The ten-meter-long "Seven Gentlemen" from the Yuan Dynasty, a masterpiece by six Yuan Dynasty painters, is a true treasure of the Suzhou Museum. This long scroll is a rare collection of ink bamboo paintings on paper. The works by Wu Zhen, Ke Jiusi, and Gu An are renowned masters of bamboo painting from the Yuan Dynasty, while those by Zhao Yuan and Zhao Tianyu are the only known examples. The Paper reports that starting September 2nd, this masterpiece will be on public display as part of the second rotation of exhibits in the Suzhou Museum's special exhibition "From the Humble Administrator's Garden to Monet's Garden." Also on display are the Song Dynasty painting "Watching the Tide at Qiantang" and Wen Chu's album "Flower Paintings."
A reporter from The Paper saw at the exhibition site at the Suzhou Museum yesterday that although the seven ink bamboo paintings were from different styles, they all outlined the image of a gentleman in the minds of Yuan Dynasty literati - some were sparse and thin, while others were thick and vigorous, and the intertwined branches and leaves showed the character of being open-minded and strong-willed.
The title "Seven Gentlemen" derives from the seven ink bamboo paintings included within the scroll, each by one of six renowned Yuan Dynasty calligraphers and painters. These paintings include works by Zhao Tianyu, Ke Jiusi, Zhao Yuan, Gu An, Zhang Shen, and Wu Zhen, with Ke Jiusi alone having two works included. These paintings were subsequently mounted individually by successive collectors within the same long scroll, resulting in the long scroll format we see today.
Zhao Tianyu's Ink Bamboo
Each artist's ink bamboo painting is unique: Zhao Tianyu's work uses "thin bamboo to convey the clear beauty of moisture after rain," with meticulous depiction of branches and leaves; while Ke Jiusi's ink bamboo has "more graceful postures" and superb use of ink color.
Ke Jiusi's Ink Bamboo
Ke Jiusi's Ink Bamboo
Zhao Yuan's Ink Bamboo
Zhao Yuan's works are "powerful with every stroke of ink"; Gu An's paintings use an "S"-shaped composition to depict the winding bamboos squeezed by the hanging rocks, expressing the power of "bending and accumulating momentum."
Gu An Ink Bamboo
Zhang Shen's Ink Bamboo
Zhang Shen's work "has the rhythm of layered bamboo leaves in its strokes"; Wu Zhen painted two clumps of small bamboos, "looking around gracefully, like a beauty facing the wind, elegant and graceful."
Wu Zhen's Ink Bamboo
As history progresses, the Seven Friends become the Six Elegant Men and then the Seven Gentlemen.
The history of the Seven Gentlemen painting itself is a remarkable story of cultural heritage. Its collection dates back to the reign of Emperor Kangxi, when collector Miao Yuezao first recorded the long scroll titled "Seven Friends of the Bamboo Grove" in his monograph "Yuyi Lu."
At that time, the scroll included seven ink bamboo paintings by five painters, Zhao Tianyu, Ke Jiusi, Zhao Yuan, Gu Dingzhi, and Zhang Shen (two works each by Ke Jiusi and Gu Dingzhi), so it was named "Seven Friends of the Bamboo Grove".
During the Qianlong period, the scroll was collected by Qiao Chongxiu, but he had lost one of Gu Ding's works, so the title was changed to "Six Elegant Men of Zhuxi". Qiao Chongxiu wrote the three characters "Six Elegant Men" in official script on the scroll.
After several twists and turns, Gu Linshi purchased this scroll from another collector, Li Sulin, and unexpectedly obtained a horizontal scroll of ink bamboo by Wu Zhen. Finding that the size was exactly right, he took it to match it.
"Seven Friends" by Wu Changshuo
The painting then changed from "Six Elegant Men" to "Seven Friends," ultimately earning the name "Seven Gentlemen." The scroll thus bears inscriptions from different periods: "Six Elegant Men" by Qiao Chongxiu, "Six Gentlemen" by Qing dynasty epigrapher Zhang Tingji, and "Seven Friends" by Wu Changshuo.
In traditional Chinese culture, bamboo has long been a symbol of noble character. Ancient Chinese scholars and scholars alike personified bamboo's hollow, upright, and perennially green growth characteristics as spiritual and cultural symbols of elegance, purity, humility, restraint, and integrity.
