2025/10/25
东坡琴操图 Su Dongpo and Qincao Painting
在“翰墨因缘”展览大观近200年中国和新加坡的368幅绘画，琳琅满目，作品主要来自秋斋曾国和先生收藏。一幅任伯年（1840-1895）落款于
1892年的《东坡操琴图》尤其吸引我。
画面上方是一株高挺的松树，树干盘曲遒劲，枝叶以水墨描绘，浓淡相间，展现出松树坚韧不屈的生命力。背景的山石用淡墨皴擦，营造深远幽静的山林意境。画面的下方，苏东坡伏几与一位女性相对而坐，似在谈话。人物衣袍以淡赭、浅粉等色轻染，柔和地与墨色山石形成对比。
既然是“操琴”，而且画题的英文也是“Playing Qin”，那么，“琴”在哪里？
会不会是《东坡琴操图》？画的是苏东坡和杭州名妓琴操谈禅的故事。
扛着三大巨册，9公斤的图录回家，迫不及待再翻看这幅画的介绍，和展场看到的一样画题。查到2016年在香港展览的图录，可能从陈之初处购买时画题就是如此。
夏孙桐（1857-1942）的诗《为秦亮工题费晓楼画东坡参禅图卷》开篇叙述“画中东坡是主人，题诗意多在琴操”，可知这《东坡参禅图》画的就是苏东坡和琴操。清代沙馥（1831-1906）的《琴操参禅图》册页、徐操（1910–1970)的《琴操参禅图》立轴构图都是两人在树下谈话，和任伯年画的相近，不同的是：沙馥和徐操画的琴操屈身站立，态度恭谨，表现虚心问道。
苏东坡和琴操在谈什么呢？较早的纪录见于南宋吴曾《能改齋漫錄》，说能词善歌的琴操曾经改秦观的《滿庭芳》词韵，令苏东坡称道。有一天在西湖边，苏东坡和琴操开玩笑说：“我当长老，你来问话参禅。”
琴操便问：“什么是湖中景？”
东坡回答：“秋水共长天一色，落霞与孤鹜齐飞。” 用的是王勃《滕王閣序》的句子，描绘绚丽的傍晚水光风景。
琴操又问：“什么是景中人？”
东坡回答：“裙拖六幅湘江水，髻挽巫山一段云。” 出自唐代李群玉的《同郑相并歌姬小饮戏赠》，原诗作“鬓耸巫山一段云”。形容美人长长的裙裾像是漫漫的湘江水；高耸的发髻犹如挽着巫山的云。
琴操又问：“什么是人中意？”
东坡回答：“惜他杨学士， 憋杀鲍参军。”这两句话里讲到两个人，“鲍参军”是南朝宋的鲍照，杜甫《春日忆李白》赞美李白的诗“俊逸鲍参军”，说他有鲍照诗的清新洒脱之气。“杨学士”是谁呢？不知为何网上流传说指的是杨日严。杨日严曾经因为貪污被欧阳修弹劾，后来一直企图找机会报复。以苏东坡和欧阳修的关系，肯定不会欣赏杨日严；何况杨日严的名声地位哪里有资格和鲍照相提并论？我认为“杨学士”是指曾任崇文馆学士，初唐四杰之一的杨炯。“惜他杨学士，
憋杀鲍参军”是说才华令杨炯和鲍照都相形见绌。
苏东坡从美景、美人说到美才。 琴操最后问：“如此，究竟如何？”归根到底，这么些好事的结果会是怎么样呢？东坡用白居易《琵琶行》的诗句当头棒喝：“门前冷落车马稀，老大嫁作商人妇。”繁华落尽，你如同琵琶女，老了嫁给商人度过余生。
这，就是人生的结局？琴操听了，当下大悟，于是削发为尼。既然一切的本质是空，出家皈依佛门才能贯彻修行。
这个故事在明代流行，收在蒋一葵《尧山堂外纪》、田汝成《西湖游览志余》、梅鼎祚《青泥莲花记》之类的杂记和小说戏曲中。要注意明清以后的文献将问和答的角色对调，变成东坡问，琴操答，不符合禅宗参话头的形式了。
绘画的题目决定作品的意涵。《東坡操琴图》表现苏东坡的音乐素养；《东坡琴操图》叙说苏东坡点化琴操的传奇。两人从游戏似的“扮演”师生，谈湖中景、景中人、人中意，层层递进，到琴操悟空，真的看破红尘。我更为好奇的是：面对琴操“假戏真做”，苏东坡的反应，是惊讶？还是欣慰?
