In late-Ming painting Dong Qichang had pioneered the renewal of the tradition; Shimin studied under him in youth and received the authentic lineage. Xijue, in his old age, doted on this grandson, settled him in a separate estate, amassed celebrated works of art, and explored their deepest secrets with him. He felt a profound affinity with Huang Gongwang's ink manner, and in his later years his art approached sublime mastery. Thirsting for talent, he drew skilled painters from every quarter to his door; all who studied under him won fame, and he became the leading figure of his generation in the art world. He died in the nineteenth year of the Kangxi reign, at the age of eighty-nine.
10
鑑，字圓照，明尚書世貞曾孫。 與時敏同族，為子侄行，而年相若。 崇禎中，官廉州知府，甫強仕，謝職歸。 就弇園故址，營構居之，蕭然世外。 與時敏砥礪畫學，以董源、巨然為宗，沈雄古逸，雖青綠重色，書味盎然。 後學尊之，與時敏匹。 康熙十六年，卒，年八十。
Wang Jian, whose style name was Yuanzhao, was a great-grandson of the Ming Minister Wang Shizhen. He belonged to the same clan as Shimin and stood to him in the nephew generation, though the two were close in age. During the Chongzhen reign he served as prefect of Lianzhou, but while still in his prime he resigned and went home. On the former grounds of the Yian Garden he built a residence and lived there in lofty seclusion from the world. Together with Shimin he refined their art, taking Dong Yuan and Juran as masters; his work was grave, powerful, and archaic, and even in rich blue-green coloring it breathed the spirit of scholarly painting. Later painters honored him as Shimin's equal. He died in the sixteenth year of Kangxi, at the age of eighty.
11
孫原祁，字茂京，號麓台。 幼作山水，張齋壁，時敏見之，訝曰：「吾何時為此耶？」 問知，乃大奇曰：「此子業且出我右！」 康熙九年成進士，授任縣知縣。 行取給事中，尋改中允，直南書房。 累擢戶部侍郎，歷官有聲。 時海內清晏，聖祖右文，幾馀怡情翰墨，常召入便殿，從容奏對。 或於御前染翰，上憑幾觀之，不覺移晷。 命鑑定內府名跡，充書畫譜總裁、萬壽盛典總裁，恩禮特異。 五十四年，卒於官，年七十四。
Sun Yuanqi, whose style name was Maojing and sobriquet Lutai. As a boy he painted landscapes and pasted them on the wall of his study; when Shimin saw them he exclaimed in surprise, "When did I paint these?" Learning who had made them, he marveled, "This child's skill will soon surpass my own!" In the ninth year of Kangxi he became a jinshi and was appointed magistrate of Rencheng County. He was selected for the capital and made a supervising secretary, then soon transferred to palace bachelor and assigned to the Southern Studio. He rose step by step to Vice Minister of Revenue, earning a fine reputation in every office he held. The realm was at peace and the Kangxi Emperor cherished learning; in his leisure he delighted in painting and calligraphy, and often summoned Yuanqi to the informal hall for relaxed conversation. Sometimes he would paint before the throne while the emperor leaned on a couch and watched, heedless of how the hours passed. He was charged with authenticating masterpieces in the imperial collection and served as chief editor of the painting and calligraphy register and of the Wan Shou ceremonial compendium, receiving extraordinary favor from the throne. In his fifty-fourth year he died in office, at the age of seventy-four.
12
原祁畫為時敏親授，於黃公望淺絳法，獨有心得，晚复好用吳鎮墨法。 時敏嘗曰：「元季四家，首推子久，得其神者，惟董宗伯； 得其形者，予不敢讓； 若形神俱得，吾孫其庶幾乎？」 王翬名傾一時，原祁高曠之致突過之。 每畫必以宣德紙，重毫筆，頂煙墨，曰：「三者一不備，不足以發古雋渾逸之趣。」 或問王翬，曰「太熟」； 復問查士標，曰「太生」。 蓋以不生不熟自居。 中年後，供奉內廷，乞畫者多出代筆，而自署名。 每歲晏，與門下賓客畫，人一幅，為製裘之需，好事者緘金以待。 弟子最著者黃鼎、唐岱，並別有傳。
Yuanqi had learned painting directly from Shimin; he developed a distinctive grasp of Huang Gongwang's light cinnabar manner and in his later years often turned to Wu Zhen's ink style. Shimin once remarked, "Among the Four Masters of the late Yuan, Zijiu stands first; only Lord Dong Qichang captured his spirit; as for his form, I do not yield to anyone; but if one could grasp both form and spirit, would not my grandson come nearest?" Wang Hui's fame dominated the age, yet Yuanqi's lofty, expansive manner distinctly surpassed him. He insisted on Xuande paper, a heavy fine brush, and the finest lampblack ink for every painting, saying, "Without all three one cannot evoke the ancient flavor of refined power, density, and effortless distance." Asked about Wang Hui, he said, "Too polished"; asked about Zha Shibiao, he said, "Too raw." He thus claimed for himself the middle ground between rawness and polish. After midlife, while serving at court, most commissions were fulfilled by assistants, though he signed them himself. At each year's end he painted one picture for every disciple and guest, to pay for new furs; enthusiasts would seal payment in advance and wait. His most famous pupils were Huang Ding and Tang Dai, each of whom has a separate biography.
13
原祁曾孫宸，字子凝，號蓬心。 乾隆二十五年舉人，官湖南永州知府。 原祁諸孫，多以畫世其家，惟宸最工。 枯毫重墨，氣味荒古。 愛永州山水，自號瀟湘子，有終焉之志。 罷官後，貧不能歸，畢沅為總督，遂往依之武昌。 以詩畫易酒，湖湘間尤重其畫。 著繪林伐材十卷，王昶稱為「畫史總龜」雲。
Yuanqi's great-grandson Wang Chen, whose style name was Zining and sobriquet Pengxin. He passed the provincial examination in the twenty-fifth year of Qianlong and served as prefect of Yongzhou in Hunan. Many of Yuanqi's descendants carried on the family tradition in painting, but Chen was the most accomplished. He used dry brush and dense ink to achieve a rugged, archaic quality. He loved the landscape of Yongzhou, took the sobriquet Master Xiaoxiang, and intended to end his days there. After retiring from office he was too poor to go home; when Bi Yuan became governor-general he went to stay with him at Wuchang. He traded poems and paintings for wine, and his work was especially prized throughout Hunan. He wrote the ten-fascicle Felling Timber in the Painting Forest, which Wang Chang hailed as the definitive compendium of painting history.
14
陳洪綬，字章侯，浙江諸暨人。 幼適婦翁家，登案畫關壯繆像於素壁，長八九尺，婦翁見之驚異，扃室奉之。 洪綬畫人物，衣紋清勁，力量氣局，在仇、唐之上。 嘗至杭州，摹府學石刻李公麟七十二賢像，又摹周昉美人圖，數四不已，人謂其勝原本，曰：「此所以不及也。 吾畫易見好，則能事猶未盡。」 嘗為諸生，崇禎間，遊京師，召為舍人，摹歷代帝王像，縱觀禦府圖畫，藝益進。 尋辭歸。 鼎革後，混跡浮屠間，初號老蓮，至是自號悔遲。 縱酒不羈，語及亂離，輒慟哭。 後數年卒。 子字，號小蓮。 畫亦有名。
Chen Hongshou, whose style name was Zhanghou, came from Zhuji in Zhejiang. As a boy he lived with his father-in-law; climbing on a table he painted a figure of Lord Guan on a bare wall, eight or nine feet tall; his father-in-law was astonished, sealed the room, and treasured the painting. In figure painting his drapery lines were crisp and vigorous, and the force and scope of his compositions surpassed Qiu Ying and Tang Yin. He once went to Hangzhou and copied Li Gonglin's stone engravings of the Seventy-Two Worthies at the prefectural school, and Zhou Fang's Beautiful Women as well, working each over and over; when people said his copies surpassed the originals, he replied, "That is precisely why they fall short. My paintings win approval too easily; that means my skill has not yet reached its limit." He had been a licentiate; during the Chongzhen reign he went to the capital, was summoned as a court attendant, copied portraits of emperors through the ages, and studied the imperial collection, and his art steadily improved. He soon resigned and returned home. After the dynastic change he lived among Buddhist monks; he had earlier called himself Old Lotus, and now styled himself Repentant Tardiness. He drank freely and lived without restraint; whenever talk turned to the chaos of the times he would burst into tears. He died a few years later. His son Chen Zi, sobriquet Little Lotus, was also known for his painting.
15
洪綬在京師與崔子忠齊名，號「南陳北崔」雲。
In the capital Hongshou was ranked with Cui Zizhong, and the two were known as "Chen in the south, Cui in the north."
