Xuechuang Puming 雪窗普明 (fl. ?-1349) was a Yuan dynasty Buddhist monk, a member of the Cao曹 family of Songjiang 松江 (modern Jiangsu). His birthplace and dates of birth and death are not known. His zi is Xuechuang and he identified himself as a pupil of Huiji Yuanxi 晦機元熙 (1238–1319) of the Linji 臨濟sect, Yangqi 楊歧and Dahui 大慧schools, Beijian 北磵line and a classmate of Xiaoyin Daxin 笑隱大訢(1284–1344). In the fourth year of the Zhiyuan reign period of Emperor Shun (1338), he became abbot of the Yunyan temple雲岩寺 in Pingjiang (Jiangsu) and remained there until the fourth year of the Zhizheng reign period (1344) when he became the abbot of the Shengtian temple, which he helped to rebuild after it had burned down.Foguang da cidian《佛光大辭典》http://zh-cn.oldict.com/%E6%99%AE%E6%98%8E/16/. The Xu deng zheng tong 續燈正統, which records the activities of the many disciples of the Chan master Huiji Yuanxi of the Jingshan Temple, strikingly makes no mention of the Chan master Xuechuang Puming of Huqiu Mountain.Xu deng zheng tong續燈正統, from Wan xin zuan xu zangjing 卍新纂續藏經Vol. X84, No. 1582-1583.

The artist's inscription uses the ancient system of dating that is found in the “Shi tian 釋天” section of the Erya 爾雅, and so the recorded Zhanmeng zuoe 旃蒙作噩year is equivalent to the cyclical year “yixi” 乙酉 (1345).

This type of dating can also be found today among a set of four orchid and bamboo scrolls attributed to Xuechuang in the Japanese Imperial Museum collection (日本帝室博物館). The fourth scroll, titled Jutting Cliffs and Enchanting Fragrance (Xuanya youfang tu懸崖幽芳圖) (fig. 1), records the date of “Zhaoyang xieqia” 昭陽協洽, which is equivalent to the year “guiwei” 癸未 (1343). Coincidentally, the first scroll in this set of four is also titled Orchids Bending in the Wind. If we compare the calligraphy of Jutting Cliffs and Enchanting Fragrance and the Seattle scroll, the four characters of the titles are nearly identical in stroke quality and spacing, particularly with regard to two characters, guang feng 光風. If we compare the overall compositions, all in all they are very similar. In the Seattle scroll, two thorny branches occupy the upper right, below are two clusters of orchids and on the very bottom are two low rock formations. In the painting in the Japanese Imperial collection, above are thorns and orchids, a rock obliquely juts out from the right and below is a spray of bamboo, with rocks along the bottom edge. This comparison suggests that the lower half of the Seattle scroll may have been cut off for some unknown reason, even though the composition seems complete.

Fig. 1: Attributed to Xuechuang, Jutting Cliffs and Enchanting Fragrance, 1343. © Museum of the Imperial Collections, Tokyo.

In terms of painting orchids in ink, there are numerous records which reveal the prevalence of this theme, including works in the Song dynasty (960–1279) by Wu Yuanyu 吳元瑜 (11th c.), Su Shi蘇軾 (1036–1101), Yang Cigong 楊次公 (11th c.), Huaguang heshang花光和尚 (Shi Zhongren釋仲仁, d. 1123), Mi Fu 米芾 (1051–1107), Ren Yi任誼 (ca. 1056), for example.

As for the use of a single brushstroke to define each orchid leaf, the earliest extant painting appears to be by the late Song dynasty artist Zhao Mengjian 趙孟堅 (1199-?). In the Song dynasty, around the end of the 11th and beginning of the 12th centuries, orchid paintings may already have been done in monochrome ink. By the late Song, Zheng Sixiao 鄭思肖(1241–1318), and in the early Yuan dynasty Zhao Mengfu 趙孟頫 (1254–1322; fig. 2), were both famous as ink orchid painters. Particular to the orchid flower is its long, slender leaves, creating an abundance of graceful curving lines. Frequently scholars who were skilled calligraphers, when in a light-hearted mood, would lift their brush and paint orchids. Indeed, the tools of calligraphy and painting are the same. As long as the artist conveys the idea and the form well, likeness in color is not relevant. This artistic goal is exemplified in the handling of brush and ink.

Fig. 2: Zhao Mengfu, Bamboo, Rock and Orchid , Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). © The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund by exchange, 1963.515.