2025年10月25日,新加坡《联合早报》“上善若水”专栏
Su Dongpo and Qincao Painting
by I Lo-fen
In the exhibition “Affinity of Brush and Ink,” 368 paintings spanning nearly 200 years from China and Singapore were displayed, most from the collection of Mr. Khoo Seow Hwa of Chiu Zhai. Among them, one painting particularly caught my attention — Su Dongpo Playing Qin by Ren Bonian (1840–1895), inscribed in 1892.
At the top of the painting stands a tall pine tree with a twisting, vigorous trunk. The branches and leaves, rendered in ink with alternating light and dark tones, embody the tree’s resilient vitality. The background features softly inked rocks and hills, evoking a tranquil and distant mountain forest. Below, Su Dongpo sits across a low desk from a woman, seemingly in conversation. Their robes are tinted lightly with pale ochre and pink, harmoniously contrasting with the darker inked rocks.
Since the title says “Playing Qin,” where is the qin (zither)?
Could it be that the painting’s real subject is Su Dongpo and Qincao — depicting Su Dongpo’s conversation about Zen with the famous Hangzhou courtesan Qincao?
I carried home the three massive exhibition catalogues — nine kilograms in total — and eagerly flipped again to the painting’s description. The title matched exactly what I saw at the exhibition. Checking a 2016 Hong Kong exhibition catalogue, it appears the painting already bore this title when purchased, perhaps from the collector Chen Zhichu.
The Qing poet Xia Suntong (1857–1942), in his poem “Inscribed for Fei Xiaolou’s Painting of Su Dongpo’s Zen Dialogue,” began by saying: “In the painting, Su Dongpo is the master; the poetic idea lies mostly in Qincao.” From this, we know that the Su Dongpo’s Zen Dialogue painting depicts Su Dongpo and Qincao. Similar compositions appear in the Qing painter Sha Fu’s (1831–1906) Qincao’s Zen Dialogue and Xu Cao’s (1910–1970) hanging scroll of the same title, both showing the two conversing under a tree. Yet, in Sha and Xu’s versions, Qincao stands humbly before Su Dongpo, her posture expressing respect and the sincerity of a student seeking enlightenment.
So what were Su Dongpo and Qincao discussing?
The earliest record appears in Wu Zeng’s Random Jottings from the Studio of Reform (Nenggaizhai Manlu) of the Southern Song. It recounts that Qincao, skilled in lyrics and song, once altered the rhyme of Qin Guan’s Man Ting Fang to great acclaim from Su Dongpo. One day by West Lake, Dongpo jokingly said, “I shall be the abbot; you come to question and seek Zen.”
Qincao asked, “What is the scene within the lake?”
Dongpo replied, “The autumn waters share one hue with the endless sky; the setting sun and lone wild goose fly together.” — borrowing the famous line from Wang Bo’s Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng, describing a dazzling evening scene.
Qincao then asked, “What is the person within the scene?”
Dongpo replied, “Her skirt trails six folds of Xiang River water; her hair bun gathers a wisp of Wushan cloud.” — from Li Qinyu’s Tang poem Drinking Playfully with Courtesans alongside Minister Zheng, portraying the graceful beauty of a woman whose skirt flows like the Xiang River and hair rises like the clouds of Wushan.