16
子忠，一名丹，字道母，別號青蚓，山東萊陽人，寄籍順天。 為諸生，負異才。 作畫意趣在晉、唐之間，不屑襲宋、元窠臼。 人物士女尤勝，董其昌稱之，謂非近代所有。 以金帛請者不應，家居常絕食。 史可法贈以馬，售得金，呼友痛飲，一日而金盡。 為詩古文，奧博奇崛。 遭亂，走居土室中，遂窮餓以死。 其後畫人物士女最著者，曰禹之鼎、余集、改琦、費丹旭。
Cui Zizhong, also named Dan, whose style name was Daomu and alternate sobriquet Green Earthworm, was a native of Laiyang in Shandong but registered in Shuntian. A licentiate, he possessed rare genius. His painting looked back to the Jin and Tang masters and scorned the mannerisms of Song and Yuan. He excelled above all in figures and court ladies; Dong Qichang praised him as unmatched in recent generations. He refused commissions offered in gold and silk, and at home he often went hungry. Shi Kefa gave him a horse; he sold it, summoned friends for a drinking bout, and spent every coin in a single day. His poetry and prose were profound, expansive, and boldly original. When chaos came he hid in an earthen hut and died of poverty and hunger. Later the most celebrated painters of figures and ladies were Yu Zhiding, Yu Ji, Gai Qi, and Fei Danxu.
17
之鼎，字尚吉，號慎齋，江蘇江都人。 幼師藍瑛，後出入宋、元諸家，尤擅人物，繪王會圖傳世。 其寫真多白描，不襲李公麟之舊，而用吳道子蘭葉法，兩顴微用脂赭染之，彌復古雅。 康熙中，授鴻臚寺序班。 愛洞庭山水，欲居之，遂歸。 朝貴名流，多屬繪圖像，世每傳之。
Yu Zhiding, whose style name was Shangji and sobriquet Shenzhai, came from Jiangdu in Jiangsu. He studied under Lan Ying in youth, later absorbed Song and Yuan masters, and excelled in figure painting; his Assembly at Wang Hui's survives today. His portraits were mostly in plain ink line, not following Li Gonglin but using Wu Daozi's orchid-leaf brushwork, with a touch of rouge on the cheekbones for added archaic grace. During the Kangxi reign he was appointed a protocol usher in the Court of State Ceremonial. He loved the Dongting landscape, wished to settle there, and resigned to go home. Court officials and eminent men often commissioned portraits from him, and his works circulated widely.
18
集，字秋室，浙江錢塘人。 乾隆三十一年進士。 工畫士女，時稱曰「余美人」，廷試，當得大魁，因此抑之。 尋充四庫全書纂修，薦授翰林院編修，累擢侍讀。 所作風神靜朗，無畫史氣，為世所重，比諸仇、唐遺跡。
Yu Ji, whose style name was Qiushi, came from Qiantang in Zhejiang. He became a jinshi in the thirty-first year of Qianlong. He excelled at painting ladies and was nicknamed "Yu the Beauty"; in the palace examination he would have ranked first but was passed over for that reason. He soon joined the compilation of the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries, was recommended as a Hanlin compiler, and rose to reader-in-waiting. His work was serene and luminous, free of the manner of a mere artisan, and was prized as comparable to the legacy of Qiu Ying and Tang Yin.
19
琦，字伯蘊，號七薌，先世為西域人，壽春鎮總兵光宗孫，因家江南，居華亭。 琦通敏多能，工詩詞。 嘉、道後畫人物，琦號最工。 出入李公麟、趙孟頫、唐寅及近代陳洪綬諸家。 花草蘭竹小品，迥出塵表，有惲格遺意。
Gai Qi, whose style name was Boyun and sobriquet Seven Fragrances, was of Western Region descent, grandson of the Shouchun garrison commander Guangzong; his family settled in Jiangnan and lived in Huating. Gai Qi was quick-witted and versatile, and accomplished in poetry. After the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns he was regarded as the finest figure painter of his day. He drew on Li Gonglin, Zhao Mengfu, Tang Yin, and the recent master Chen Hongshou. His small studies of flowers, orchids, and bamboo rose above the commonplace and echoed Yun Shouping.
20
丹旭，字子苕，號曉樓，浙江烏程人。 工寫真，如鏡取影，無不曲肖。 所作士女，娟秀有神，景物佈置皆瀟灑，近世無出其右者。
Fei Danxu, whose style name was Zitiao and sobriquet Xiaolou, came from Wucheng in Zhejiang. He excelled at portraiture, capturing likenesses as faithfully as a mirror. His ladies were graceful and vivid, his settings elegantly composed, and in recent times none could match him.
21
釋道濟，字石濤，明楚籓裔，自號清湘老人。 題畫自署或曰大滌子，或曰苦瓜和尚，或曰瞎尊者，無定稱。 國變後為僧，畫筆縱恣，脫盡窠臼，而實與古人相合。 晚游江、淮，人爭重之。 著論畫一卷，詞議玄妙。 與髡殘齊名，號「二石」。
The monk Shitao (Daoji), whose style name was Shitao and who was a descendant of the Ming Prince of Chu, called himself the Old Man of Clear Xiang. He signed his paintings variously as the Great Purifier, the Bitter Melon Monk, or the Blind Honored One, with no fixed name. After the fall of the Ming he became a monk; his brushwork was bold and free of convention, yet in spirit it aligned with the ancients. In his later years he traveled the Yangzi and Huai regions, where his work was eagerly sought. He wrote a fascicle On Painting, subtle and profound in its discourse. He was ranked with Kun Can and the two were known as the "Two Stones."
22
髡殘，字石溪，湖南武陵人。 幼孤，自翦發投龍三三家菴。 遍遊名山，後至江寧，住牛首，為堂頭和尚。 畫山水奧境奇闢，緬邈幽深，引人入勝。 道濟排奡縱橫，以奔放勝； 髡殘沉著痛快，以謹嚴勝； 皆獨絕。
Kun Can, whose style name was Shixi, came from Wuling in Hunan. Orphaned young, he shaved his own head and entered the Long Sanjia Hermitage. He traveled famous mountains, later settled at Niushou in Jiangning, and became abbot. His landscapes opened hidden, marvelous vistas, remote and profound, that drew viewers into their depths. Daoji painted with bold, sweeping freedom and excelled in exuberance; Kun Can was grave yet vivid and excelled in disciplined control; each stood alone in his age.
23
硃耷，字雪個，江西人，亦明宗室。 崇禎甲申後，號八大山人，嘗為僧。 其書畫題款「八大」二字每聯綴，「山人」二字亦然，類「哭」類「笑」，意蓋有在。 畫簡略蒼勁，生動盡致，山水精密者尤妙絕，不概見。 慷慨嘯歌，世以狂目之。
Bada Shanren (Zhu Da), whose style name was Xuege, was a Jiangxi native and also of Ming imperial descent. After the jiashen year of Chongzhen he took the name Eight Great Mountain Man and for a time was a monk. On his paintings and calligraphy he always joined the characters for "Eight Great," and "Mountain Man" as well, forms that resemble the words for weeping and laughter—surely with intent. His brushwork was spare yet powerful and vividly alive; his finely wrought landscapes were especially superb and rarely seen. He sang and whistled with passionate abandon, and the world called him mad.
24
弘仁，字漸江，安徽休寧人，姓江，字亦奇。 明諸生，亦甲申後為僧。 工詩古文，畫師倪瓚，新安畫家皆宗之。 然弘仁所作層崖陡壑，偉俊沈厚，非若世之以疏竹枯株摹擬高士者比。 歿後，墓上種梅數百本，因稱梅花古衲雲。
Hongren, whose style name was Jianjiang, came from Xiuning in Anhui; his surname was Jiang and his given name Qi. A Ming licentiate, he too became a monk after the jiashen year. He excelled in poetry and ancient prose and studied Ni Zan in painting; the Xin'an school all looked to him. Yet his layered cliffs and steep gorges were majestic, weighty, and profound—not the sparse bamboo and withered trees with which others merely imitated recluses. After his death hundreds of plum trees were planted on his grave, earning him the name Old Monk of Plum Blossoms.
25
自道濟以下，皆明之遺民，隱於僧，而以畫著。 其後畫僧，上睿、明中、達受最有名。
From Daoji onward they were all Ming loyalists who hid as monks and won fame through painting. Among later monk-painters, Shang Rui, Mingzhong, and Dashou were the most celebrated.
26
上睿，字目存，吳人。 嘗從王翬遊，得其指授。
Shang Rui, whose style name was Mucun, was a native of Wu. He once studied with Wang Hui and received his guidance.
27
明中，字大恆，浙江桐鄉人。 晚主杭州南屏淨慈。 高宗南巡，賜紫衣。 山水得元人法。
Mingzhong, whose style name was Daheng, came from Tongxiang in Zhejiang. In his later years he headed Jingci Temple at Nanping in Hangzhou. When the Qianlong Emperor toured the south, he was granted purple monastic robes. His landscapes followed Yuan-dynasty methods.
