Wang Lü's Mountain Pictures Collection

Author: Wang Lu
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2000-07-01
Features: Wang Lu's Mount Hua Painting is not only treasured as the only surviving copy of his works but also draws the attention of art historians for its unique artistic style that differs from the fashionable trends and its insightful artistic theories. In the art circles of the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty, Wang Lu was a distinctive and self-taught painter. Wang Lu, a native of Kunshan, Jiangsu, was born in the third year of the Zishun era of the Yuan Dynasty (1332) and was still alive in the eighteenth year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty (1385). His name was Andao, and in his later years, he took the self-titled names Jisi and Bao Du Lao. His Mount Hua Painting is not only treasured as the only surviving copy of Wang Lu's works but also draws the attention of art historians for its unique artistic style that differs from the fashionable trends and its insightful artistic theories. In the art circles of the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty, Wang Lu was a distinctive and self-taught painter. Combining his clinical experience with a deep study of classical medical texts, Wang Lu advocated for both valuing classical medical works and not being rigidly bound by them. As a result, he achieved remarkable accomplishments in both clinical medical practice and medical theoretical research, making outstanding contributions to the development of Chinese medicine. He was skilled in poetry and prose, as well as painting and calligraphy, and was renowned for his talents in his time, considered an extraordinary genius of the era. In the sixteenth year of the Hongwu era, he traveled to Mount Hua and, upon his return, devoted himself to creating 40 paintings, each inscribed with poems from his travel diaries, along with his own prefaces, introductions, and postscripts, compiling them into the immortal work—The Mount Hua Painting Album. He believed that life is the source of art, that painting should follow nature, and that art should express the "intention" based on form, valuing innovation and originality. These artistic views had a profound impact on the development of painting art. His medical works include The Collection of Revered Passages, The Original Way of Treating Diseases, The Essence of a Hundred Illnesses, and The Medical Authority, all of which contain insightful perspectives and have been revered by generations of medical practitioners.