Page 42 - Christie's Dec 2, 2015 Scholars Rocks, Hong Kong

Jin Nong (1687-1763) was a well-known painter active in Yangzhou
area during the 18th century, and was coined as one of the ‘Eight
Eccentrics of Yangzhou’. His non-orthodox painting style with unusual
themes deviated from the literati tradition of muted landscapes and
Buddhist imageries. Despite being an extremely learned scholar who
had mastered both calligraphy and painting, Jin Nong never succeeded
in attaining an official post through the civil service examination, and
instead had to make a living by selling his paintings in Yangzhou.
The other signature Fenghan refers to Gao Fenghan (1683-1749), a
highly accomplished painter, calligrapher and seal carver most famously
known for his association with the ‘Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou’,
a group of painters regarded for their unorthodox and individualistic
painting styles. Born ito an erudite family, he served briefly in the
government as governor of She County in Anhui, but was embroiled in
a series of political conflicts leading to a short period of imprisonment, the current lot, are extremely rare. A black Lingbi tiger-form rock of
during which his right hand was paralysed. Once his charges were
cleared and he was released from prison, Gao resigned from political life
and moved to Yangzhou, where he became acquainted with the local
literati circle and began to make a living by selling his paintings, which In the catalogue entry, Robert Mowry states that ‘This tiger-shaped rock
were highly sought after by wealthy families and connoisseurs in the
area. After losing mobility in his right hand, Gao underwent rigorous
training to paint with his left hand, resulting in an even bolder and
lot 3005 (detail)
40 BEYOND WHITE CLOUDS 出雲疊嶂 — 文人案頭賞石
freer style, which earned him his place as one of the greatest painters in
Yangzhou and he was sometimes regarded as one of the famed Eight
Eccentrics.
Lingbi stones have been the most prized and highly regarded stones
by Chinese literati since the Song dynasty. Excavated from deep
underground in Qing Shan area in northern Anhui, the Lingbi
limestone has an extraordinarily high density which contributes to a
clear and resonant sound when being tapped, leading to its association
with ceremonial music. The Heavenly Temple (Tiantan) in Beijing,
for example, has a well-preserved set of Lingbi stone bianqing chimes.
Lingbi stones are also cherished for their deep colour and lustrous
surface with a moist appearance at times. Though textual records
indicate that Lingbi stones were treasured as garden rocks in the Song
dynasty, extant examples of large, garden-sized Lingbi stones, such as
comparable size (52 cm. high) was included in the exhibition Worlds
Within Worlds: The Richard Rosenblum Collection of Chinese Scholars’ Rocks,
The Asia Society, New York and others, 1996-1999, catalogue, pl. 2.
numbers among the larger extant Lingbi stones, garden-sized specimens
now being virtually unknown’.
Gao Fenghan, in the carved inscription of the present rock, extolled its
unusual (qi) and penetrable (tou) qualities. Since the connoisseurship of
scholar’s rocks first became established in the Song dynasty, scholars had
been using terms such as qishi (unusual stone), guaishi (strange stone) or
yishi (mutated stone) to refer to rocks for appreciation in the garden or
studio, reflecting their perception of scholar’s rocks as a representation
of a microcosm of the universe with many unknowns. The quality of
tou is one of the four attributes considered essential to the appreciation
of rocks by the rock admirer, Mi Fu from Northern Song dynasty. Tou
refers to the openness, lightness and airiness which a stone imparts.
清乙卯年 (1735) 金農及高鳳翰題靈璧賞石
此石兩面有刻文，一面刻蘇軾《十八大阿羅漢頌》之其中四句：「我作佛事，
淵乎妙哉。空山無人，水流花開」、「金農」款；另一面刻「一塊石，奇而
透。不能言，不會走。米元章見之下拜，蘇東坡見之束手。乙卯鳳翰題。」、
「高」印。
金農 (1687-1763)，字壽門、司農、吉金，號昔耶居士、冬心先生等，浙江仁和
人。詩書畫皆善，但際遇崎嶇，一生未仕，後定居揚州賣畫為生，畫風新穎獨
特，為「揚州八怪」之一。
鳳翰，即高鳳翰 (1683-1749)，清代著名揚州派畵家、書法家、篆刻家，與「揚
州八怪」並列，或時被列入其中。胶州人，出身官宦世家，幼時已能寫詩填賦，
少負盛名，惟屢應試不第，至四十五歲時獲薦考「孝廉方正」科中選，授任安徽
歙縣縣丞，但不久受誣下獄，其間右手麻痺殘廢。沉冤得雪後高鳳翰遠離官場，
寓居揚州，鬻字賣畫為生，並結交揚州各路文人畫家。右手病殘後，高鳳翰苦練
左手揮毫，自譏「丁巳殘人」、「尚左生」，然畫風更見奔放不驁，深受揚州豪
門文士追慕。高鳳翰一生淡泊，晚年貧病交逼，卒於故里。
靈璧石為列四大名石之首，按宋人杜綰《雲林石譜》，靈璧石產於安徽靈璧縣磬
石山，並記之「清潤，扣之鏗然有聲」。靈璧石深埋於地底，結構堅硬細密，扣
之有金屬聲，固又名「八音石」，時被用作磬石，如北京天壇就保存了一套靈璧
石磬。靈璧石因質地堅固而潤澤，自宋代以來一直備受文人追崇，用作園林或案
頭賞石。雖然宋代文獻已有記載靈璧石有體積巨大者，如《揮麈錄》記：「政和
間，靈璧縣貢一巨石，高二十餘尺」，但存世的靈璧石一般為體小的案頭賞石，
碩大如本拍品之例子非常稀少。美國藏家Richard Rosenblum藏一件尺寸相若的
黑靈璧石 (52公分高)，可資參考，1996年展覽於紐約亞洲協會《Worlds Within
Worlds: The Richard Rosenblum Collection of Chinese Scholars’ Rocks》，
圖錄圖版2號。
高鳳翰在銘文中稱頌本石「奇而透」。中國歷代文人喜稱賞石為「奇石」、「怪
石」、「異石」等，如蘇東坡繪有存世作品《枯木怪石圖》，足見士大夫重視石
頭之奇形異狀為觀摩者帶來千變萬化的意境。「透」則是北宋嗜石者米芾提出的
「瘦、皺、漏、透」相石四法標準之一，表示石頭應該透風漏月，有空靈感。