28
達受，字六舟，浙江海寧人。 故名家子。 耽翰墨，書得徐渭、陳道复縱逸之致。 善別古器。 精摹搨，或點綴折枝於其間，多古趣。 阮元呼曰「金石僧」。
Dashou, whose style name was Liuzhou, came from Haining in Zhejiang. He came from a distinguished family. Devoted to brush and ink, his calligraphy caught the uninhibited spirit of Xu Wei and Chen Daofu. He was skilled at authenticating antiquities. He excelled at fine rubbings and sometimes added broken branches to them, full of archaic charm. Ruan Yuan called him the Epigraphic Monk.
29
王翬，字石谷，號耕煙，江南常熟人。 太倉王鑑遊虞山，見其畫，大驚異，索見，時年甫冠。 載歸，謁王時敏，館之西田。 盡出唐以後名跡，俾坐臥其中，時敏复挈之游江南北，盡得觀收藏家秘本。 如是垂二十年，學遂成。 康熙中詔徵，以布衣供奉內廷。 繪南巡圖，集海內能手，逡巡莫敢下筆，翬口講指授，咫尺千里，令眾分繪而總其成。 圖成，聖祖稱善，欲授官，固辭，厚賜歸。 公卿祖餞，賦詩贈行。 翬天性孝友，篤於風義，時敏、鑑既歿，歲時猶省其墓。 康熙五十六年，卒，年八十六。 翬論畫曰：「以元人筆墨，運宋人丘壑，而澤以唐人
Wang Hui, whose style name was Shigu and sobriquet Gengyan, came from Changshu in Jiangnan. Wang Jian of Taicang visited Yushan, was astonished by his paintings, and asked to meet him when Hui was barely twenty. Jian brought him home and introduced him to Wang Shimin, who lodged him at Xitian. Shimin brought out masterpieces from the Tang onward and had him live among them, then took him traveling north and south of the Yangzi to study collectors' hidden treasures. For nearly twenty years his training was thus completed. In the Kangxi reign he was summoned by imperial edict and served at court as a commoner. For the Southern Tour scroll the empire's finest painters were assembled, yet none dared begin; Hui directed them orally, composing a thousand li within a foot's span, assigning sections to each while unifying the whole. When the scroll was finished the Kangxi Emperor praised it and offered him an office; he firmly declined and returned home with rich rewards. Court nobles and ministers feasted him and presented farewell poems. Hui was naturally filial and devoted to friendship; after Shimin and Jian died he still visited their graves each year. He died in the fifty-sixth year of Kangxi, at the age of eighty-six. Hui said of painting, "Use Yuan brush and ink, Song composition in hills and ravines, and infuse them with Tang
30
氣韻，乃為大成。」 稱之者曰：「古今筆墨之齟《齒吾》不相入者，翬羅而置之筆端，融冶以出。 畫有南、北宗，至翬而合。」
spirit and resonance—that is true mastery." Critics said, "Brush manners through the ages that would not harmonize, Hui gathered at his brush tip and fused them into one. Painting had Southern and Northern schools; in Hui they were united."
31
吳歷，又名子歷，字漁山，號墨井道人，亦常熟人。 學畫於王時敏，心思獨運，氣韻厚重沈鬱，迥不猶人。 晚年棄家從天主教，曾再遊歐羅巴。 作畫每用西洋法，雲氣綿渺凌虛，迥異平時。 康熙五十七年，卒，年八十七。 當時或言其浮海不歸，後於上海南郭得其墓碣，題曰「天學修士」雲。 翬初與友善，後絕交。 王原祁論畫。 右歷而左翬，曰：「邇時畫手，惟吳漁山而已。」 世以時敏、鑑、翬、原祁、歷及惲格，並稱為六大家。 同縣又有楊晉、黃鼎。
Wu Li, also named Zili, whose style name was Yushan and sobriquet Mojing Daoist, was also from Changshu. He studied under Wang Shimin; his mind worked independently, and his work was dense, weighty, and somber—utterly unlike others. In his later years he left his family for Catholicism and traveled again to Europe. He often employed Western techniques; his clouds and mist rose with airy distance unlike his usual manner. He died in the fifty-seventh year of Kangxi, at the age of eighty-seven. Some said he had sailed away and never returned; later his tomb stele was found outside Shanghai's south wall, inscribed Celestial Learning Cultivator. He was once friendly with Hui, but they later broke off contact. Wang Yuanqi's remarks on painting: With Li to his right and Hui to his left, he said, "Among recent painters, only Wu Yushan." The age grouped Shimin, Jian, Hui, Yuanqi, Li, and Yun Shouping as the Six Great Masters. In the same county were also Yang Jin and Huang Ding.
32
晉，字子鶴。 翬弟子，山水清秀，尤以畫牛名。 翬作圖，凡有人物與轎駝馬牛羊，皆命晉寫之。 從翬繪南巡圖，因摹內府名跡進禦。
Yang Jin, whose style name was Zihe. A pupil of Hui, his landscapes were refined, and he was especially famed for painting cattle. Whenever Hui's compositions included figures, sedan chairs, camels, horses, cattle, or sheep, he had Jin paint them. Assisting Hui on the Southern Tour scroll, he copied masterpieces from the imperial collection and presented them to the throne.
33
鼎，字尊古。 學於王原祁，而私淑翬，得其意。 臨摹古人輒逼真，尤擅元王蒙法。 遍遊名山，號獨往客。 論者謂翬看盡古今名畫，下筆具有淵源； 鼎看盡九州山水，下筆具有生氣。 常客宋犖家，梁、宋間其跡獨多。
Huang Ding, whose style name was Zungu. He studied under Wang Yuanqi but privately revered Hui and grasped his spirit. His copies of the ancients were invariably lifelike, especially in the manner of the Yuan master Wang Meng. He traveled famous mountains throughout the land and called himself the Lone Traveler. Critics said Hui had seen every great painting of the past and painted with deep roots; Ding had seen the mountains and rivers of the entire realm, and painted with living vitality. He often stayed with Song Luo; between Liang and Song his works were especially numerous.
34
方士庶，字循遠，號小師道人，安徽歙縣人，家於揚州。 鼎弟子，早有出藍之目。 年甫逾四十，卒，論者惜之。 翬畫派為一代所宗，世比之王士禎之詩，當時門弟子甚盛，傳衍其法者益眾，附著其尤者。
Fang Shidu, whose style name was Xunyuan and sobriquet Little Master Daoist, was from She County in Anhui and lived in Yangzhou. A pupil of Ding, he was early hailed as surpassing his teacher. He died barely past forty, to the regret of critics. Hui's school dominated a generation, as Wang Shizhen dominated poetry; his disciples were legion, and those who carried on his method were even more numerous—the most notable are recorded below.
35
惲格，字壽平，後以字行，改字正叔，號南田，江南武進人。 父日初，見隱逸傳。 格年十三，從父至閩。 時王祈起兵建寧，日初依之。 總督陳錦兵克建寧，格被掠，錦妻撫以為子。 從遊杭州靈隱寺，日初偵遇之，紿使出家為僧，乃得歸。 格以父忠於明，不應舉，擅詩名，鬻畫養父。 畫出天性，山水學元王蒙。 既與王翬交，曰：「君獨步矣！ 吾不為第二手。」 遂兼用徐熙、黃筌法作花鳥，天機物趣，畢集豪端，比之天仙化人。 畫成，輒自題詠書之，世號「南田三絕」。 雖自專意寫生，間作山水，皆超逸，得元人冷淡幽雋之致。 王時敏聞其名，招之，不時至。 至，則時敏已病，榻前一握手而已。 家酷貧，風雨常閉門餓，以金幣乞畫者，非其人不與。 康熙二十九年，卒，年五十四。 子不能具喪，王翬葬之。
Yun Shouping, styled Shouping and later known by that name, then changed his style name to Zhengshu and took the sobriquet Nantian; he came from Wujin in Jiangnan. His father Yun Ruchu is recorded in the Biographies of Recluses. At thirteen Yun followed his father to Fujian. When Wang Qi raised forces at Jianning, Ruchu joined him. When Governor Chen Jin captured Jianning, Yun was taken captive and Jin's wife adopted him as a son. At Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou Ruchu found him, had him feign taking monastic vows, and thus brought him home. Because his father had remained loyal to the Ming, Yun refused the civil examinations, won fame in poetry, and sold paintings to support him. Painting came naturally to him; in landscape he studied the Yuan master Wang Meng. Once he befriended Wang Hui and said, "You stand alone in landscape! I will not be second to anyone." He then turned to Xu Xi and Huang Quan's methods for birds and flowers; natural grace and living spirit gathered at his brush, as if a transcendent had descended to earth. When he finished a painting he inscribed it with his own poetry; the age called this the Three Perfections of Nantian. Though he specialized in sketching from life, his occasional landscapes were equally transcendent, with the cool, subtle restraint of Yuan masters. Wang Shimin heard of him and summoned him, but he did not come promptly. When he arrived Shimin was already ill and could only grasp his hand once at the bedside. His household was desperately poor; in foul weather he often went hungry behind closed doors, and he painted only for those he deemed worthy. He died in the twenty-ninth year of Kangxi, at the age of fifty-four. His son could not afford a proper funeral; Wang Hui buried him.
