图绘、地望与营造：《金阊名园图》映照园林考辩及复原研究

Illustration, Location, and Construction: A Study on the Examination and Restoration of GardensReflected in the "Paintings of Famous Gardens in Jinchang"

关键词:  风景园林  《金阊名园图》  私家园林  园画  图景  徐子本园  考辨

Key words:  landscape architecture  Paintings of Famous Gardens in Jinchang  garden  garden painting  scene  Xu Ziben Garden  research and identification

摘要:

园画图景直接映照园林实景，是复原失存园林的主要材料。据已有研究，《金阊名园图》为紫芝园园图且映照了紫芝园的真实风貌。首先梳理徐氏家族 谱系、造园特色、社会交游为研究基础，再将《徐氏园亭图记》文本风貌与《金阊名园图》图景内容进行比对形成主证，以《紫芝园记》所载信息及《金阊名园 图》创作技法、要素关系特征解析为辅证，最终考辨推理《金阊名园图》极有可能映照徐子本园并复原其空间景物，尝试弥补和挖掘以往园林史研究的不足。

Abstract:

The scenes depicted in ancient Chinese garden paintings can directly reflect the actual elements of the gardens, serving as the primary basis and material for contemporary research and restoration of lost classical gardens. Through a review of existing research, it is initially shown that the "Jin Chang Ming Yuan Tu" (Paintings of Famous Gardens in Jinchang) was a garden painting specifically created by the renowned Ming Dynasty scholar Wen Zhengming for the Xu family's Zizhi Garden. This painting objectively and truthfully records and depicts the elements within Zizhi Garden, accurately and clearly reflecting the overall appearance and spatial structure of the garden. However, this conclusion remains controversial in the academic community. Contemporary scholars such as Zhang Pengchuan, Wei Jiazan, and Yun Jiayan all agree with this conclusion, while Fu Xiniang and Liu Jiuan suggest that the "Paintings of Famous Gardens in Jinchang" is a later copy, and Guo Mingyou speculates that it was painted by Qiu Ying. These disputes only focus on whether the "Paintings of Famous Gardens in Jinchang" is an authentic work by Wen Zhengming, without addressing the authenticity of its depiction of Zizhi Garden. Zizhi Garden was renowned for its grand rockeries and splendid buildings, but the garden depicted in the "Paintings of Famous Gardens in Jinchang" is simple and elegant, with a spacious and distant atmosphere, showing a significant difference from the "garden-painting interaction" relationship. The Xu family's gardens were concentrated in the Xiaotang area of Changmen, with their residences connected, making it easy for the names and locations of the gardens to be confused and misinterpreted in later folk tales. Additionally, the prevalence of forged paintings in the Jiangnan region during the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, along with Zizhi Garden's significant influence at the time, makes the historical details of the "Paintings of Famous Gardens in Jinchang" and its author worthy of further examination and verification. Based on the preliminary research in this article, there are many doubts about the claim that the "Paintings of Famous Gardens in Jinchang" is a painting of Zizhi Garden and accurately reflects its features. The article first sorts out the genealogy of the Xu family in Ming Dynasty Suzhou, the period and characteristics of their garden construction, and the social interactions of their descendants, using this as the main research basis and discussion background. Then, it compares the features of the garden described in the "Xu Shi Yuan Ting Tu Ji " (Record of Xu Family's Garden Pavilions) with the elements in the "Paintings of Famous Gardens in Jinchang ", forming the main evidence for the research conclusion. Additionally, it uses the historical information in the "Zizhi Yuan Ji" (Record of Zizhi Garden) and the characteristics of the "Paintings of Famous Gardens in Jinchang", such as its creation techniques and element relationships, as supplementary evidence. Through careful examination and reasoning, it is concluded that the "Paintings of Famous Gardens in Jinchang" is very likely a forgery commissioned by the Xu family's descendants in the late Ming Dynasty, imitating Wen Zhengming's style, and the garden it depicts is very likely to be the "Xu Ziben Yuan" rather than "Zizhi Yuan". The main evidence for this conclusion is that the garden depicted in the "Paintings of Famous Gardens in Jinchang" is highly consistent with the description in the "Xu Shi Yuan Ting Tu Ji ". The scale, spatial structure, types, quantities, and locations of the garden elements in the text can all be matched one-to-one with the painting. Secondly, there are various supplementary evidences. The name, creation time, brushwork, and seals of the "Paintings of Famous Gardens in Jinchang" do not align with the historical facts of that time. One of the purposes of the Xu family's descendants in commissioning this painting was to recreate and restore the past glory and reputation of the Xu family. The second purpose was to facilitate the integration and participation of the Xu family's descendants in the collection of this painting into the social interactions of scholars. Based on the analysis of objective textual elements, the article uses spatial reasoning, computer drawing, and restoration to recreate the planar space and elements of the garden corresponding to the "Paintings of Famous Gardens in Jinchang", reaching the research conclusion. Through the examination and verification of the "Paintings of Famous Gardens in Jinchang" depicting Xu Ziben Yuan, this article attempts to clarify the possible historical details of the "Paintings of Famous Gardens in Jinchang " and the garden it depicts, as well as its author. It interprets and proves the close connection between gardens and paintings in the Ming Dynasty, reflecting the interactive relationship between garden construction and the personal and family reputation and commercial value of the garden owner.