画师还是宰相——有关阎立本的多重叙述

Artist or Premier:Multiple Narrations about Yan Liben

阎立本是初唐时期的一位名臣,官居宰相,又在绘画领域取得了极高的成就,有《步辇图》和《历代帝王图》(摹本)等画作传世,虽然学术界对其目前传世画作的真伪有所怀疑,但其底本为阎立本所绘是毋庸置疑的。在仕进之路上,他在唐太宗时期担任刑部侍郎,在唐高宗总章元年(668)至咸亨四年(673)间,先后担任右相、中书令。

Yan Liben was a famous minister of the Tang Dynasty and had made great achievements in both official career and art.There are few historical materials about him at present,mainly in the Jiu Tang Shu(《旧唐书》),and the origin of his biography is mainly the national history of Tang Dynasty.Under the construction of the historians,his biography was slightly mistakenly written and showed that Yan Liben was only good at painting,not performing as a prime minister.This paper analyzes the reason why the image of Yan Liben was shaped and two clues of his posthumous title,and explores the ideological connotation behind the image change.Meanwhile,combing with the existing historical materials about Yan Liben,the author tries to reshape his identity.Yan Liben was not only an excellent artist,but also a prime minister who was good at chosing the right person and had political ability.