36
從父向，字道生。 自明季以畫著，山水得董源法，格少即師之。 及格負重名，群從子弟多工畫。 其著者源濬，字哲長，官天津縣丞。 能傳徐熙法，筆有生氣。 族曾孫鍾廕之女曰冰，尤有名，詳列女傳。
His uncle Yun Xiang, whose style name was Daosheng, had been renowned for painting since the late Ming; his landscapes followed Dong Yuan, and Yun studied under him in youth. Once Yun won great fame, many kinsmen excelled at painting. The most notable was Yuan Jun, styled Zhechang, who served as assistant magistrate of Tianjin. He transmitted Xu Xi's manner and painted with living vitality. His clan great-grandniece Zhongyin's daughter Bing was especially celebrated and is recorded in the Biographies of Women.
37
其弟子尤著者：馬元馭，字扶曦，常熟人。 家貧，好讀書。 幼即工畫，王翬稱之。 後學於格，得其逸筆，頗稱入室。 孫女荃，傳其學，名與惲冰相匹。 元馭嘗以畫法授同縣蔣廷錫，後廷錫宮禁近，以書招之，謝不往。
His most celebrated pupils included Ma Yuanyu, styled Fuxi, of Changshu. Though poor, he loved learning. He showed painting talent from childhood, and Wang Hui praised his work. He later studied under Yun Nantian and mastered his free, effortless brushwork, earning a reputation for true mastery. His granddaughter Sun Quan carried on his art, and her reputation rivaled that of Yun Bing. Yuanyu once taught painting to his fellow townsman Jiang Tingxi; later, when Tingxi held a post near the palace, he invited Yuanyu by letter, but Yuanyu politely refused.
38
格人品絕高，寫生為一代之冠，私淑者眾，然不能得其機趣神韻。 惟乾隆中華嵒號為繼跡。 後改琦亦差得其意云。
Yun Nantian's character was exceptionally noble, and in life-drawing he stood at the head of his age; many sought to emulate him, yet none could capture his vital spirit and resonance. Only in the Qianlong reign was Hua Yan regarded as his true successor. Later, Gai Qi is also said to have come somewhat close to his spirit.
39
王武，字勤中，吳縣人。 畫花草，流麗多風，王時敏亦稱為妙品，學者宗之。 及格出，遂掩其上。
Wang Wu, styled Qinzhong, was from Wu County. His flower-and-grass paintings were graceful and spirited; Wang Shimin also praised them as masterworks, and painters took him as their model. When Yun Nantian rose to fame, he eclipsed Wang Wu's reputation.
40
沈銓，字南蘋，浙江德清人。 工寫花鳥，專精設色，妍麗絕人。 雍正中，日本國王聘往授畫，三年乃歸，故其國尤重銓畫，於格為別派。
Shen Quan, styled Nanping, was from Deqing in Zhejiang. He excelled at flower-and-bird painting and specialized in color application, with a beauty that surpassed all others. During the Yongzheng reign the Japanese king invited him to teach painting; he returned after three years, and his art became especially prized in Japan as a branch distinct from Yun Nantian's school.
41
龔賢，字半千，江南崑山人。 寓江寧，結廬清涼山下，葺半畝園，隱居自得。 性孤僻，詩文不苟作。 畫得董源法，埽除蹊徑，獨出幽異，自謂前無古人，後無來者。
Gong Xian, styled Banqian, was from Kunshan in Jiangnan. He settled in Jiangning, built a cottage below Qingliang Mountain, tended the Half-Mu Garden, and lived in contented retirement. Solitary by nature, he wrote poetry and prose only when moved to do so. His painting followed Dong Yuan's method yet swept away convention, achieving a singular subtle strangeness; he claimed that no one before or after could match him.
42
同時與樊圻、高岑、鄒喆、吳弘、葉欣、胡造、謝蓀號「金陵八家」。 圻，字會公； 造，字石公，與蓀，皆江寧人。 岑，字蔚生，杭州人。 喆。 字方魯，吳人。 弘，字遠度，金谿人。 欣，字榮木，華亭人。 諸家皆擅雅筆，負時譽，要以賢為稱首。
He and Fan Qi, Gao Cen, Zou Zhe, Wu Hong, Ye Xin, Hu Zao, and Xie Sun were known as the Eight Masters of Jinling. Fan Qi, styled Huigong; Hu Zao, styled Shigong, and Xie Sun were all from Jiangning. Gao Cen, styled Weisheng, was from Hangzhou. Zou Zhe. Styled Fanglu, he was from Wu. Wu Hong, styled Yuandu, was from Jinxi. Ye Xin, styled Rongmu, was from Huating. All were masters of refined brushwork and enjoyed contemporary renown, but Gong Xian was regarded as the foremost.
43
清初畫學蔚盛，大江以南，作者尤多，各成派別，以婁東王時敏為大宗。 若金陵、雲間、嘉禾、新安，皆聞人迭起。
Early Qing painting flourished, especially south of the Yangzi, where artists formed distinct schools with Wang Shimin of Loudong as the leading master. At Jinling, Yunjian, Jiahe, and Xin'an, celebrated painters arose in succession.
44
趙左，字文度，華亭人。 畫出於宋旭，為雲間派之首，吳、松間多宗之。
Zhao Zuo, styled Wendu, was from Huating. His painting derived from Song Xu and led the Yunjian school; painters throughout the Wu-Songjiang region followed his example.
45
項聖謨，字孔彰，嘉興人，元汴之孫。 初學文徵明，後益進於古，董其昌稱其與宋人血戰，又得元人氣韻。 子奎，字東井，世其學。
Xiang Shengmo, styled Kongzhang, was from Jiaxing and a grandson of Yuan Bian. He first studied Wen Zhengming, then pushed deeper into antiquity; Dong Qichang praised him for wrestling with the Song masters yet capturing the spirit of the Yuan. His son Xiang Kui, styled Dongjing, carried on the family art.
46
同縣李琪枝，字云連，日華之孫。 山水淡逸，傳世者梅竹為多。 項、李皆名族，濡染有緒，群從多以畫名。
Li Qizhi of the same county, styled Yunlian, was a grandson of Li Rihua. His landscapes were spare and elegant; most of his surviving works are plum and bamboo. Both the Xiang and Li families were eminent clans with long artistic traditions, and many kinsmen won fame as painters.
47
其後雍、乾中錢綸光妻陳書，花鳥人物並工，詳列女傳。 錢氏子孫及閨秀傳其法者眾，更盛於項、李二家。
Later, during the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns, Qian Lünguang's wife Chen Shu excelled at both flower-and-bird and figure painting and is recorded in the Biographies of Women. Many of the Qian descendants and talented women carried on her methods, and their school flourished even more than those of the Xiang and Li families.
48
張庚，字浦山，亦嘉興人。 學於書，深通畫理，著畫徵錄及續錄，自明末至乾、嘉中，所載四百馀人。
Zhang Geng, styled Pushan, was also from Jiaxing. A learned man deeply versed in painting theory, he wrote the Record of Painting Portents and its sequel, covering more than four hundred artists from the late Ming through the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns.
49
查士標，字二瞻，號梅壑，安徽歙縣人。 明諸生，後棄舉子業，專精書畫。 家饒於貲，多藏鼎彝古器，及宋、元名跡。 初學倪瓚，後參以吳鎮、董其昌法，稱逸品。 晚益以幽淡為宗，疏嬾罕接賓客，蓋託以逃世。 與同縣孫逸，休寧汪之瑞、釋弘仁，號「新安四家」。 久寓揚州，康熙三十七年，卒，年八十四。
Zha Shibiao, styled Erzhan and known as Meihe, was from She County in Anhui. A Ming-era licentiate, he later abandoned the civil service examinations and devoted himself entirely to calligraphy and painting. His family was wealthy and collected ancient bronzes and masterpieces from the Song and Yuan dynasties. He first studied Ni Zan, then incorporated the methods of Wu Zhen and Dong Qichang, earning praise as a master of transcendent refinement. In his later years he increasingly favored subtle restraint, kept to himself, and rarely received guests, using solitude to withdraw from the world. Together with Sun Yi of the same county, Wang Zhirui of Xiuning, and the monk Hongren, he was known as one of the Four Masters of Xin'an. He lived in Yangzhou for many years and died there in the thirty-seventh year of the Kangxi reign, at the age of eighty-four.