Thus, in the Yuan dynasty, both orchid and bamboo painting became gifts of exchange among the scholar elite, just as this hanging scroll was a gift for Tongfu. Moreover, this painting was done on the Double Five, fifth day of the fifth month, when literati traditionally exchanged gifts. In the Yuan period there were many people whose zi was Tongfu. But if we take into account the year this work is dated“yixi” 乙酉 (1345), the recipient may well have been Feng Tianrui馮天瑞 (1297–1355), zi Tongfu, a man from Wujiang in Hezhou, who died in the 15th year of the Zhengzhi reign period (1355) at the age of 59. This puts him very close in time and place to Xuechuang; perhaps he was the intended recipient.Yang Weizhen楊維楨, ”Gu chushi fengjun muzhi ming” 故處士馮君墓志銘, in Dong Weizi ji東維子集 (Taipei: Taiwan Shangwu chubanshem 1965), 26.5. It is also found in the Sibu congkan四部叢刊 (chubian初編, jibu集部), 79.1463.

The inscribed title, Guang feng zhuang hui 光風轉蕙, which translates as “A warm breeze bends the melilotus (fragrant orchids) and sets the tall orchids swaying,” comes from the Chuci 楚辭 poem The Summons of the Soul (Zhao hun) 招魂.Trans. note: here again I follow the translation of David Hawkes, Ch’u Tz’u: The Songs of the South (Boston: Beacon Press, 1959), 105. Guang feng means “the rain has just ceased, the sun has come out and the wind is blowing, which makes the grasses and trees glisten. 光風，謂雨已日出而風，草木有光也。”Trans. note: the author seems to be citing Wang Yi 王逸 and Hong Xingzu洪興祖, Chuci bu zhu 楚辭補注, Sibu beiyao四部備要, 9.6b. Guang feng and ji yue 霽月 are regularly used together as a metaphor for someone who is high-minded and pure of heart. In this particular case as a title, it refers to the commonly deployed literati motifs: orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums, as denoting a junzi君子 (refined or cultivated man).

The fragrance of orchids was a common symbol for the virtues of the junzi in both the Chuci and the Shijing. As a symbol it was both an ideal that one strove to attain, as well as a tangible aesthetic. Within the discourse of literati painting, orchids were a mark of culture, a vehicle for expressing one’s thoughts. And so in giving an orchid flower painting as a gift, it represented the mutual aspirations of junzi. Xuechuang’s ink orchids appear to have been prolific and in high demand.

In the Yuan period, Seng Zubai 僧祖柏’s Bu xi zhou ji 不繫舟集 includes the poem Chao you hu qiu 嘲遊虎丘, which has the line “Household after household looks to the calligraphy of Shuzhai, home after home looks to the orchids of Xuechuang 家家恕齋字，户户雪窗蘭.” Seng Zubai僧祖柏, Bu xi zhou ji不繫舟集, Gu Sili 顧嗣立 (1665—1722), ed., Yuan shi xuan元詩選三集, 16.32a. from Wenyin ge Siku quanshu文淵閣四庫全書.Ban Weizhi 班惟志, zi Yangong 彥功, hao Shuzhai恕齋. He was known for being a polymath with many abilities and at the same time for being an expert at calligraphy. Yuan Zhongdao袁中道 described his running script calligraphy as outstandingly clear and strong no less than that of Zhao Wangsun趙王孫 (Mengfu).Xuechuang’s orchid paintings are inspired by Zhao Mengfu’s, so it could be said that Xuechuang is a specialist in Zhao’s style of orchid painting. The Yuan dynasty Buddhist Master Shi Daxin 釋大訢 (1284–1344), who was of the same school of painting as Xuechuang, has two poems titled The Orchids of Xuechuang (Xuechuang lan雪窗蘭), in his collection Pu shi ji 蒲室集. One of these reads:

Acre upon acre is without scent, lost into the old thicket,
As if seeping into and dissipating in the gentle breeze,
The monk of Wu having attained the subtle knowledge of the Zhao family [in painting orchids],
The crane does not regret the empty tent left behind by the mountain recluse [the Zhaos].
百畝無香失舊叢，若為膏沐轉光風。趙家三昧吳僧得，未覺山人鶴帳空。

