The Xiang family could be said to have been a high-ranking official for generations during the Song and Ming dynasties, and there were as many as twenty people in the family who were promoted to Jinshi.
Xiang Yuanbian's great-grandfather Xiang Zhi had three brothers, his elder brother Xiang Zhong and his younger brother Xiang Wen.
Xiang Zhong was a famous official in the Ming Dynasty and the great-uncle of Xiang Yuanbian. His family was a sixth-ranked scholar, making the Xiang family's reputation unparalleled.
Xiang Yuanbian's father, Xiang Quaguan, became a doctor in the Ministry of Officials in Jinling.
Xiang Yuanbian's elder brother is also a Jinshi.
Xiang Yuanbian himself also had a wide circle of friends. He had close contacts with famous painters and connoisseurs Wen Peng and Wen Jia.
He was an acquaintance with Wen Zhengming and Qiu Ying, one of the Four Ming Dynasties.
In ancient times, one had to be famous to collect, especially in the Ming Dynasty.
In the Ming Dynasty, it was impossible to collect antiques if you were not famous.
Because the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were not very interested in calligraphy and painting, most of the good things were in the hands of literati collectors. If you were not famous, they would not let you in.
If you can’t get through the door, what can you buy?
Xiang Yuanbian didn't have to worry about this. His reputation was so great that Emperor Wanli took the initiative to let him serve as an official.
And he is also a famous calligrapher and painter.
He studied landscape painting from Ni Zan, one of the four masters of the Yuan Dynasty, and also from Huang Gongwang. At that time, many people came to him for paintings.
But he has a problem, that is, every painting he paints must be inscribed by himself, which makes those who ask for paintings very dissatisfied.
So some painters gave an extra three hundred coins to the servant of the Xiang family, asking him to take out the painting as soon as he finished painting in Xiang Yuanbian, so as to save him from endless writing on the painting.
At that time, some people traveled hundreds of miles to visit Xiang Yuanbian's collection of calligraphy and paintings.
Xiang Yuanbian is also generous, look at it as you like.
Because he came from a wealthy family, Xiang Yuanbian hosted a banquet to entertain guests and friends, and the tableware used was a gold plate.
For drinking, the double-chihu golden cup is used.
Each pair of wine glasses costs about fifteen or six taels, and these are made of pure gold.
The gold incense burner is used for incense, not the Xuande burner.
I use a plum blossom silver sand gong to wash my face. Shen Yu doesn’t know what this thing is.
Even the mouthwash spittoon is made of pure gold and is called "Golden Dropper".
In today's terms, it's extremely luxurious.
Another point is that the Xiang family has excellent moral character.
It is said that his father Xiang Quan once bought a large house, but it took a long time before he thought of renovating it.
Unexpectedly, during the renovation, a lot of gold and silver jewelry were found in a secret compartment somewhere in the house.
Xiang Quan did not keep the property as his own, but found the descendants of the owner of the old house and returned the treasure to them.
His noble character is certainly obvious.
But there is also a point where having too much money doesn’t matter.
Anyway, Xiang Yuanbian’s family only knows two things: rich.
For example, Feng Chengsu copied Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Preface", which is the legendary Shenlong version, and he bought it for 550 gold.
Wang Xizhi's "Zhanjin Tiejuan" cost him two thousand gold.
Jin is another name for silver in the Ming Dynasty, which does not mean real gold.
For example, one hundred gold refers to one hundred taels of silver.
At that time, one tael of silver could buy two stones and more than three hundred kilograms of rice respectively.
Buy 12-15 pounds of mutton.
Buy 8-10 pounds of beef.
Buy 10-15 large carp weighing five kilograms.
A relatively remote house with three rooms in the county only costs 30-50 taels of silver.
Therefore, Xiang Yuanbian is really willing to spend real money to buy French calligraphy and painting, and he really likes them.
This also shows that since ancient times, collecting is impossible without money.
What makes this old gentleman leave his name in future generations is not only his dazzling collection, but also his ability to stamp.
In this regard, the so-called psoriasis stamp of his fan Emperor Qianlong is far inferior.
Whether it is Dharma calligraphy or famous paintings, it can be said that there is nothing that Xiang Yuanbian did not write.
