Page 26 - Beyond Compare Christie's Hong Kong RU WARE .pdf
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BEYOND COMPARE: A Thousand Years of the Literati Aesthetic
ccording to the carved inscriptions below the ‘Dragon’s Pool’, the present qin was
Arepaired by Zhu Zhiyuan, a notable qin-maker active during the late Yuan and early
Ming dynasties. The inscription further indicates that Zhu Zhiyuan believed the qin to have
been made by Lei Wen of the Tang Dynasty. Lei Wen was a member of the prestigious
Lei family of Sichuan known for making some of the greatest qin in history, which are
distinguished by their perfect construction and exceptional sound quality. The proposition of
Zhu Zhiyuan however, seems contradictory to the dating suggested by the current appearance
of the qin, which has a top board with an elegant gentle curve that is more a characteristic
of the Song than Tang. It is possible that Zhu Zhiyuan had modified the curvature while he
repaired the qin; or that the qin was modified before his time, but he was still able to date it to
Tang and identify its maker based on other characteristics; while a third possibility exists, that
the qin was made during the Song time, and Zhu Zhiyuan had erroneously identified its date
and maker. Whichever the possibility, judging from the gentle curve of the top board, and the
snake-belly crackles with further crackles in between, a characteristic of ancient qin, the dating
of the current qin cannot be later than Song.
The ancient Chinese considered qin to be superior to all other instruments for its strength of
musical expression, its function as a vehicle for self-improvement, and for achieving harmony
between oneself and nature. The popularity of qin reached its zenith during the Song dynasty.
Famous scholar-officials such as Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072), Wang Anshi (1021-1086),
calligraphers such as Huang Tingjian (1045-1105), were all known for their talent in qin.
Qin played an especially important role in the life of the great literati Su Shi (1037-1101), who
not only played the instrument well, but also wrote a great number of poems, critiques, and
other literary works about it. In one of his works titled ‘An anthology of ten poems on qin: Lei qin
from the family collection’, he recounts an incident where he disassembles a valuable Tang-dynasty
qin made by the Lei family to study its anatomy. Su Shi finds that the underside of the sound
board beneath the ‘Dragon’s Pool’ and ‘Phoenix Pond’ have been slightly hollowed to allow for
sound to resonate better. It is interesting to note that Su Shi describes his qin as being covered
by snake-belly crackles, which is a common characteristic often found on ancient qin. Zhao
Xihu (1170-1242) of Southern Song dynasty in his Dongtian qingluji, an anthology of critiques
on collecting antiques, provides the following analysis of the relationship between crackles
and the age of qin, ‘Crackles support the age of a qin, without five-hundred years of age, a qin
would not have crackles. The older the qin, the more crackles it has.....Snake-belly crackles are
הፗࡥ҂ܯdϤೞᜑୌΥəಃೞࡁהᐼഐ̈ࡥೞʘतᓃdШՉࣛ˾ҖՓࠬࣸdၾ໖ʫ
ՍთϞהࢨମfሞՍთʿிۨࠬࣸʘͧf⣵ೞࢪϡߧჃ್̀əϤೞމࡥ˾ཤ˖ה⣵ʘԱ
ኽfࠠࡌΥೞۃdూՍাɲೞ໖ʫfˢ༰ೞࠦձೞֵʘ͜ဒeϲߣձᓙ७ഃًرfೞࠦɞᘒϲߣ
މಃೞʘᑘdೞֵۆڭवࡡԸဒߣeᓙ७ഃfϾપሞೞࠦࡡႶίࠠࡌۃʿࠠࡌࣛʊաॎᕸd
Portrait of Su Shi included in the Album of Both Odes on
ࡡ͉ிۨतᓃʊ̰d݂яତၾՍთהাʘࣛ˾ࠬࣸʔ၈fΎሞdאϤೞӻމ݊ࣛ҂ɛͷࡥʘ the Red Cliff by Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322). Collection of the
Ъd˸փϾ॰ᄆاʘfܲj৷ዟ፭͛ɞ၏eੵᏐ˖।ᔛѩԊϡߧჃމҢא National Palace Museum, Taipei
ԬǗ㉇ಬ㦶⻍ᕊ㈠ન̣ǘˮ⳹㍣ӏ ४⒤ᐅ೫ښḵ㡗ⳉިǎ
Ңಃɛdૉ˖ቤЖڗيқۆԊՉӻʩ˾ɛdೞޢႩމՉݺᚔࣛගމʩ͋ڋʘყf
̚ೞ݊ʕ˖ʷʕήЗ௰ਫ਼৷ٙᆀኜdൖމ݊ඩe͍ᆀٙᅄdዝ˾௪աኊપਫ਼dމ˖
ɛ̀௪९ቮʘࠅf҂ಃҵ؛౮˖dІˮЇಃɪɨޫλೞdމዝ˾ᛁࢤdɽνᆄජࡌe
ˮτͩeරࢬഃɛί̚ೞɪޫϞ৷ٙࡌቮf̚ೞίᘽ༲ٙɓ͛ʕһ݊Ҳစəೌˢࠠࠅٙ
ԉЍdМᎇ˼ܓཀəɛ͛ٙتұd݊˼ίၚग़ɪٙМگd͵݊Չၚग़ʘ༱f
ᘽ༲ಀ൘ᄳəεၾ̚ೞϞᗫٙ་൚d˴ᕚᄿعd༷ʆِ˥eึ܄ஞʾeޟЇွྫྷʕdே
Ϟ̚ೞٙԒᅂfᘽ༲ᒔಀމəӺཤೞ೯ᑊʘѶdϾਗ਼ᔛޜ൮ٙࡥ˾ཤೞ࡚කᝈ࿀dԈᕏ
ࣣೞԫɤgᔛཤೞjЯϞೞdՉࠦޫЪஊ⁅७dՉɪϫთʛjකʩɤϋிdඩψᜳᗫӀf
Չɨϫთʛjཤাɞ˚ΥfʔወՉɞ˚ΥމОഃႧɰkՉᏋʔ࢙ܸd Ͼָʔ dϤ௰
ೞʘѶdϾཤೞዹ್fӋՉجʔ̙dɗॎՉהᔛཤೞӋʘfೞᑊ̈ՇϫගdՉߠฆඤd߰
⸚್d ᑊ૧̈ϾཝdΫʔ̘dɗϞቱᗲdϤ௰ʔෂʘѶfᘽ༲ٙவੵཤೞࠦတбஊ໖७f
24 ʔɭ { ҂˾ߕኪɓɷϋ