The line “The monk of Wu having attained the subtle knowledge of the Zhao family” refers to Xuechuang’s learning the essence of orchid painting from Zhao Mengfu.Shi Daxin, Pu shi ji, in Wenyin ge Siku quanshu, 5.8; 6.5. In addition, Wang Mian 王冕 (1287–1359), in his Pre-Ming Painters of Orchids, part one (Ming shang ren hua lan tu yi) 明上人畫蘭圖, found in his Zhu zhai shihua竹齋詩話, states, “The two Zhao (Mengjiang and Mengfu) from Wuxing have already passed, Xuechuang therefore becomes the best in [orchid painting] 吳興二趙俱已矣，雪窗因以專其美.” Wang Mian, Zhu zhai shihua, in Wenyin ge Siku quanshu, xia, 34.This also declares that after Zhao Mengjian and Zhao Mengfu had passed away, Xuechuang's orchid paintings reigned supreme.

As for historical criticism of Xuechuang’s works, in the Yuan dynasty Xia Wenyan 夏文彦, in his Tu hui bao jian 圖繪寶鑒 (according to the preface it was written in the twenty-fifth year of the Zhengzhi era or 1365), comments, “As for the Monk Ming Xuechuang’s paintings of orchids and Bai Ziting’s柏子庭 paintings of gnarled wood and irises, being mere products of monks’ quarters, they are not worthy of the pure leisure of the scholar’s studio僧明雪窗畫蘭，柏子庭畫枯木菖蒲，止可施之僧坊，不足為文房清玩.”Xia Wenyan, Tu hui bao jian, in Wenyin ge Siku quanshu, 5.19. Based on what we see today, there is not one scroll of Xuechuang's orchid or bamboo paintings, which in terms of quality, mood or style, that one can say “they are not worthy of the pure leisure of the scholar’s studio.” It really is difficult to understand this judgment.

In the Ming dynasty, Gao Lian 髙濂in his Zunsheng ba jian 遵生八牋, found in his Yanjian qingshang jian燕閒清賞牋, noted, “The monk Xuechuang, Wang Yuanzhang (1310-1359)、Xiao Yuetan (active 16th century)、Gao Shian (d. 1052)、Zhang Shuhou (d. 1356)、and Ding Yefu (d. 1368) all have reached the level of elegant refinement 僧雪窗、王元章、蕭月潭、髙士安、張叔厚、丁野夫之雅致.” The judgment of “elegant refinement” clearly contrasts with the view of Xia Wenyan.

From the time that the Japanese monk Chūun Reihō頂雲靈峰 (active 1326-1348) traveled in Suzhou during the mid 14th century, Xuechuang’s technique of painting ink orchids was transmitted to Japan, where it influenced Chūun's contemporary, Tetsujou Tokusai鐵舟德濟 (d. 1366), and was passed on once again by Gyokuen Bunpō玉畹梵芳 (1348-1420). These events had a major influence on the Japanese ink painting tradition that was just emerging.

Xuechuang is known to have composed a work called Notes on brush techniques for painting orchids (Hua lan bifa ji 畫蘭筆法記), parts of which are preserved in Japan. Perhaps part of the text was excerpted from Zhizheng zhi ji至正直記, which has a section called “Techniques for painting orchids” (Hua lan fa 畫蘭法).Trans. note: This work is by Kong Qi孔齊(fl. 1367) and is usually titled Jingzhai Zhizheng zhi ji静齋至正直記. Xu xiu Siku quanshu續修四庫全書, vol. 1166 (Shanghai: Shanghai gu ji chu ban she, 2002), 2.300. One entry of the section reads:

“While crossing Yao Lake (in modern Jiangsu) in the fall of 1341 (Zhizheng xinsi 至正辛巳), I experienced an unexpected visit by neighbor Lang Xuanyin.Trans. Note: Lang Xuanyin was from Qufu in Shandong just like Kong Qi. When Xuanyin was young, he became a Taoist monk on Sanmao Mountain (Jiangsu Province, Jurong). Skilled at orchid painting, he mastered Xuechuang's brush techniques which he then passed on to me. He said,