Qincao asked again, “What is the essence within the person?”
Dongpo replied, “Pity Scholar Yang; he nearly stifled Officer Bao.” The “Officer Bao” here refers to Bao Zhao of the Southern Dynasties, admired by Du Fu in his poem Spring Thoughts of Li Bai for his elegant poetic style. But who was “Scholar Yang”? Some mistakenly identify him as Yang Riyian, who was impeached by Ouyang Xiu for corruption and later sought revenge. Given Su Dongpo’s deep respect for Ouyang Xiu, he certainly wouldn’t have praised Yang Riyian. Nor could that Yang’s reputation compare to Bao Zhao’s. I believe “Scholar Yang” refers instead to Yang Jiong, one of the Four Talents of the Early Tang and a Scholar of the Chongwen Institute. The phrase “Pity Scholar Yang; he nearly stifled Officer Bao” thus means that such extraordinary talent could outshine both Yang Jiong and Bao Zhao.
Su Dongpo’s answers moved from beautiful scenery, to beautiful people, to beautiful talent.
Finally, Qincao asked, “Then, in the end, what becomes of it all?”
Dongpo delivered a sobering reply, quoting Bai Juyi’s Song of the Pipa:
“Before your door the horses and carriages are few;
In your old age, you wed a merchant husband.”
When all the splendor fades, you will be like the pipa girl — aging, married to a merchant, living out the rest of your days.
So—is that the end of life’s story?
Upon hearing this, Qincao suddenly attained enlightenment, shaved her head, and became a nun. Since all is ultimately emptiness, she chose the Buddhist path to fulfill her awakening.
This story became popular in the Ming dynasty, appearing in miscellanies and fictional works such as Jiang Yikui’s Records Outside Yaoshan Hall, Tian Rucheng’s Supplementary Notes on West Lake Travels, and Mei Dingzuo’s Lotus of Green Mud. However, in later Ming and Qing retellings, the roles of questioner and responder were reversed — Su Dongpo asking, Qincao answering — which actually deviates from the traditional Zen dialogue format.
The title of a painting determines its meaning.
Su Dongpo Playing Qin highlights Su Dongpo’s musical refinement;
Su Dongpo and Qincao narrates a story of spiritual awakening.
What began as playful role-play between teacher and student — discussing the lake’s scenery, the person within it, and the essence within the person — evolved step by step into Qincao’s realization of emptiness, her renunciation of worldly life.
What fascinates me most is this:
When Qincao turned her “play” into genuine enlightenment, how did Su Dongpo respond?
With surprise — or with serenity?
Published in Lianhe Zaobao (Singapore), “Shang Shan Ruo Shui” column, October 25, 2025
2025/10/12
《千年宋韻.世紀故宮：衣若芬詩畫文圖學論文集》分享會 Text and Image Studies in Poetry and Painting...
分享會視頻簡介
2025年10月10日故宮博物院百年生日當天晚上7:30於網上
文圖學會主辦《千年宋韻.世紀故宮：衣若芬詩畫文圖學論文集》發佈分享會
一，故宮博物院百年:政變.戰火.新生
1.故宮博物院是近代中國第一個立博物館嗎?
2.臺北故宮博物院的文物全部來自北平故宮博物院嗎?
3.臺北故宮博物院的文物比北京故宮博物院豐富嗎?