50
逸，字無逸。 流寓蕪湖，曾繪歙山二十四圖。
Sun Yi, styled Wuyi. He lived in Wuhu for a time and once painted the Twenty-Four Views of She Mountain.
51
之瑞，字無瑞。 豪邁自喜，渴筆焦墨，酒酣揮灑如風雨。
Wang Zhirui, styled Wurui. Bold and self-assured, he painted with dry brush and scorched ink, wielding his brush like wind and rain when warmed by wine.
52
時當塗蕭雲從，字尺木。 與逸齊名，山水不專宗法，兼長人物。 於採石太白樓下四壁畫五嶽圖，又畫太平山水及離騷圖，好事者並鐫刻以傳。
At that time there was Xiao Yuncong of Dangtu, styled Chimu. He was as celebrated as Sun Yi; his landscapes did not follow any single school exclusively, and he was also skilled at figure painting. At the Taibai Tower below Caishi he painted the Five Sacred Mountains on four walls, and also painted landscapes of Taiping and illustrations of the Lisao; enthusiasts had them carved in stone for circulation.
53
高其佩，字韋之，號且園，奉天遼陽人，隸籍漢軍。 父殉耿籓之難，其佩以廕官至戶部侍郎。 畫有奇致，人物山水，並蒼渾沉厚，衣紋如草篆，一袖數折。 尤善指畫，嘗畫黃初平叱石成羊，或已成羊而起立，或將成而未起，或半成而未離為石，風趣橫生。 畫龍、虎，皆極其態。 世既重其指墨，晚年以便於揮灑，遂不復用筆。 其筆劃之佳，幾無人知之。 雍正十二年，卒。 甥李世倬、硃倫瀚皆學於其佩。
Gao Qipei, styled Weizhi and known as Qieyuan, was from Liaoyang in Fengtian and registered among the Han Bannermen. His father died in Prince Geng's rebellion; Qipei inherited office and rose to Vice Minister of Revenue. His painting had a singular power; figures and landscapes alike were dark and substantial, with robe folds like seal script, several creases in a single sleeve. He was especially skilled at finger painting; in one work on Huang Chuping turning stones into sheep, some sheep had fully formed and risen, some were still transforming, and some remained half stone—each with vivid charm. His dragons and tigers captured their forms to the fullest. Because the world already prized his finger painting, in his later years he stopped using the brush altogether for the freedom it allowed. Almost no one knew how fine his brushwork could be. He died in the twelfth year of the Yongzheng reign. His nephews Li Shizhuo and Zhu Lunhan both studied under him.
54
世倬，字漢章，總督如龍子。 官至右通政。 少至江南，從王翬遊，得其傳。 後官山西，觀吳道子水陸道場圖，悟人物之法。 花鳥寫生，得其佩指墨之趣，易以筆運，各名一家。
Li Shizhuo, styled Hanzhang, was the son of Governor Li Rulong. He rose to the post of Right Commissioner of Transmission. As a youth he traveled to Jiangnan and studied under Wang Hui. Later, while serving in Shanxi, he studied Wu Daozi's Water-Land Ritual Assembly and grasped the art of figure painting. In flower-and-bird painting he adapted Qipei's finger-painting spirit to the brush, and each nephew established his own school.
55
倫瀚，字涵齋，明裔也，隸籍漢軍。 官至都統，直內廷。 指畫師其佩，丘壑奇而正，色淡味厚。 喜作巨障，元氣淋漓。 指上生有肉錐，故作人物，鬚眉尤有神，出於天授。 其後傳其佩法者，有傅雯、瑛寶。
Zhu Lunhan, styled Hanzhai, was a Ming descendant registered among the Han Bannermen. He rose to Commandant and served directly at court. In finger painting he followed Qipei; his landscapes were bold yet balanced, with pale colors and deep resonance. He favored large screens, painted with overflowing vitality. Calluses formed on his fingertips, and in figure painting his beards and eyebrows were especially vivid—a gift of nature. Later practitioners who carried on Qipei's method included Fu Wen and Ying Bao.
56
雯，字凱亭。 奉天布衣，為諸王邸客，京師多其遺跡。
Fu Wen, styled Kaiting. A commoner from Fengtian, he served as a guest in princes' households, and many of his works survive in the capital.
57
瑛寶，字夢禪，滿洲人，大學士永貴子。 以疾辭廕不仕，詩畫自娛。 指墨以簡貴勝，深自矜許。
Ying Bao, styled Mengchan, was a Manchu and the son of Grand Secretary Yonggui. He declined inherited office because of illness and amused himself with poetry and painting. His finger painting triumphed through spare elegance, and he took great pride in it.
58
張鵬翀，字天飛，自號南華山人，江蘇嘉定人。 雍正五年進士，入翰林，官至詹事府詹事。 天才超邁，詩畫皆援筆立就，瀟酒自適，類其為人。 高宗愛其才，不次拔擢。 進奉詩文，多寓規於頌。 畫無師承，自然入古。 雖應制之作，蕭散若不經意，愈見神韻。 繪春林澹靄圖，題詩進上，上賜和，鵬翀即於宮門疊韻陳謝。 嘗從駕西苑液池，一渡之頃，得詩八首。 屢敕御舟作畫，賜御筆枇杷折枝及松竹雙清圖，又賜雙清閣書額，迭拜筆硯、文綺之賜無算。 乾隆十年，乞假歸，卒於途次。 上眷之，久不忘，對群臣輒曰：「張鵬翀可惜！」
Zhang Pengchong, styled Tianfei and calling himself the Hermit of Nanhua, was from Jiading in Jiangsu. A jinshi of the fifth year of the Yongzheng reign, he entered the Hanlin Academy and rose to Grand Mentor of the Heir Apparent's Household. His talent was extraordinary; he could finish poems and paintings at a stroke, with an easy grace that matched his character. The Qianlong Emperor admired his talent and promoted him ahead of schedule. In the poems and essays he presented at court, he often embedded remonstrance within praise. He had no formal painting master yet naturally achieved an antique quality. Even in court commissions his work seemed effortless and spare, revealing all the more of his spirit and resonance. He painted Spring Woods in Light Mist, inscribed a poem, and presented it to the throne; when the emperor replied in verse, Pengchong immediately composed a linked-rhyme thank-you at the palace gate. Once, while accompanying the emperor to the Ye Pool in the Western Park, he composed eight poems during a single crossing. He was repeatedly ordered to paint aboard the imperial boat and received the emperor's own brush, paintings of loquat branches and pine-and-bamboo, and the calligraphic plaque for the Twin Purity Pavilion, along with countless gifts of brush, inkstone, and brocade. In the tenth year of the Qianlong reign he requested leave to return home and died en route. The emperor favored him and long remembered him; before his ministers he would say, "What a loss Zhang Pengchong is!"
59
自康熙至乾隆朝，當國家全盛，文學侍從諸臣，每以藝事上邀宸眷。 大學士蔣廷錫及子溥，董邦達及子誥，尚書錢維城，侍郎鄒一桂，與鵬翀為尤著。
From the Kangxi through the Qianlong reigns, when the empire was at its height, literary attendants often won imperial favor through their artistic accomplishments. Grand Secretary Jiang Tingxi and his son Pu, Dong Bangda and his son Gao, Minister Qian Weicheng, Vice Minister Zou Yigui, and Pengchong were especially notable.
60
廷錫以逸筆寫生，奇正、工率、濃淡，一幅間恆間出，無不超脫。 源出於惲格，而不為所囿。 邦達山水源於董源、巨然、黃公望，墨法得力於董其昌，自王原祁後推為大家。 久直內廷，進御之作，大幅尋丈，小冊寸許，不下數百。 溥、誥各承其家法。 維城山水蒼秀，花卉傅色尤有神采。 一桂以百花卷被宸賞，世謂惲格後罕匹者。 諸人所繪併入石渠寶笈，御題褒美，傳為盛事。
Tingxi painted from life with a free brush; within a single scroll the bold and the orthodox, the meticulous and the rough, the dense and the light constantly appeared, all with surpassing freedom. His art derived from Yun Nantian yet was not bound by it. Bangda's landscapes derived from Dong Yuan, Juran, and Huang Gongwang; his ink technique drew on Dong Qichang, and after Wang Yuanqi he was acclaimed as a great master. Serving long at court, he presented hundreds of works to the emperor, from large scrolls several feet across to small albums only inches wide. Pu and Gao each inherited their fathers' methods. Weicheng's landscapes were dark and elegant, and his flower paintings were especially vivid in color. Yigui's Hundred Flowers scroll won imperial praise, and he was regarded as one of the few painters since Yun Nantian who could match him. Their paintings were all catalogued in the Shiqu Baoji with imperial inscriptions of praise, and the episode became celebrated.
