Song dynasty edition of the Canghua Pavilion Collection. No. 3. Wang Xizhi.

Author: Wang Xizhi [Eastern Jin Dynasty]
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-10-01
Features: The Cunhua Gallery Collection (also known as The Cunhua Secret Gallery Collection or The Official Collection), abbreviated as The Gallery Collection, was engraved in the "Secret Gallery" during the Cunhua era of the Northern Song Dynasty. In the third year of the Cunhua era (992 AD), Emperor Taizong of Song ordered Wang Zhuo, the court painter, to engrave the famous calligraphy pieces from the Han to Tang dynasties held in the imperial collection into The Cunhua Secret Gallery Collection in ten volumes. After the completion of the engraving, the imperial collection used Chengxin Hall paper and Li Tinggui ink to print it. Song Dynasty records state: "Emperor Xiling, who pacified the four directions, after inheriting the legacy of the Han, paid attention to calligraphy and painting. He used the imperial collection to preserve the genuine works of later dynasties and ordered Wang Zhuo, the court painter, to engrave them in the palace, categorizing them into ten volumes." The ninth and tenth volumes of The Gallery Collection feature Wang Xianzhi's calligraphy, totaling sixty-three pieces. Due to the exquisite craftsmanship of the engraving, The Gallery Collection realistically reflects Wang Xianzhi's calligraphic style. The Cunhua Secret Gallery Collection (ten volumes) is a historical collection of calligraphy, abbreviated as The Gallery Collection. In the third year of the Cunhua era (992 AD), Emperor Taizong Zhao Guangyi of Song ordered the preservation of historical calligraphy from the Secret Gallery and commissioned Wang Zhuo to compile and annotate them, engraving them on mulberry wood boards. Officials who were promoted to the two ministries were given a copy of the prints. The Gallery Collection is one of China's most famous calligraphy collections. From the Han Emperor Zhangdi to the Tang Emperor Gaozong, it includes works by 103 famous calligraphers, totaling approximately 420 pieces. Since then, a large number of ancient calligraphic works have been preserved through it, earning it the title of the "Crown of Calligraphy Collections" and its legacy lasting for millennia. Based on the examination of the incomplete copies of the Song Dynasty prints of The Cunhua Gallery Collection in my collection, including The Collection of Famous Ministers of Later Generations (Volume 4) and The Collection of Ancient Calligraphy of Various Masters (Volume 5), I have found that the Tang Dynasty calligraphers included in The Gallery Collection are masters such as Chu Suiliang, Yu Shiren, Ouyang Xun, Liu Gongquan, Li Yi, Lu Jianzhi, Bo Shaoshi, Zhang Xu, and Huai Su, but Yan Zhenqing was not included. Further examination of the Cunhua Gallery Collection from the Shu Mansion reveals that this collection was a recreation of a Song Dynasty print given to Zhu Qian, the Shu Prince, by Emperor Taizu of Ming when he was enfeoffed in Lanzhou. This Ming Dynasty recreation is a reduced print (published in 1990 by Shanghai Bookstore). In 1991, Beijing Ancient Books published a photolithographic edition of The Cunhua Gallery Collection, using a Qing Dynasty Kangxi-era print as the base. In 1988, the China Bookstore published a photolithographic edition of the Song Dynasty print of The Cunhua Gallery Collection. All three editions of The Gallery Collection lack Yan Zhenqing's calligraphic works. The Commercial Press published The Annotations of the Cunhua Gallery Collection (two volumes) in 1985, which also does not include Yan Zhenqing's works. This confirms beyond doubt that The Gallery Collection deliberately excluded Yan Zhenqing.