The Beauty of Huashan in Snow
积雪华山秀
Huashan is known for its perilous majesty and strange beauty, standing at a lofty height. There are five main peaks on Huashan, with its three tallest peaks in the East, West, and South. They are thus referred to as the ‘Three Beyond the Heavens’. One of China’s five mountains, Huashan gained its global fame from its treacherous beauty.
Throughout history, countless literati poets and painters had inked down their awe. The great Tang poets such as Li Bai and Xu Hun immortalized their thoughts through their famed poetry. The great painter Wang Lü, who lived between the Yuan and Ming, led a secluded life in Huashan, painting its perilous peaks. He said: ‘I learn from my heart, my heart from my eyes, and my eyes from Huashan.’ With the techniques of the Northern Song, he painted the Huashan Album, imbued with the spirit of life. This is his only surviving work.
Contemporary painter such as Zhang Daqian had also painted Huashan, producing works that were exemplary. His disciple He Haixia scaled the mountain many times, capturing its majestic air with his industrious brush; his works demonstrate the lush beauty of Huashan. Though painters such as I have not scaled Huashan, our breasts reverberate with the spirit of the mountain. It can be said that no one has painted snow scenes such as these before, so I tried my hand at it.
The Qing painter Yun Shouping has discoursed on painting snow scenes in this manner: ‘at present, painters should use black ink to portray forms’, ‘regarding paintings, they need to achieve the atmosphere of invasive and congealing frigidity. Expansive forests, precipitous cliffs, winding paths, and signs of human habitation should be captured in a way that denotes primordial vastness and profound solemnity. Forms should be bitingly cold while light should evoke melancholy. Blowing away the layers, one wanders within the landscape and draws delight from it. The sensation of the rocks arises from the painter’s desk, while forceful energy emits from the tips of his brush. With this, the achieved otherworldly scene and natural forms can all stand in for snow’.
Painted at the time of Bailu of Dinghai in the Unsullied Studio, on the western suburbs of Shanghai
Signed by Wang Jiafang of Jiading
华山以它雄险奇秀壁立千仞。华岳主峰有五，其中以东西南三峰最高，故有天外三家之称。在华夏五岳中，华山以其奇绝而名闻天下，历史上曾令无数文人 骚客诗人画家为之赞叹挥毫游墨。唐代大诗人李太白、许浑等都留下千古名句。元末明初大画家王履隐居太华，搜画奇峰，提出了“吾师心，心师目，目师华山” 之言，以北宋之法写得《华山图册》，极有生活之气韵，传世的仅存之作。当代画家大千亦偶画华山，颇有一番奇功，而其弟子何海霞多次登临华山奋笔，写 其雄姿；他的作品为画里华山之美苍。吾辈未登太华，但胸中有华山的灵气，写雪中之景，更为前无故人，吾题笔偶写为之。清人恽寿平论雪景画法有言：“ 今人画雪必以墨渍于外”，“偶论画，须得寒凝凌兢之意，长林深峭，碉道人烟， 摄入浑茫，游于沕穆。其象凜冽，其光黯惨。披拂层曲，循境涉趣。岩气浮于几席， 劲飙发于毫末。得其神迹，以成造化，斯 喻于雪矣。”
岁次丁亥白露于沪上西郊无尘画室
嘉定汪家芳记