In Chu Suiliang's version of "Lanting Preface", Qianlong only stamped a dozen chapters such as "Sanxitang" and "Qianlong's Imperial Treasures", but Xiang Yuanbian stamped a total of ninety-eight chapters.
Nearly 100 stamps were stamped on his beloved Lu Hong and Lu Haoran's "Ten Chronicles of the Thatched Cottage".
Huaisu's "Autobiography" is a little less, covering more than 70 recipes...
The custom of stamping appreciation stamps on calligraphy and paintings, and collecting stamps, started in the Song Dynasty and became popular in Xiang Yuanbian.
The seals he often uses include "Xiang Yuan Bian Seal", "Zijing" gourd seal, "Tianla Pavilion", "Zisun Yongbao", "Xiang Zijing Family Collection", "Li Xiang Family Treasures" and other seals, all of which
In total, there are about more than a hundred square meters.
Directly leaving no blank space for future generations to seal.
The other one also has countless aliases.
In addition to their own names and characters, the ancients also had "Hao". Hao is another name for a person, so it is also called "alias".
The nickname has an elegant artistic conception, but it is more practical. In addition to being used for addressing people, it is also used for signatures in calligraphy and painting.
Modern people often need to know the nicknames of famous ancient calligraphers and paintings when appraising calligraphy and paintings.
For example, Su Shi Zizhan, but everyone calls him Su Dongpo.
This is because of his nickname: Layman Dongpo.
Many people do not mention Su Shi by his name, but call him Su Dongpo.
The nicknames of Xiang Yuanbian include Wuyun, Yaofeng, Yimin, Songsheng, Wangsun of Western Chu, Molinshanren, Molinsheng, Molinlansou, Molinzhu, Molinyanqi, Molinwaishi, There are nearly a hundred people who are addicted to tea.
These font sizes are very important for appreciating his collection of paintings, and you should remember them all.
To be honest, Xiang Yuanbian's method of stamping was ridiculed and ridiculed by literati and celebrities who were also collectors at that time.
But now it has become a shortcut for modern collectors to identify ancient paintings and a must-learn identification method.
It can be said that if you don’t understand Xiang Yuanbian, you will not be able to identify the authentic works of ancient famous artists, because most of the authentic works of ancient people have Xiang Yuanbian’s seal.
Zhongzhonglou once said to Shen Yu, if someone brings an authentic work of Wang Xizhi for you to identify, you only need to see if there is Xiang Yuanbian's seal on it.
If not, although I dare not say that it must be a fake, it can be basically concluded that it is a fake.
Shen Yu admired Mr. Xiang Yuanbian very much.
Shen Yu first knew Xiang Yuanbian not because of his collection, but because Tang Bohu's Dian Qiuxiang came from Xiang Yuanbian's notes "Jiao Chuang Miscellaneous Records".
……
Little by little, he took out the sandwiched painting. When the true appearance of the painting was revealed, Shen Yu discovered that it was an ink painting of bamboo and stone on paper.
In the painting, there are six vivid green bamboos with lush branches and leaves.
The painting skills are extremely exquisite, thousands of branches and leaves seem to be created in one stroke, especially the details are extremely exquisitely controlled, and the dewdrops can be seen on the bamboo leaves, which are crystal clear.
The more Shen Yu looked at it, the more he realized that this painting was extraordinary. There were several green bamboos at different heights, with clear layers and no clutter. It can be said that the painter's grasp of the sense of space and three-dimensionality has reached an advanced level.
There are several other strange stones under the bamboo. The ink color is warm and moist, which does not take away the power of the green bamboo and serves as a foil.
The brushwork throughout the painting is concise and skillful, and the bamboo and stone are elegant. It does not require a lot of brushwork, but it can make people feel as if they are in a bamboo forest in nature.
"Great painting!"
There is no author's name or painting title on the painting. It only says "The owner of Jiulong Mountain painted it in the Guiwei year of Yongle" in twelve characters in regular script. The font is elegant and the writing power is superb.
Below is Wen Zhengming's inscription: "The mountains and rocks are steep and the green bamboos are quiet."
There are also three collection seals, the Xiang Yuan Bian Zhu Wen Seal, the Zijing Zhu Wen Gourd Seal, and the Mo Lin Secret Wan Zhu Wen Seal.