二，《千年宋韻.世紀故宮：衣若芬詩畫文圖學論文集》的内容
11篇論文，8篇散文，477頁電子書
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1. 千載風流──「西園雅集」
2. 六一古調──歐陽脩《集古錄》
3. 洞庭秋波──《九歌圖》之《湘君》、《湘夫人》
4. 美感與諷喻──《麗人行》詩畫
5. 互文新生──《歸去來圖》、《憩寂圖》、《陽關圖》詩畫
6. 戰火與清遊──《赤壁圖》題詠
7. 無佛處稱尊──蘇軾《黃州寒食帖》
8. 歷劫神物──《黃州寒食帖》的生命旅程
9. 神龍別種—李公麟《五馬圖》
10. 天祿千秋──宋徽宗《文會圖》詩畫
11. 浮生一看──南宋李生《瀟湘臥遊圖》
***
讀者專屬視頻
1.宋代巨星的時光膠囊：解密歐陽脩《集古錄》、蘇軾赤壁傳奇與《寒食帖》身世、《五馬圖》謎團
2.宋代「互文新生」：從陶杜王維詩意圖到題畫詩的跨界對話與哲學反思
3.杜甫〈麗人行〉的視覺翻譯：從盛唐奢華到現代鄉愁，名畫如何承載「不動聲色」的批判？
4.從圖像解讀楚辭：跨越千年的《湘君》、《湘夫人》藝術解謎與文化投射
5.跨越八百年禪思與劫難：南宋李生《瀟湘臥遊圖》的「臥遊」心法與題跋流動史
***
相關視頻
1.“千年宋韻.世紀故宮”之歌
https://youtu.be/_UP6rGQEN40
2.讀懂這首詩,你以爲的樂天派蘇東坡瞬間瓦解--黃州寒食帖
https://youtu.be/qRXQ7SBXvSE
3.衣若芬解讀宋徽宗《文會圖》詩畫
https://youtu.be/b2sDXJ56qTw
4.解開西園雅集的千年謎團
https://youtu.be/8dls8ma5AI8
5.衣若芬談蘇東坡《寒食帖》書法藝術
https://youtu.be/dMw-49D35gs
6.蘇軾《赤壁賦》題跋
https://youtu.be/RI2_pLzrhTE
7.蘇軾《赤壁賦》真跡
https://youtu.be/itoNZJmtT7Q
三，百年守護.千年神遇.甲子萬年
1.致敬學術前輩：
方聞、曾永義、傅申、何傳馨、李霖燦——他們代表了文人學者對藝術研究與精神文明的傳承
2.AIGC,延續與文物時代新意義
***
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2025/10/11
对故宫博物院的三个误解Three Misunderstandings About the Palace Museum
我盯着那张故宫博物院开放当天神武门的老照片看了又看。神武门，在紫禁城北端，现在是游客的出口。几次“进宫”开会，汽车直接从神武门驶入，避开参观的人群。
一百年前，是这样的啊。
宫楼建筑依然，现在“故宫博物院”的牌匾文字从右向左写，是郭沫若所书。一百年前，“故宫博物院”的牌匾文字从左向右，是清室善后委员会委员长，故宫博物院董事兼理事李煜瀛（石曾）的手笔，而且大门前交叉着北洋政府的五色国旗。
1925年10月10日下午两点，李煜瀛等人在乾清宫外宣布故宫博物院向大众公开展示文物。根据《民国日报》报道，首日涌入了两万多人；第二天高达三万多人，即使清宫占地辽阔 ，还是拥挤不堪！
我笑了，现在北京故宫每天限制迎接四万游客，大展期间排队三小时（有朋友说他排了六个小时），观看每件文物不超过三分钟，和百年前相比，只能说，文物的魅力历久弥新吧。
为了准备《千年宋韵.世纪故宫》的分享会，读了一些历史资料，才发现自己以前对于故宫博物院有一些误解，网上讯息时见讹传，或许读者们也和我一样不明就里，一起瞧瞧你能不能猜对。
1. 故宫博物院是中国第一个国家级的博物馆吗？
错。近代中国人自办的第一个博物馆是1905年张謇在南通成立的南通博物苑，属于地方私人性质。1914年，在故宫成立“古物陈列所”，收藏和展示来自沈阳故宫和承德避暑山庄的文物，是中国第一个国家级的博物馆。那时，末代皇帝溥仪和婉容皇后享受《清室优待条件》，还住在保和殿以北的后廷，直到1924年11月5日被冯玉祥驱逐出宫。古物陈列所在1948年并入故宫博物院。
2. 台北故宫的文物全部来自原北平故宫博物院吗？
错。1965年在台北士林成立的台北故宫博物院，正式名称是“国立故宫博物院”。其组织法第 1 条是：“为整理、保管、展出原国立北平故宫博物院及国立中央博物院筹备处所藏之歷代古文物及艺术品，并加强对中国古代文物艺术品之征集、研究、阐扬，以扩大社教功能。”除了北京故宫的文物，还包括“国立中央博物院筹备处”的文物，这“国立中央博物院筹备处”是什么单位？
我想起去年在四川李庄，临闭馆前央求门口的警卫让我们进去瞧一眼，那个“张家祠堂”外挂的是“原国立中央博物院李庄旧址”，咦~不是“中央研究院”啊？听过王叔珉老师多次回忆抗战时期避难暂居李庄的艰苦生活，到宜宾开会，特地前往距离不远的李庄。带着“朝圣”的心情，观览过梁思成、林徽因的“营造学社”，到了张家祠堂，警卫关上一半的门，挥手示意我们离开。