61
嘉慶中，尚書黃鉞由主事改官翰林，入直，畫為仁宗所賞。 道、咸以後，侍郎戴熙、大學士張之萬，並官禁近，以畫名。 然國家浸以多故，視承平故事稍異焉。
During the Jiaqing reign, Minister Huang Yue was transferred from section chief to the Hanlin Academy and entered court service; his painting won the favor of the Jiaqing Emperor. After the Daoguang and Xianfeng reigns, Vice Minister Dai Xi and Grand Secretary Zhang Zhiwan both held posts close to the throne and were famed for their painting. Yet as the empire faced growing troubles, court patronage of the arts differed somewhat from the customs of more peaceful times.
62
唐岱，字毓東，滿洲人。 康熙中，以廕官參領。 從王原祁學畫，丘壑似原祁。 供奉內廷，聖祖品題當時以為第一手，稱「畫狀元」。 歷事世宗、高宗。 高宗在潛邸，即喜其畫，數有題詠，後益被寵遇。 唐岱專工山水，以宋人為宗。 少時名動公卿。 直內廷久，筆法益進，人間傳播者轉稀。 著繪事發微行世。
Tang Dai, styled Yudong, was a Manchu. During the Kangxi reign he held the post of assistant commandant by inherited privilege. He studied painting under Wang Yuanqi, and his landscapes closely resembled his master's. Serving at court, he was judged by the Kangxi Emperor to be the finest painter of his day and was called the Painting Jinshi. He served through the reigns of the Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors. When the Qianlong Emperor was still heir apparent he already admired Tang Dai's painting and often inscribed poems on his work; later he received even greater favor. Tang Dai specialized in landscape painting and took the Song masters as his model. In his youth his fame reached the highest circles of court. After long service at court his brushwork grew ever finer, yet fewer of his works circulated outside the palace. He wrote Subtle Points in Painting Matters, which circulated widely.
63
清製，畫史供御者無官秩，設如意館於啟祥宮南，凡繪工、文史及雕琢玉器、裝潢帖軸皆在焉。 初類工匠，後漸用士流，由大臣引薦，或獻畫稱旨召入，與詞臣供奉體制不同。 間賜出身官秩，皆出特賞。 高宗萬幾之暇，嘗幸館中，每親指授，時以為榮。 其畫之精美者，一體編入石渠寶笈、秘殿珠林二書。 嘉慶中，編修胡敬撰國朝院畫錄，凡載八十馀人，其尤卓著可傳者十馀人。
Under Qing practice, court painters held no official rank; the Ruyi Studio was established south of the Qixiang Palace to house painters, scholars, jade carvers, and scroll mounters. At first they were treated like artisans; later literati were gradually employed, recommended by ministers or summoned after presenting paintings that pleased the emperor—a system distinct from that of literary attendants. Occasionally they were granted official rank, always as special imperial rewards. In moments free from state affairs, the Qianlong Emperor would visit the studio and personally instruct the painters, an honor greatly prized at the time. Their finest paintings were all catalogued in the Shiqu Baoji and the Secret Hall Pearl Forest. During the Jiaqing reign Compiler Hu Jing wrote the Record of Court Painting of Our Dynasty, recording more than eighty artists, of whom more than ten were truly outstanding.
64
焦秉貞，山東濟寧人。 康熙中，官欽天監五官正。 工人物樓觀，通測算，參用西洋畫法，剖析分刌，量度陰陽向背，分別明暗，遠視之，人畜、花木、屋宇皆植立而形圓。 聖祖嘉之，命繪耕織圖四十六幅，鐫版印賜臣工。 自秉貞創法，畫院多相沿襲。
Jiao Bingzhen was from Jining in Shandong. During the Kangxi reign he served as Director of the Five Offices in the Directorate of Astronomy. He excelled at figures and architecture, understood surveying and calculation, and incorporated Western painting methods, analyzing forms, measuring light and shadow, and distinguishing brightness and shade; viewed from a distance, people, animals, flowers, trees, and buildings all stood upright with rounded forms. The Kangxi Emperor praised him and ordered him to paint forty-six scenes of plowing and weaving, which were carved in woodblocks and printed as gifts for officials. After Bingzhen established his method, the court painting academy largely followed it.
65
其弟子冷枚，膠州人，為最肖。 與繪萬壽盛典圖。
His disciple Leng Mei of Jiaozhou most closely resembled him. He also helped paint the Illustrations of the Grand Celebration of Longevity.
66
陳枚，江蘇婁縣人。 官內務府郎中。 初法宋人，折衷唐寅，後亦參西洋法。 寸紙尺縑，圖群山萬壑，人物胥備。
Chen Mei was from Lou County in Jiangsu. He served as Director in the Imperial Household Department. He first followed the Song masters, then blended in Tang Yin's manner, and later incorporated Western methods as well. On the smallest sheet he could depict mountains and ravines in full, with every figure in place.
67
郎世寧，西洋人。 康熙中入直，高宗尤賞異。 凡名馬、珍禽、琪花、異草，輒命圖之，無不奕奕如生。 設色奇麗，非秉貞等所及。
Lang Shining was a European. He entered court service during the Kangxi reign, and the Qianlong Emperor especially admired him. Whenever there were famous horses, rare birds, precious flowers, or exotic plants, he was ordered to paint them, and all appeared vividly alive. His use of color was marvelously rich, surpassing even Bingzhen and his followers.
68
艾啟蒙，亦西洋人。 其藝亞於郎世寧。
Ai Qimeng was also a European. His art ranked below that of Lang Shining.
69
張宗蒼，字默存，江蘇吳縣人。 學畫於黃鼎。 初官河工主簿。 乾隆十六年南巡，獻冊，受特知，召入直。 數年，授戶部主事，以老乞歸。 宗蒼山水，氣體深厚，多以皴擦取韻，一洗畫院甜熟之習，被恩遇特厚。 所畫著錄石渠者，百十有六，多荷御題。
Zhang Zongcang, styled Mocun, was from Wu County in Jiangsu. He studied painting under Huang Ding. He first served as Clerk of River Works. During the southern tour of the sixteenth year of the Qianlong reign he presented an album, won special recognition, and was summoned to court service. After several years he was appointed Section Chief in the Ministry of Revenue, then retired because of age. Zongcang's landscapes were deep and substantial, relying largely on texture strokes for their resonance and breaking free of the overly sweet manner of the court academy; he received exceptional imperial favor. One hundred sixteen of his paintings were catalogued in the Shiqu Baoji, most bearing imperial inscriptions.
70
弟子徐揚、方琮最得其法，亦邀宸賞，賜揚舉人，授內閣中書。
His disciples Xu Yang and Fang Cong mastered his method best and also won imperial favor; Yang was granted the rank of juren and appointed Secretariat Drafter.
71
余省，字曾三，江蘇常熟人。 善寫生，能得花外之趣。 同時楊大章，亦賦色修潔，可與鄒一桂頡頏，花鳥以二人為最工。
Yu Sheng, styled Zengsan, was from Changshu in Jiangsu. He excelled at painting from life and captured the spirit beyond the flowers themselves. At the same time Yang Dazhang also applied color with refined elegance and could match Zou Yigui; in flower-and-bird painting these two were the finest.
72
金廷標，字士揆，浙江桐鄉人。 南巡進白描羅漢，稱旨，召入祇候。 廷標畫不尚工緻，以機趣傳神。 高宗題所作琵琶行圖曰：「唐寅舊圖，有琵琶伎在別船，廷標祇繪白居易一人側耳而聽，別有會心。 古人畫意為先，非畫院中人所及。」 會愛烏罕進四駿，郎世寧繪之，復命廷標別作，仿李公麟法，增寫執靮人，古趣出彼上。 及廷標卒，上命舊黏殿壁者悉付裝池，收入石渠寶笈。
Jin Tingbiao, styled Shikui, was from Tongxiang in Zhejiang. During a southern tour he presented ink-outline arhat paintings that pleased the emperor, and he was summoned to court service. Tingbiao did not pursue meticulous refinement but conveyed spirit through vivid interest. The Qianlong Emperor inscribed on his Pipa Song painting: "In Tang Yin's old picture the pipa player sits on a separate boat; Tingbiao painted only Bai Juyi listening with inclined ear—a different kind of insight. The ancients put pictorial idea first—something beyond the reach of ordinary court painters." When the Khan of Ili presented four fine steeds, Lang Shining painted them, and Tingbiao was ordered to make a separate version in Li Gonglin's manner, adding grooms holding the reins; its antique spirit surpassed the other. When Tingbiao died, the emperor ordered all his works still pasted on palace walls to be remounted and catalogued in the Shiqu Baoji.
73
丁觀鵬，工人物，效明丁雲鵬，以宋人為法，不尚奇詭。 畫仙佛神像最擅長，著錄獨多。
Ding Guanpeng excelled at figure painting, emulated the Ming master Ding Yunpeng, followed the Song masters, and avoided the bizarre. He was most adept at painting immortals, buddhas, and divine images, and more of his works were catalogued than those of any other.
