- 666
Bada Shanren 1626-1705
Description
- Bada Shanren
- STUDIO OF AUTUMN MOUNTAIN
- ink on satin, handscroll
signed Bada Shanren, with a dedication, and one seal of the artist, ba da shan ren. Colophon by Mao Chang (17th century), signed Mao Chang, with three seals, mao chang zhi yin, tai shi zhi zhang, one other (illegible); Jin Tingdui (17th century), signed Sanhan fa'di Jin Tingdui, dated jimao (1699), early winter, with three seals, ren wo shu kuang, jin ting dui yin, one other (illegible); Jin Cheng (17th century), signed Shiyi sui Tongzi Jin Cheng, and Jin Cheng, with four seals, shi gu zhai, three others (illegible); Lei Han (17th century), signed Lei Han, with two seals, lei, han; Cheng Shijing (17th century), signed Xin'an di Cheng Shijing, with three seals, wu dang, and two others (illegible); Zhong Yi (17th century), signed Nanzhou di Zhong Yi, with three seals, ban jian feng yu, zhong yi, ding chen; Li Chou (17th century), signed Li Chou, with three seals, chou, yi wang qing shen, and one other (illegible); Yang Yuanti (17th century), signed Nanzhou fa'di Yang Yuanti, with three seals, ping ping zhai, yang yuan ti yin, and one other (illegible); and Zhang Daqian (1899-1983), signed Daqian jushi Zhang Yuan, dated xinchou, the sixteenth day of the third lunar month (April 30th, 1961). With three other collectors' seals, bo jin suo cang, wan shi jian ding (2), gu she cheng shi huai wu shi cang
Provenance
Sotheby's London, June 12th, 2003, Chinese Ceramics, Works of Art and Paintings, Lot 196
Literature
Condition
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.
Catalogue Note
1. I have never enjoyed talking about Buddhism because it does not resonate with me. In the dingchou year, I happened to pass by Xinwu on the highway and lodged at a monastery on Dragon Mountain, where Monk Haogong paid me a visit. Haogong was knowledgeable about loyalty and ritual and an excellent writer; although a Buddhist, he had the aura of a Confucian scholar. I became curious and received him for a long conversation. Since then we have often corresponded. In winter of the jimao year (1699), he produced the painting Returning to the Mountains to show the person who composed the initial poems, namely Jin Lingjun of Xinwu. Alas! When tired of travel, one thinks of home--such is human nature. The world is vulgar and dirty. How can one be attached to it? It is of course inferior to springs, rocks, mist, and mountains, which soothe the mind. Ingesting evening colors, drinking dew, and clothing himself in clouds, Haogong is truly a man without common passions and transcendent above things! As for someone with an equally lofty and open spirit who admires and sympathizes with him, who else is there if not Jin Lingjun? This serves as a preface. Follower Mao Chang of Zhongzhou, Hebei.
2. My home country is three thousand miles away. The weather has turned cold on this tenth-month day. My lack of talent originates in my artlessness. Who will pity my proud nature? I send messages with plum blossoms, And drink myself sleep at dawn. Hearing that you have become a recluse, I am ashamed I cannot afford to buy a mountain.
For half a year we accompanied each other; Time after time I visited your grass hut. Discussing poetry you advocated elegance; Discussing Buddhism you revealed true thusness. You have rescinded several promises to return to the mountain (the master has come north with me and thus remained in the city), And frequently attend to medical prescriptions (the master is often sick and has recently taken to reading books on medicine). When may we meet and embrace again, At a humble abode where you hang your immortal’s robe?
In early winter of the jimao year (1699), as I went to the capital to fill a vacancy, Master Haogong was about to return to the monastery. So I composed two doggerels to commemorate our years of close friendship. Humbly submitted by the follower Jin Tingtui of Sanhan.
3.The mountain monk of Mount Lu called Haiweng, Has descended to bid farewell to Jin Lingjun. With a smile he drags his staff across a creek. In his robes he contains clouds from upstream. He befriended me outside Buddhism, And permitted my roast pig and wine. In the morning he comes and shows me Returning to the Mountain, Asking, “I will soon leave. Will you come or not?” I say, “Buddha is not subject to the three predestined causes, And Bodhidharma meditated against a wall for nine years. Form and trace, though different, are ultimately one; Leaving or staying in the mountain--this is merely a matter of chance.” The monk says, “Your words accord with the doctrine. Please reveal to me how origins and causes arise!” But what do I know about literary Chan? Alas, I can barely even avoid vulgarity!
