Page 178 - Beyond Compare Christie's Hong Kong RU WARE .pdf

BEYOND COMPARE: A Thousand Years of the Literati Aesthetic

fig. 1 Yanshanming (In Commemoration of
Inkstone Mountain) by Mi Fu (1051-1107).
Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing
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his instone mountain was in the collection of Ruan Yuan, originally acquired by his
Tson-in-law, Zhang Xi. It was recorded in detail in Ruan Yuan’s anthology Yanjingshiji:
“In the 25th year of Jiaqing, Xi was 18. His father ordered him to come to Yuedong, to
live uxorially in the Governor’s residence, and to study under my guidance... Xi studied
the flora, fauna and products of Ling’nan against ancient texts, and produced a few worthy
essays. He also carved an inkstone mountain from a large block of Duan River boulder,
and called it ‘Autumn Colours of Lintong’, since the Supervising Censor was originally
from Lintong, and came first in the local examination in Shaanxi in the jiazi year of
Qianlong.”
Cross referencing this record with the inscription on the inkstone mountain, a more complete
picture emerges: Ruan Yuan was Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi at the time,
where Duan stone was is mined. Zhang Xi was 18 when he came to Guangdong to marry
his daughter, accompanied by his teacher Yan Houmin. He was interested in flora and fauna,
and produced some academic studies on them. The inkstone mountain was called ‘Autumn
Colours of Lintong’ because his grandfather Zhang Xin, the Supervising Censor, was
originally from Lintong. It seems Ruan Yuan admired the inkstone mountain, as he wrote to
Zhang Xi proclaiming, ‘that’s an inkstone mountain!’
Inkstone mountains are desk accoutrements that are both functional and aesthetically pleasing.
The most famous example is the one said to have been owned by Emperor Li Yu of the
Southern Tang period, and later came into the possession of Mi Fu in the Northern Song
Dynasty. Mi Fu exchanged a piece of land with it to build his studio Haiyue ‘an (Studio of the
Marine Peak), and later wrote his masterpiece calligraphy Yanshanming (In Commemoration
of Inkstone Mountain) (fig. 1). According to his contemporary, Cai Tiao, Su Shi also made
himself an inkstone mountain. Mi Fu had two in his possession, and so did the Huizong
Emperor, showing their popularity at the time. The material of Mi Fu’s inkstone does not
appear to have been recorded. Many later presumed it to be of Lingbi rock. In Haiyue zhilin
(Assorted Notes from the Marine Peak), Mi Fu was recorded to be in possession of another
inkstone mountain:
“The Monk Zhou had a Duan stone that could be erected like a mountain, and its
slopes could take water for grinding (ink). Later Mi Fu acquired it, and held it in his
sleep for three days. He then asked Zizhan (Su Shi) to write an inscription on it for
him.”

This inkstone mountain was clearly recorded as being that of Duan stone. Had it survived, it
would have been another masterpiece that bears the mark of both Mi Fu and Su Shi.
Inkstone mountains are not so commonly seen after the Song Dynasty, but avid inkstone
collector Ruan Yuan was an exception, and there were several large Duan inkstone mountains
in his collection. Perhaps because he was the governor of the Guangdong area, and material
was abundantly available, he favoured using large boulders to make inkstone mountains, like
the current example. Although Ruan Yuan mentioned in his writing that Zhang Xi ‘carved an
inkstone mountain from a large block of Duan River boulder’, it was unlikely that Zhang Xi,
being an 18 year-old scholar, would have had the skill to carry out such work. Most likely he
found a craftsman to carve it for him. Who might that be? Although it was not recorded on
the inkstone mountain, we could attempt to find clues from other works.

A green Duan inkstone (fig. 2) from a private collection, previously acquired from J. J. Lally,
has very similar carving style to the current lot, and is inscribed:
“Hermit of Auxiliary Perusal, Hu Changling, made this square-well inkstone in the
Governor’s Residence in Yangcheng, in the gengchen year of Jiaqing.”

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