74
時有嚴弘滋者，南巡兩次獻畫，所作三官神像，秀發飛揚，稱為絕作，屢命畫院諸人摹之。
At the time there was Yan Hongzi, who twice presented paintings during southern tours; his Three Officials divine images were elegant and soaring, hailed as supreme works, and court painters were repeatedly ordered to copy them.
75
姚文瀚，亦以人物仙佛名，亞於觀鵬。
Yao Wenhan was also famed for figures, immortals, and buddhas, ranking below Guanpeng.
76
繆炳泰，字象賓，江蘇江陰人。 初以國子監生召繪御容。 南巡，應召試，賜舉人，授中書，官至兵部郎中。 乾隆五十年以後御容，皆出所繪。 又命繪紫光閣功臣像，人人逼肖，寫真之最工者。
Miao Bingtai, styled Xiangbin, was from Jiangyin in Jiangsu. He was first summoned from the Imperial Academy to paint the imperial portrait. During a southern tour he answered an imperial summons, was granted the rank of juren, appointed Secretariat Drafter, and rose to Director in the Ministry of War. All imperial portraits after the fiftieth year of the Qianlong reign were painted by him. He was also ordered to paint the portraits of meritorious officials at the Ziguang Pavilion; each figure was lifelike, and he was the finest portraitist of his day.
77
畫院盛於康、乾兩朝，以唐岱、郎世寧、張宗蒼、金廷標、丁觀鵬為最，宗蒼所作，尤有士氣，道光以後無聞焉。 至光緒中，孝欽皇后喜藝事，稍復如意館舊規，畫史皆凡材，無可紀者。
The court painting academy flourished under the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors, with Tang Dai, Lang Shining, Zhang Zongcang, Jin Tingbiao, and Ding Guanpeng as its greatest masters; Zongcang's work especially had literati spirit, and after the Daoguang reign the academy fell silent. By the Guangxu reign Empress Dowager Cixi revived something of the old Ruyi Studio practice, but its painters were mediocre and none worth recording.
78
華嵒，字秋岳，號新羅山人，福建臨汀人。 慕杭州西湖之勝，家焉。 畫山水、人物、花鳥、草蟲無不工，脫去時蹊，力追古法。 有時過求超脫，然其率略處，愈不可及。 工詩，有離垢集，古質清峭。 書法脫俗，世稱「三絕」，可繼惲格。 僑居揚州最久，晚歸杭州，卒年近八十。
Hua Yan, styled Qiuyue and known as the Hermit of Xinluo, was from Linting in Fujian. Drawn to the beauty of West Lake in Hangzhou, he made his home there. He mastered landscape, figure, flower-and-bird, and insect painting alike, cast off contemporary conventions, and strove to recover antique methods. At times he pursued excessive freedom, yet in his most spare passages he became all the more inimitable. He was also a fine poet; his Collection Free of Stain is ancient in tone and clear and austere. His calligraphy was free of vulgarity, and the world hailed his Three Perfections as worthy to succeed Yun Nantian. He lived longest in Yangzhou, returned to Hangzhou in his later years, and died near the age of eighty.
79
乾、嘉之間，浙西畫學稱盛，而揚州遊士所聚，一時名流競逐。 其尤著者，為高鳳翰、鄭燮、金農、羅聘、奚岡、黃易、錢杜、方薰等。
Between the Qianlong and Jiaqing reigns painting flourished in western Zhejiang, while Yangzhou drew wandering scholars and celebrated figures in pursuit of art. The most celebrated among them were Gao Fenghan, Zheng Xie, Jin Nong, Luo Pin, Xi Gang, Huang Yi, Qian Du, Fang Xun, and others.
80
鳳翰，字西園，山東膠州人。 雍正初，以薦得官，署安徽績溪知縣，被劾罷。 久寓江、淮間，病偏痺，遂以左手作書畫，縱逸有奇氣。 嘗登焦山觀瘞鶴銘，尋宋陸游題名，親埽積蘚，燃燭捫圖，以敗筆清墨為圖，傳為傑作。 性豪邁不羈，藏硯千，手自鐫銘，著硯史。 又藏司馬相如玉印，秘為至寶。 盧見曾為兩淮運使，欲觀之，長跪謝不可，其癖類此。
Gao Fenghan, styled Xiyuan, was from Jiaozhou in Shandong. In early Yongzheng he obtained office through recommendation and served as acting magistrate of Jixi in Anhui, but was impeached and dismissed. He lived for many years between the Yangzi and Huai rivers; stricken with hemiplegia, he took up calligraphy and painting with his left hand, producing work free and expansive with a singular spirit. Once he climbed Mount Jiao to view the Buried Crane Inscription, found the Song poet Lu You's signature, swept away the moss himself, lit a candle to trace the carving, and painted the scene with a worn brush and light ink—a work hailed as a masterpiece. Bold and unrestrained by nature, he collected a thousand inkstones, carved inscriptions on them himself, and wrote the History of Inkstones. He also owned a jade seal said to have belonged to Sima Xiangru and treasured it as his greatest possession. When Lu Jianceng, Transport Commissioner of the Two Huai, asked to see it, Fenghan knelt and refused—such were his obsessions.
81
燮，字板橋，江蘇興化人。 乾隆元年進士，官山東濰縣知縣，有惠政。 辭官鬻畫，作蘭竹，以草書中豎長撇法為蘭葉，書雜分隸法，自號「六分半書」。 詩詞皆別調，而有摯語。 慷慨嘯傲，慕明徐渭之為人。
Zheng Xie, styled Banqiao, was from Xinghua in Jiangsu. A jinshi of the first year of the Qianlong reign, he served as magistrate of Weixian in Shandong with a reputation for benevolent rule. He resigned from office and sold paintings of orchids and bamboo, using cursive vertical sweeps for orchid leaves and mixing clerical and seal scripts in his writing, which he called the Six-and-a-Half-Part Script. His poetry and lyrics were distinctive in tone yet deeply sincere. Generous and proud, he admired the Ming painter Xu Wei and sought to live as he had.
82
燮同縣李鱓，字復堂。 舉人。 官山東滕縣知縣。 花鳥學林良，多得天趣。
Zheng Xie's fellow townsman Li Shan, styled Futang. He was a juren. He served as magistrate of Teng County in Shandong. In flower-and-bird painting he studied Lin Liang and captured much of nature's spontaneous charm.
83
陳撰，字楞山，浙江鄞縣人，亦居揚州。 舉鴻博，不就試。 與鱓齊名，寫梅尤雋逸。
Chen Zhuan, styled Lengshan, was from Yin County in Zhejiang and also lived in Yangzhou. Recommended for the Boxue Hongci examination, he declined to take the test. He was as celebrated as Li Shan, and his plum paintings were especially elegant and free.
84
農，字壽門，號冬心，浙江仁和人。 布衣，薦鴻博，好學癖古，儲金石千卷。 中歲，遊跡半海內，寄居揚州，遂不歸。 分隸小變漢法，又師禪國山及天發讖兩碑。 截毫端，作擘窠大字。 年五十，始從事於畫。 初寫竹，師石室老人，號稽留山民。 繼畫梅，師白玉蟾，號昔耶居士。 又畫馬，自謂得曹、韓法。 复畫佛，號心出家盦粥飯僧。 其點綴花木，奇柯異葉，皆意為之。 問之，則曰：「貝多龍窠之類也。」 性逋峭，世以迂怪目之。 詩亦鑱削苦硬。 無子，晚手錄以付其女。 歿後，羅聘搜輯雜文編為集。
Jin Nong, styled Shoumen and known as Dongxin, was from Renhe in Zhejiang. A commoner recommended for the Boxue Hongci examination, he loved learning and antiquity and amassed a thousand scrolls of epigraphic records. In midlife he traveled across much of the empire, settled in Yangzhou, and never returned home. In clerical script he slightly altered Han methods and also studied the Chan Guoshan and Tianfa Chan steles. He cut the brush tip short and wrote large characters filling the frame. He did not begin painting until the age of fifty. He first painted bamboo, claiming the Stone Chamber Old Man as his master and styling himself the Mountain Man of Jiliu. He then painted plum, claiming Bai Yuchan as his master and styling himself the Layman of Xiye. He also painted horses and claimed to have mastered the methods of Cao Ba and Han Gan. He also painted buddhas and styled himself the Porridge Monk of the Hermitage of the Heart That Has Left Home. The flowers and trees with which he embellished his works, with their strange branches and unusual leaves, were all products of imagination. When asked, he would say, "They are like the pipal trees in the Dragon Nest." Aloof and austere by nature, he was regarded by the world as eccentric and strange. His poetry too was chiseled, austere, and uncompromising. He had no son and in his later years copied out his writings by hand for his daughter. After his death Luo Pin gathered his miscellaneous writings into a collection.