同行的老师改用四川话，指着我对他说：“这位老师的老师，以前就是在这里的！”
匆匆放行，我才晓得，国立中央博物院筹备处是1933年在南京成立，1949年被整并。抗战期间文物迁移，不但有古物陈列所、故宫博物院 ，还有中央博物院的藏品。在台北故宫的文物编号还可以看到“古”、“故”、“中”开头的纪录，显示来源，中央博物院的藏品里最著名的，就是现存铭文最多的毛公鼎。此外，苏轼的《黄州寒食帖》是“购“字开头，显示是购买来的。
3. 北京故宫大部分的藏品都运到台湾了，大陆所剩无几？
错。2025年的统计纪录，北京故宫的藏品有195万件（套），数量远远超过台北故宫的69万件。只不过要在600年历史的宫殿中采用现代的科技方式展示，既要保护文物，又要照顾观众的体验，并且不能破环古建筑，的确是很大的挑战。
十年前在武英殿展出过北宋张择端《清明上河图》，今年改在午门，就在故宫入口处，大家可以不用再“故宫跑”啦。百年大庆，北京、台北、嘉义，豪华的视觉盛宴。
2025年10月11日,新加坡《联合早报》“上善若水”专栏
**Three Misunderstandings About the Palace Museum**
*by I Lo-fen*
I stared again and again at that old photograph of the Shenwu Gate on the day the Palace Museum first opened. Shenwu Gate, at the northern end of the Forbidden City, now serves as the exit for visitors. When I’ve attended meetings “in the palace,” cars entered directly through this gate, bypassing the crowds.
A hundred years ago, it was like this.
The palace buildings remain the same, but today the plaque reading “The Palace Museum” is written from right to left in calligraphy by Guo Moruo. A century ago, however, the words ran from left to right—handwritten by Li Yuying (also known as Shizeng), chairman of the Qing Household Aftermath Committee and a board member and director of the Palace Museum. In front of the gate fluttered the five-colored flag of the Beiyang Government.
At 2 p.m. on October 10, 1925, Li Yuying and others announced outside the Hall of Heavenly Purity (Qianqing Palace) that the Palace Museum would officially open to the public. According to *The Republican Daily News*, over twenty thousand people flooded in on the first day, and more than thirty thousand on the second—so many that even the vast Forbidden City was overcrowded!
I laughed. Today, the Beijing Palace Museum limits daily visitors to forty thousand. During blockbuster exhibitions, people may queue for three hours (a friend told me he once waited six), and can view each artifact for no more than three minutes. Compared with a century ago, one can only say: the allure of cultural relics truly endures through time.