Haigong is an excellent poet and has a untrammeled character. Not biased towards Jiangxi, he is eager to promote excellent individuals from outside the realm. When Wufeng Jin Lingjun served in Fengxin, he and the master became buxom friends. In winter of the jimao year (1699), Wufeng went north for an appointment, and Haigong trekked far to send him off. For him Wufeng composed two verses entitled Returning to the Mountain, which Haigong had mounted on a scroll painting entitled the same. When Haigong showed it to me and asked me to inscribe it, I obliged. On the eleventh day of the tenth month in the winter of the jimao year (1699), the dharma follower Shen Feixiong of Gouwu seeks his correction.
4. In the tenth month he traverses Mount Lu, And through the drizzle over Lake Bo. In the middle of the river floats single reed: I suspect it is Bodhidharma returning home. Inscribed for Elder Hai the Chan master by Jin Cheng, an eleven-year-old boy.
5. A chance meeting between a lone cloud and a wild goose-- This is not Chaisang [Tao Yuanming] sending off Yuangong [the monk Huiyuan]. With a single smile a bond is formed across realms, As flowers slowly scatter from the moonlit sky.
The clear-eyed immortal lives on the Treasure Cloud. His hand-planted pine tree has transformed into a dragon. Having paid respects to the famous mountains he has lately returned-- He is not like a retired magistrate who simply lingers.
With a monk’s robe and a bamboo staff he travels and versifies. The mountain ahead is covered in snow, the road ahead long. Eminent Monk, why mourn this separation? Next year you can visit each other on Tiger Creek Bridge.
I humbly offer three quatrains of regulated verse to the eminent monk Haigong to commemorate his return to the mountain and seek his instruction and correction. Written by the follower Cheng Shijing of Xin’an.
6. Following the preceding poem:
Even in a single unburdened cassock one tires of travel; Suffused with maple leaves, the river chills the returning boat. For all the paintings within the poetry, feelings are hard to represent; Awakening to this, I wish to end the various clingings with my brush. I let out a long cry on a lone peak above the sea of clouds, And idly watch the evening sun hovers above Lake Li. With Yuanming departed, who truly knows me? In vain Drunken Rock remains, as the verdant streams continue to flow. Written by dharma follower Zhong Yi of Nanzhou.
7. First poem: Nomadic in character and talented in verse, With a staff, in a straw hat, he casually journeys to and fro. Tired of travel, he wishes to return to the mountain by boat. Who will accompany you as you search for plum blossoms in the snow?
Second poem: In slippers and unburdened by possessions, he enjoys his travels, Capturing with his brush all the famous mountains. With the fragrance of sandalwood incense everywhere lingering, Today even the rocks shall become awakened.
Third poem: Who is privy to news about the bent reeds (the master has a poem entitled “Bent Reeds”)? My thoughts are excited by traces of wild geese flying in the west wind. I remember in the small hut on a stormy night, We chanted poetry and matched rhymes under lamplight.
Having traveled throughout Tiantai and back through River Zhang, He now retires to a lone peak amidst infinite valleys and clouds. When will the white lotuses again bear fruit? The bells of Donglin Monastery everyday sound. Humbly written by the dharma follower Li Chou of Xinwu.
8. Buddhism has always striven and wandered, But the master alone follows destiny. His singular loftiness incites people’s jealousy, But his carefree indifference earns my sympathy. He collects bracken for breakfast, And refines his poetry in lieu of sleep.
As he crosses the river westward, He is coy about all the wine money he has saved!
Having returned to the mountain in a straw hat, He cuts down thatch to mend his humble hut. With his heart at peace he makes no complaint, In his realized thusness he is simply himself. He paints red trees by the window, And writes calligraphy on lined silk. When I meet or visit him again, I shall press my palms together and then grasp his robes.
9.I the boy am honest and obedient like Ameng, My father the official is uncorrupt like wind, Regretful that I have no gift for your return to the mountain, I imitate the others to write a poem for Elder Hai. Written again by Jin Cheng.
10. Bojin my elder in religion showed me a landscape scroll painted by Bada Shanren for Buddhist Master Haigong and instructed me to inscribe twenty-eight words for his correction: Bada Shanren could cry and laugh, And painted for his few close friends. Pity his endless regret for his country: What could he do even as a recluse?
The fifteenth day of the third month of the xinchou year (1961), Daqian jushi Zhang Yuan.