85
聘，字兩峰，江都人。 淹雅工詩，從農遊，稱高足弟子，畫無不工。 躭禪悅，夢入招提曰花之寺，彷彿前身，自號花之寺僧。 多摹佛像，又畫鬼趣圖，不一本。 遊京師，跌宕詩酒，老而益貧。 曾燠為兩淮運使，資之歸，未幾卒。 妻方婉儀，亦工詩畫，好禪，號白蓮居士。
Luo Pin, styled Liangfeng, was from Jiangdu. Refined and elegant, he was skilled at poetry, studied under Jin Nong, and was hailed as his foremost disciple; he mastered every genre of painting. Devoted to Chan, he dreamed he entered a monastery called the Temple of Flowers, as if recalling a former life, and styled himself the Monk of the Temple of Flowers. He often copied buddha images and also painted Ghost Scenes, no two versions alike. He traveled to the capital, lived freely among poetry and wine, and grew ever poorer in old age. Zeng Yan, Transport Commissioner of the Two Huai, provided funds for his return home, and he died soon after. His wife Fang Wanyi was also skilled at poetry and painting, loved Chan, and was known as the Layman of the White Lotus.
86
岡，字鐵生，號蒙泉，舊為歙縣人，居錢塘，遂隸籍。 負奇，不得志，寄於詩畫。 山水取法婁東，自成逸韵； 竹石花木，超雋得元人意； 四十後名益噪。 曾遊日本，海外估舶，懸金購其畫。 徵孝廉方正，辭不就。
Xi Gang, styled Tiesheng and known as Mengquan, was originally from She County but lived in Qiantang and was registered there. Gifted but frustrated in his ambitions, he poured himself into poetry and painting. His landscapes followed the Loudong school yet achieved a free resonance of their own; his bamboo, rock, flower, and tree paintings were surpassingly elegant and captured the spirit of the Yuan masters; after the age of forty his fame grew ever louder. He once traveled to Japan, and overseas merchants offered gold to buy his paintings. Summoned as Filial and Incorrupt and Upright, he declined the appointment.
87
岡與同縣黃易齊名。 易父樹穀，亦工書畫。 易詳文苑傳，篤嗜金石，每以訪碑紀遊作圖，為世所重。 畫境簡淡，山左多宗之。
Xi Gang and his fellow townsman Huang Yi were equally celebrated. Huang Yi's father Shugu was also skilled at calligraphy and painting. Huang Yi has his own biography in the Literary Men section; deeply devoted to epigraphy, he often painted records of his stele-hunting travels and was greatly esteemed. His pictorial style was spare and restrained, and many painters in Shandong followed his example.
88
杜字，叔美，號松壺，仁和人。 屈於下僚，曾官雲南經歷，足跡逾萬里。 深揅畫學，摹趙伯駒、孟頫、王蒙皆神似。 間為金碧雲山，妍雅絕俗。 畫梅疏冷出趙孟堅。 兼擅詩名。 著松壺畫贅、畫憶，多名論。
Qian Du, styled Shumei and known as Songhu, was from Renhe. Stifled in low office, he once served as Intendant of Yunnan and traveled more than ten thousand li. He studied painting deeply and copied Zhao Boju, Zhao Mengfu, and Wang Meng with remarkable fidelity. Occasionally he painted blue-and-gold cloud mountains of exquisite elegance beyond the ordinary. His plum paintings were spare and austere, surpassing even Zhao Mengjian. He was also celebrated as a poet. He wrote Songhu Painting Miscellany and Painting Recollections, both containing notable critical essays.
89
從兄東，字袖海，畫近惲格，名亞於杜。
His cousin Qian Dong, styled Xiuhai, painted in a manner close to Yun Nantian, and his fame ranked below Qian Du's.
90
薰，字蘭坻，浙江石門人。 父《呆呆》，故善畫，薰幼從父遊吳、越間，多見名跡，接耆宿，遂兼眾長。 論畫曰：「寫生以意勝形似。」 又曰：「不拘難易，須雅馴。」 著山靜居論畫，以布衣終。
Fang Xun, styled Lanchi, was from Shimen in Zhejiang. His father Fang Mei was also skilled at painting; as a youth Xun traveled with him through Wu and Yue, saw many masterpieces, met venerable elders, and thus combined many strengths. On painting he said, "In painting from life, pictorial idea should surpass resemblance in form." He also said, "Regardless of difficulty or ease, the work must be refined and restrained." He wrote Discourse on Painting from the Mountain Quiet Hermitage and died a commoner.
91
王學浩，字椒畦，江蘇崑山人。 乾隆五十一年舉人。 幼學畫於同縣李豫德，豫德為王原祁外孫，得南宗之傳。 學浩溯源倪、黃，筆力蒼勁。 論畫曰：「六法，一寫字盡之。 寫者，意在筆先，直追所見，雖亂頭粗服，而意趣自足。 或極工麗，而氣味古雅，所謂士大夫畫也。 否則與俗工何異？」 又曰：「畫以簡為上，雖煙客、麓台，猶未免繁碎，如大癡，真未易到。 大癡法固在荒率蒼古中求之，尤須得其不甚著力處。」 時論學浩用墨，能入絹素之骨，比人深一色。 晚好用破筆，脫盡窠臼，畫格一變。 著南山論畫。 卒，年七十九。 學浩享大年，道光之季，畫苑推為尊宿。 館吳中寒碧山莊劉氏，壇坫甚盛。 其時吳、越作者雖眾，足繼前哲名一家者，蓋寥寥焉。
Wang Xuehao, styled Jiaoqi, was from Kunshan in Jiangsu. He was a juren of the fifty-first year of the Qianlong reign. As a youth he studied painting under Li Yude of the same county; Yude was Wang Yuanqi's grandson by a daughter and had inherited the Southern School tradition. Xuehao traced his art to Ni Zan and Huang Gongwang, and his brushwork was dark and forceful. On painting he said, "The Six Principles are fully contained in one word: writing. To write is to have the idea before the brush and directly pursue what is seen; even with disheveled forms and coarse strokes, the pictorial interest suffices. Or it may be extremely refined yet retain an antique elegance—this is what is called literati painting. Otherwise how is it different from the work of vulgar artisans?" He also said, "In painting, simplicity is supreme; even Wang Shimin and Wang Yuanqi cannot avoid excessive detail—as for Huang Gongwang, he is truly hard to match. Huang Gongwang's method lies in seeking wildness and dark antiquity, yet one must especially grasp those passages where he exerts the least force." Critics said Xuehao's ink could penetrate to the very bone of silk and paper, one shade deeper than others. In his later years he favored a worn brush, cast off all conventions, and his style changed entirely. He wrote Discourse on Painting from the Southern Mountain. He died at the age of seventy-nine. Xuehao lived to a great age and in the late Daoguang era was acclaimed as the doyen of the painting world. He lodged with the Liu family at Hanbi Mountain Villa in Wu, where the artistic circle flourished greatly. Though painters in Wu and Yue were many at the time, few could succeed the masters of the past and establish schools of their own.
92
黃均，字穀原，元和人。 守婁東之法，盡其能事。 遊京師，法式善、秦瀛為之延譽，得官，補湖北潛江主簿，未之任。 於武昌臙脂山麓築小園，居之二十年，以吏為隱。 畫晚而益工，於吳中稱後勁。
Huang Jun, styled Guyuan, was from Yuanhe. He preserved the Loudong methods and brought them to their fullest expression. Traveling to the capital, Fa Shishan and Qin Ying spread his reputation; he obtained office as Clerk of Qianjiang in Hubei but never took up the post. At the foot of Yanzhi Mountain in Wuchang he built a small garden and lived there for twenty years, using a minor post as cover for retirement. His painting grew ever finer in his later years, and in the Wu region he was hailed as a late master.
93
清畫家聞人多在乾隆以前，自道光後，卓然名家者，惟湯貽汾、戴熙二人，並自有傳。 昭文蔣寶齡著墨林今話，繼張庚畫徵錄之後，子茝生為續編，至咸豐初，視庚錄數幾倍之。 其後光緒中，無錫秦祖詠著桐陰論畫，論次一代作者，分三編，評騭較嚴，稱略備焉。 今特著其尤工者，寶齡、祖詠畫亦並有法。
Most celebrated Qing painters flourished before the Qianlong era; after Daoguang, only Tang Yifen and Dai Xi stood out as major masters, each with his own biography. Jiang Baoling of Zhaowen wrote Present Talk in the Ink Forest, following Zhang Geng's Record of Painting Portents; his son Zhisheng compiled a sequel, and by early Xianfeng the entries numbered nearly several times those in Geng's record. Later, during the Guangxu reign, Qin Zuyong of Wuxi wrote Discourse on Painting under the Tung Tree, surveying a generation of artists in three sections with comparatively strict judgment, and it was regarded as broadly comprehensive. Here we record especially those most skilled in the craft; Baoling and Zuyong were also accomplished painters in their own right.