Page 68 - 2020 November 30 Bonhams Rev. Richard Fabian Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy Hong Kong

XUGU (1823-1896)
Birth name Zhu Huairen, he used the sobriquets Juanhe and Ziyang
Shanren. He was a native of Shexian, Anhui Province. He changed
his name to Xubai after becoming a monk, and resided in Yangzhou.
There, he also used his courtesy name Xugu, and had a studio
named “Juefeian”. Xugu was a representative painter of Shanghai
School and an army official in the Qing Army. While fighting against
the Taiping Army, he was inspired to become a monk, although he
was not vegetarian and did not venerate the Buddha, and “never
stood with an abbot’s staff in the temple”. During the Tongzhi and
Guangxu’s Emperors’ reigns, Xugu lived in Shanghai selling paintings
for a living and built a great reputation. He described himself, “drawing
3000 pieces of painting in leisure, and begging meal money from
people”. He was friends with many calligraphers and painters, such
as Ren Bonian, Gu Heyi, Wu Changshuo, and Ni Tian. Xugu learnt
architectural painting in his early days, but was later famous for
painting flowers, fruits, birds, fishes, landscapes, figures and portraits,
his most well-loved subjects were squirrels and goldfish. His style was
concise but exaggerated, and his use of colours was exceptionally
delicate and elegant. “Trembling brush” was his characteristic
technique which drew intermittent lines with continued perception,
resulting in a detached imagery with a charm of pure void. His
publications include Poems by Monk Xugu.

虛谷（1823-1896）
俗姓朱，名懷仁，號倦鶴、紫陽山人。出家後名虛白，字虛谷，室名
覺非盫。安徽歙縣人，居揚州。清末海派代表畫家。曾為清軍參將，
因與太平天國作戰而意有所觸，披緇入山。不茹素，不禮佛，也「從
不卓錫僧寺」。同、光年間寓居上海，賣畫為生，聲望極重。自謂
「閒中寫出三千幅，行乞人間作飯錢」。與任伯年、顧鶴逸、吳昌
碩、倪墨耕等書畫家友善。早年學界畫，後以花果、禽魚、山水、人
物及肖像著名，尤擅松鼠及金魚，造型簡練誇張，設色細膩清雅。善
用「顫筆」，線條斷續頓挫，筆斷而意連，常能超然象外，得清虛之
味。有《虛谷和尚詩錄》傳世。

Ren Yi, “Portrait of Xugu” (detail)
Collection of Rev. Richard Fabian
任頤、吳穀祥 虛谷像（局部） 費立哲牧師珍藏
64 | BONHAMS