The six painters in "Seven Gentlemen" expressed their understanding and pursuit of the gentleman's way through the subject of ink bamboo.
Ke Jiusi once worked as a calligrapher in Kuizhang Pavilion, but was demoted for speaking his mind. In his later years, he kept bamboo as his companion and poured all his talent into his writing.
Wu Zhen lived a life of poverty, making a living by selling divination, yet he created magnificent scrolls depicting bamboo and rocks. These painters, living under foreign rule during the Yuan Dynasty, preferred seclusion in the woods, surrounded by bamboo, to the service of the powerful.
Their ink bamboo paintings are not simple depictions of physical shapes, but rather a recording of mental images: the straight bamboo poles are the backbone of scholars, the humble bamboo joints represent the modesty of gentlemen, and the evergreen bamboo leaves represent the eternity of ideals.
There are two characters "dragon horns" on Zhao Yuan's ink bamboo painting
The most astonishing thing is that two of the works in the scroll are so far only known. The ink bamboo painting by Zhao Yuan is the only one so far known, and it bears the inscription "dragon horn" on it.
Zhang Shen's works are also exceptionally rare. He is renowned for his paintings of bamboo awnings. While Yuan Dynasty paintings themselves are rare, "Seven Gentlemen" surprisingly brings together seven works by six renowned artists, including three masters of bamboo painting: Ke Jiusi, Gu An, and Wu Zhen. This truly is a rare opportunity for future generations to observe and appreciate these exquisite works of art.
The Hardship of Collection, the Guardianship of the Gu Family of Guoyunlou
The preservation of "Seven Gentlemen" is inseparable from the meticulous care of the Gu family of Suzhou's Guoyunlou. Guoyunlou is a world-renowned collection of calligraphy, paintings, and ancient books in modern times, enjoying the reputation of "Jiangnan's collection is the best in the world, and Guoyunlou's collection is the best in Jiangnan."
Guoyun Tower was first built in the 12th year of the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty by Gu Wenbin. He resigned from his official position and returned to his hometown, where he dedicated his life to collecting ancient calligraphy and paintings. Upon acquiring the "Seven Gentlemen," Gu Linshi not only meticulously preserved it but also invited renowned scholars to appreciate and inscribe on it, thus promoting the spirit of ink bamboo. After Gu Linshi's death, the Guoyun Tower collection passed to his fourth son. The "Seven Gentlemen" was acquired by Gu Gongrou, and later by his son, Gu Dukun.
During the Cultural Revolution in 1966, Gu Gongrou's widow Zhang Huijuan called the Suzhou Museum late at night, expressing her willingness to donate her family collection of cultural relics to public safekeeping.
Exhibition site of "Seven Gentlemen"
Museum staff braved the rain to receive more than 80 cultural relics from the Guoyunlou collection, including the "Seven Gentlemen", thus saving these treasures from the subsequent turmoil.
The final destination of "Seven Gentlemen" also had a tortuous journey. When the policy was implemented in 1992, the Suzhou Museum, considering the painting's preciousness and the fact that its heir, Gu Dukun, had moved to Taiwan, reported the matter to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage to prevent the loss of this precious cultural relic abroad.
Ma Zishu, Deputy Director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, ordered the artifacts to be sent to Beijing for appraisal. Experts including Xu Bangda and Shi Shuqing unanimously deemed the two paintings and calligraphy pieces extremely valuable, classifying them as first-class cultural relics. The State Administration of Cultural Heritage urgently ordered the artifacts to remain in Beijing, under the custody of the then-National Museum of China (now the National Museum).
It wasn't until 2006, after the opening of the new Suzhou Museum, that the museum actively engaged with Gu Dukun's descendants, hoping to permanently return "Seven Gentlemen" to Suzhou through a paid donation. After much effort and negotiation, Gu's descendants finally agreed to the paid donation, and this precious painting, having survived so many years of separation, finally became part of the Suzhou Museum's permanent collection.
Exhibition hall scene
Today, "Seven Gentlemen" rests quietly in a display case at the Suzhou Museum's special exhibition, "From the Humble Administrator's Garden to Monet's Garden." Spanning nearly seven hundred years, it emerged from the brushstrokes of Yuan Dynasty literati, passed through the meticulous collection of the Gu family's Guoyunlou, and finally, at the Suzhou Museum, whispers the virtues of a gentleman and a millennium of cultural heritage to everyone who pauses to admire it.