衣若芬。「玉澗「瀟湘八景図」の詩画と印章の研究」。《國華》1412號(2013年6月),頁5-18。
Around the end of the fourteenth century to the beginning of the fifteenth century, the drawing of “Eight Views of Xiao Xiang” by a monk Yu Jian was brought to Japan. The original art work consists of eight pieces. Now it is only left with “Autumn Moon over Dongting” (Tokyo/Agency for Cultural Affairs), “Mountain Market, Clearing Mist” (Tokyo/Idemitsu Museum of Arts) and “Sails Returning from a Distant Shore” (Nagoya/The Tokugawa Art Museum).
During the late thirteenth century, Yu Jian was quite active back in his hometown Jin Hua. From the poems that Yu Jian exchanged with other scholars, we can estimate that Yu Jian was born in the period between1180-1190 and passed away in the period between 1260-1270.
“Eight Views of Xiao-Xiang” was first created by the artist Song Di (about 1015-1080) in the late Northern Song dynasty and this art work has been of great interest to researchers. “Xiao Xiang” is a traditional concept in Chan Buddhism, and in the trend of making “Eight Views of Xiao Xiang” in the Chan context, Yu Jian’s work is between the “Dream Journey Over Xiao Xiang” (Tokyo National Museum) by Master Li in the Southern Song and the works of Mu Xi.
Many art historians have studied Yu Jian’s paintings and produced much meaningful research. However, discussions on the poems written on the painting “Eight Views of Xiao Xiang” are scarce. This paper will analyze the eight poems that were inscribed on the “Eight Views of Xiao Xiang.” Additionally, it would examine the three pieces of work that are left to discuss the aesthetic essence of Yu Jian in his poems, calligraphy and paintings.
Research has shown that the poems that were written in Yu Jian’s “Eight Views of Xiao-Xiang” is in the form of seven quatrains, and that it combined both narrative and vivid expressions of emotions, just like the Chan Ji. However, the poems written by Yu Jian do not follow this structure which consists of an introduction, a climax and an ending. His poems do not have a conclusion and are always in a continuous and changing state. It seems like the poems are commenting on the difficulty of Buddhist practice and the perpetual seduction of seeking secular relief.