While preparing for my *A Millennium of Song Elegance, A Century of the Palace Museum* sharing session, I read through some historical materials and realized that I had misunderstood several things about the Palace Museum. Some online information is inaccurate—perhaps you’ve had the same misconceptions too. Let’s see if you can guess correctly.
1. Is the Palace Museum China’s first national museum?
**No.** The first museum established by Chinese people in modern times was the Nantong Museum, founded in 1905 by Zhang Jian—it was a local, privately run institution.
In 1914, the *Antiquities Exhibition Office* (古物陈列所) was set up in the Forbidden City to house and display artifacts from the Shenyang Imperial Palace and the Chengde Mountain Resort. That was China’s first *national-level* museum.
At that time, the last emperor, Puyi, and Empress Wanrong were still enjoying the privileges of the “Articles of Favorable Treatment of the Qing Imperial Family” and living in the rear court north of the Hall of Preserving Harmony (Baohe Hall), until Feng Yuxiang expelled them from the palace on November 5, 1924. The Antiquities Exhibition Office was merged into the Palace Museum in 1948.
2. Did all the artifacts in the Taipei Palace Museum come from the original Beijing Palace Museum?
**No.** The *National Palace Museum* in Taipei, established in Shilin in 1965, states in Article 1 of its organizational charter:
“The museum shall collect, preserve, and exhibit ancient artifacts and artworks originally belonging to the National Peiping Palace Museum and the Preparatory Office of the National Central Museum, while strengthening research, interpretation, and education on Chinese antiquities.”
So, in addition to the Palace Museum’s collection, it also includes items from the *Preparatory Office of the National Central Museum*.
What was that institution?
I remembered last year in Lizhuang, Sichuan, begging a security guard at closing time to let us take a quick look inside. On the old “Zhang Family Ancestral Hall” hung a sign: “Former Site of the National Central Museum, Lizhuang.” It wasn’t “Academia Sinica”!
I had heard Professor Wang Shumin’s many recollections of the hardship of living in Lizhuang during the war years. When I attended a conference in nearby Yibin, I made a special trip there. I visited the *Society for the Study of Chinese Architecture* founded by Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin. At the Zhang Family Hall, the guard half-closed the door, signaling us to leave.
My colleague switched to Sichuan dialect and pointed at me:
“This teacher’s teacher used to work right here!”
We were let in briefly. Only then did I learn that the *Preparatory Office of the National Central Museum* was established in Nanjing in 1933 and merged in 1949. During the wartime evacuation, not only the Antiquities Exhibition Office and the Palace Museum collections were relocated, but also those of the Central Museum.
In the Taipei Palace Museum’s catalog numbers, you can still see prefixes like “古” (Gu), “故” (Gu), and “中” (Zhong), indicating their sources. The most famous item from the Central Museum collection is the *Mao Gong Ding*, the bronze vessel with the longest known inscription. Meanwhile, Su Shi’s *Cold Food Observance Manuscript* (*Huangzhou Hanshi Tie*) bears the prefix “购” (purchase), meaning it was later acquired.
3. Were most of Beijing’s Palace Museum artifacts shipped to Taiwan, leaving little behind?
**No.** As of 2025, the Beijing Palace Museum holds **1.95 million items (sets)**—far more than the 690,000 housed in Taipei.
However, installing modern exhibition technology within six-hundred-year-old palaces is a formidable challenge: the museum must protect the relics, enhance visitor experience, and avoid damaging the ancient architecture.
Ten years ago, the Northern Song masterpiece *Along the River During the Qingming Festival* by Zhang Zeduan was exhibited in the Hall of Martial Valor (Wuying Hall). This year, it’s being shown at the Meridian Gate (Wu Men), right at the entrance—no more running across the Palace to find it!
For its centennial celebration, Beijing, Taipei, and Chiayi have all presented magnificent visual feasts.
Lianhe Zaobao (Singapore)“Shang Shan Ruo Shui” Column
October 11, 2025
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