“虞山画派”与园林雅集叙论

Yushan School and Literati's Gatherings in Gardens

据清代乾隆年间鱼翼《海虞画苑略》所载,乾隆以前常熟画家就有296人。在此之后,更是代有才人,成为中国少有的几个画家密集地之一。元代黄公望创浅绛山水法,其画风成为后代山水画家所钟爱的典范;到了清代初期,王翚、杨晋为代表的"虞山画派"成为画坛主流,被誉为"画坛正宗"。常熟风物闲美,山川佳胜,诸多私家园林借虞山之景而筑,成为江南地区典型的文人雅集之地,众多虞山画派画家因此而留下了许多叙事性园林绘画。由于这些画作往往为应园主人(雅集组织者)之邀而作,画家在绘画技法上遵循传统,但于结构布局上更趋于注重展现园林风貌,具有强烈的写实性。这些绘画为我们提供了建筑格局、地理位置、人物交游等诸多要素,还原了明清江南园林风貌,艺术价值与史料价值并存。

Biographies of Painters from Haiyu [海虞画苑略] （by Yu Yi, Qing dynasty, Qianlong reign） records that there were 296 artists from today＇s Changshu, Jiangsu province prior to the Qianlong reign. After that, more artists emerged in Changshu, making Changshu one of the few cities in China that enjoyed high ＂artist density＂. As early as the Yuan dynasty, Huang Gongwang pioneered a technique in landscape painting and was later followed by many artists. By the early Qing dynasty, Yushan School, with Wang Hui and Yang Jin as the leading artists, became a mainstream school of painting. Changshu was renowned for numerous private gardens built in the beautiful landscape in the Yu Mountains （or Yushan） and was a perfect place in the Jiangnan region for literati＇s gatherings. Many artists of Yushan School depict such activities in their paintings. Usually done at the invitation of the garden owners （who were also organizers of literati＇s gatherings）, these paintings follow traditional techniques and present the garden views in a strongly realistic way. They reveal much information such as architecture, location, historical figures and socializing activities in Ming and Qing gardens. Therefore, they are of great artistic and historical values.