“As for painting orchids, painting the flowers is easy, but painting the leaves is hard. One must obtain the sharp, short-tipped brush made by Huang Yuwen of Qiantang.Trans. note: this seems to be referring to brushes made by a particular artisan family in Qiantang (modern Hangzhou), that were variously praised since the Song dynasty most famously by Su Shi who described them as if they moved by themselves. See Su Shi 蘇軾, “Shu Qiantang Cheng Yi bi” 書錢塘程奕筆Su Shi wen ji 文集(Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1986), 70.2233; Zhejiang tong zhi 浙江通志, in SKQS, 196.3b. Only then is it possible to paint orchids. Use your index finger [and thumb] to grasp the brush, supported by the middle and the ring finger from below, and then position the little finger on the paper and guide the brush with it. Start the stroke with more pressure on the brush, in mid-stroke the pressure should lighten, then towards the end exert more pressure again and then the stroke should end with lighter pressure. Thus the leaf will show [four sides, namely] the underside, the profile, the side view, and the topside. There are three or four leaves that intersect, just as there are leaves that do not look like hooks and those that do; all contribute to the strength of the leaf. As for the flowers, some face up and some face down, the leaves are painted from the bottom and face upwards, the flower stems are painted from top to bottom, this is basically how you follow the flow of the brush. If the tip of the brush is spread open with ink, then the tone of the middle of the leaf will be light and the two edges will be bit darker. Avoid weaving the leaves and flowers like a chicken pen or the character jing 井. The front and back parts of the leaves should be clearly distinguished. The flowers can be in the shape of large and small donkey ears [short petals] while others look like “official’s head” [long petals] or “descending geese” [thin petals]. Some flowers stick out more, others less so. Some are budding, while others are fully grown. This is based on a catalogue of orchid [painting techniques].

—In the year ren chen 壬辰 year (1352), bandits torched this work and today I record the outlines of what was said.”Xuan he hua pu宣和畫譜, in Wenyin ge Siku quanshu, 16.4.

予記至正辛巳秋(1341)過洮湖上，忽遇鄰人郎玄隠來訪。玄隠幼為黃冠于三茅山，善畫蘭，得明雪窗筆法，因授予。曰：『畫蘭，畫花易，畫葉難，必得錢塘黃于文小雞距樣筆，方可作蘭。用食指擒定，筆以中指無名托起，乃以小拇指劃紙襯托筆法揮之，起筆稍重、中用輕、未用重，結筆稍輕，則葉反側斜正如生，有三過筆、有四過筆，葉有大乘釣竿，小乘釣竿，皆葉勢也。花或上或下，葉自下而上，花幹自上而下，蓋取筆勢之便也，毫須破水墨，則葉中色淺，兩旁稍濃也，忌似雞籠，忌似井字，向背不分。花有大小，驢耳、判官頭、平沙落雁(平沙落雁畫薄花也)、 大翹楚、小翹楚諸形，茅有其穎發箭諸體，蓋蘭譜也。』壬辰(1352)燬於寇，今略記此彷彿于上云。

Broadly speaking, painting orchids bent by the wind to the left is considered the most difficult. In our work here, stroke after stroke, they all move toward the left as though they are being buffeted by a strong wind.

Yuan dynasty orchid painters still painted a scene as it might be seen, orchid leaves intersecting, but certainly never producing the two “X” strokes that appear in some painting manuals.Trans. Note: see Jiezi yuan hua zhuan 芥子園畫傳 (erji 二集), 1.2. As for the fragrant orchids, they turn and twist as the wind blows them, all possessing a dynamic sense of movement.

If we compare Seattle's Xuechuang orchid painting to the that of Zhao Mengfu’s Bamboo, Rock and Orchid (Zhu shi you lan tu juan 竹石幽蘭圖卷) (fig. 2), in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection, Xuechuang’s orchid leaves are very similar to Zhao Mengfu's in the way they relate to one another, but Xuechuang’s might have even more force. Orchids and bamboo are often paired with rocks, as is described in a poem by Zhao Mengfu inscribed at the end of his scroll Bamboo and Rock (Shu zhu xiu shi 疏竹秀石), in the Palace Museum, Beijing, collection, which reads:

Rocks as in flying-white [script], trees as in seal script;
When painting bamboo, one applies the spreading-eight [late clerical] method
Those who understand this thoroughly
Will realize that calligraphy and painting have always been the same.Translation cited from Wen Fong et al. Images of the Mind: selections from the Edward L. Elliot Family and John B. Elliot collections of Chinese calligraphy and painting at The Art Museum, Princeton University (Princeton, 1984), 104.
石如飛白木如籀，寫竹還應八法通; 若也有人能會 此方知書畫本來同。

Painting rocks follows the "flying white" method (swift movement of the brush in which the hairs of the brush separate, leaving white spaces) described in this poem, and the rocks in the Seattle work are nearly identical with the style of Zhao Mengfu.

© 2013 by the Seattle Art Museum