北宋徽宗「文會圖」現藏台北故宮博物院，是一幅描繪文人雅宴中聽琴、飲酒、品茗場面，高184.4公分，寬123.9公分的雙拼絹巨型設色掛軸。「文會圖」是否為宋徽宗親筆所繪，固然尚無定論，但是可以肯定為符合徽宗畫院繪畫風格的精緻之作，蘊含徽宗的藝術理念。
在「文會圖」的上方，有宋徽宗和蔡京的題畫詩，詩中徽宗自詡為唐太宗，網羅天下英雄為朝廷效命；蔡京則褒揚宋代更勝於唐朝，顯示濟濟人才非唐朝「十八學士」可堪比擬的自負心理。
「文會圖」與傳為徽宗的「十八學士圖」卷的構圖有部分類似，學者大多視之為自唐代閻立本以降，「十八學土」題材畫作之一例。
本文探討徽宗如何挪用與轉化「十八學士圖」典範，將功臣肖像畫式的「十八學士圖」處理為文人雅集的形態。
進而分析徽宗訂定「文會」畫題，發揮「君子以文會友，以友輔仁」意涵的旨趣，顯示徽宗個人對於文人審美風尚之認同，及其對於朝廷公讌和文人雅集歷史文化傳統之繼承。
作者並從宋代史料和蔡京、王安中等人對於徽宗朝君臣宴會的文字記錄中尋出「文會圖」的寫實依據，從而思考徽宗以「文會」模擬「十八學士」，「文會圖」的畫面布置與題詠中透露的亙古恆今之美。
王耀庭主編：「開創典範──北宋的藝術與文化研討會論文集」(台北：國立故宮博物院，2008年7月)，頁347-372。
Heavens’ Blessing for a Thousand Years: Sung Hui-tsung’s “Literary Gathering” and its Poetic Inscriptions
The painting “Literary Gathering” (Wen-Hui Tu), attributed to emperor Hui Zong of Northern Song Dynasty, is collected in the National Palace Museum of Taipei. Wen-Hui Tu is a silk hanging scroll in colors, 184.4 cm high, 123.9 cm wide, which depicts a literati gathering in the garden, having a refined dinner, drinking wine, sipping tea, and listening to the instrument guqin.
There are poems written by Song Hui Zong and his minister Cai Jing at the top of the painting. In his poem, Hui Zong praises himself as Tang Tai Zong, and calls for heroes all over the empire to do their utmost for the imperial court regardless of personal danger. In his poem, Cai Jing states that the Song Dynasty is superior to the Tang and the “eighteen scholars” of Tang can not compare to the numerous talents of the Song.
The composition of Wen-Hui Tu is similar to another painting called “Eighteen Scholars”, also attributed to Song Hui Zong. The subject matter of “Eighteen Scholars” had been painted earlier by Yan Liben in Tang Dynasty as a portrait painting.
This paper discusses how the portrait painting type was transformed to the literati gathering style.
The author uses historical records about Hui Zong and his court officials’ banquets as basis to better understand the Wen-Hui Tu, then analyses the title ”Literary Gathering”, showing its origin in the phrase “gentlemen make friends through literature, and through friendship increase their benevolence” from the Analects (Lunyu). Overall, we see how Hui Zong’s interests and tastes are close to those of the literati, and how he inherited the refined historical cultural traditions of the imperial court scholars.
In Wang, Yao-ting ed., Conference on Founding Paradigms – Papers on the Art and Culture of Northern Sung Dynasty (Taipei, National Palace Museum, 2008), pp. 347-372.