This portrait of Dong Qichang was jointly painted by Zeng Jiao and Xiang Shengmo, two artists of the Ming Dynasty

390年前的1629年，也就是明崇祯二年二月初三，75岁的董其昌与友人同游西湖。

此时，他已经9年未到杭州了。又见西湖，董其昌感慨于自己辜负了这片湖光山色，回到松江后绘写意山水并题《西湖曲》——

“林杪不可分，水步遥难辨。一片山翠边，微茫见村远。”

其实，董其昌与杭州的缘分非常深。中国美术学院教授任道斌先生根据董其昌《画禅室随笔》、《容台集》和李日华《味水轩日记》、 陈继儒《妮古录》等文献的记载发现，董其昌一生曾到过杭州达18次之多。

这18次杭州之行，董其昌在哪里游览，又见了哪些名流，进行了怎样的交谈和创作？

浙江摄影出版社新推出的《风流蕴藉 董其昌系年》，对此梳理得清清楚楚。

31岁首次“浪迹杭州”

刚刚过去的3月份有不少关于董其昌的活动，比如——

3月10日，为期3个月的“丹青宝筏：董其昌书画艺术大展” 在上海闭幕，上海博物馆特别策划了“董其昌和他的江南”闭幕之夜活动。

3月8日晚，在杭州南山路上的南山书屋，《风流蕴藉 董其昌系年》的编著者任道斌有一场讲座，题为《董其昌的“畅神”画旨》。任道斌说，这场讲座竟是他所有的讲座中人最多的一次。之所以这么火爆，既是因为董其昌，也是因为任道斌被称为“比董其昌还了解董其昌的人”。

而此前一天，在北山路杭州国画院的“抱青风雅夜”上，中国美术学院的教授曹增节先生开讲“古书画鉴定的困境——从‘董其昌大展’说起”。

可见，董其昌与杭州，自300多年前至今，一直有着相当“亲密”的关系。

如同今天的上海一样，对于晚明时期的董其昌来说，杭州一样是他的热门打卡地。

在文献记载的18次杭州之行中，1585年秋，是31岁的董其昌首次来到杭州。

在今天的人看来，这一次出行，多少有些寻求“治愈”的意味——因为，在此之前的南京乡试，董其昌名落孙山。当年的9月30日，他出现在了杭州——任道斌先生在《风流蕴藉 董其昌系年》中用了“浪迹杭州”一词。在西湖舫斋中，董其昌观赏了米芾的草书九帖，这次，与董其昌同行的还有好友陈继儒——他也同样落榜了，心灰意冷。

再赴杭州，已是11年之后，此时董其昌已是进士，春风得意马蹄疾。

纵观董其昌的18次杭州之行，内容差不多，无非是看山水、乘画舫、与同好交游创作。但对西湖，董其昌真是看不够。

比如1610年正月，56岁的董其昌离开福建返回江南时途经杭州，一场连绵的风雨阻滞了他的归途。你猜怎么着？干脆住下来看雨西湖！于是，他寓居在当时的德清吴礼部的来青楼——这里正好尽揽湖山。缠绵于西湖以及南北高峰的空濛奇幻、山色秀润，董其昌一住就是半个月，还仿米芾父子的笔意绘了山水长卷。

见到西湖的董其昌，总是按捺不住欢喜之情。任道斌说，有一次，董其昌在昭庆寺，也就是今天西湖边上的少年宫附近，当时天光云影造成恰好的景致，董其昌禁不住临湖欢呼。

This painting by Dong Qichang depicts Peak Flying From Afar, a tourist attraction in Hangzhou

杭州山水画了一生

董其昌为什么对杭州情有独钟？

先来看看董其昌所处的年代——1555年（明嘉靖三十四年），董其昌生于上海董家汇。这一年，文徵明83岁，李时珍38岁，徐渭35岁，张居正31岁，汤显祖6岁，利玛窦4岁……这些教科书中的名人，可以让我们作为参照，去领略董其昌所处的时代。

此时的杭州，是一个经济发达的东南都会。西湖、名寺、运河、钱塘江……这些不仅仅是自然景观，它们还在漫长的岁月中，积聚了深厚的人文意蕴。地灵人杰，杭州非常自然地成为书画艺术传统的文化名城，唐宋元的大家，都曾在杭州进行过创作，留下佳作名篇。

任道斌说，董其昌美术思想之一是“开心是硬道理”，他认为，董其昌受王阳明思想影响深远，认为为人作画都需从心出发，在此基础上，再“读万卷书，行万里路”。

这样的董其昌，自然无法抵御杭州对他的诱惑。

杭州对于董其昌的“赠予”也是非常丰厚的。任道斌曾写过《董其昌与杭州》，其中总结了董其昌与杭州的18次因缘中独有的收获：他交往了大批收藏家，参与了很多名书画的欣赏与鉴定；会见东南文友、法友，谈文论艺，增加学养，激发禅机，以丰富“胸中丘壑”；以“天地为师”，启发创作灵感；提升审美观，有助于自身书画创作及美术理论的形成。

从作品说起，是最直观的方式——

西湖山水对董其昌的创作有很大的启发。“据记录，董其昌在杭州临北宋赵大年《江乡消夏图》，绘有《三竺溪流图》:《十月江南图》、《积铁千寻图》《西溪图》， 并作《西湖图》长卷，又仿董源笔法作《山水图》于西湖‘乐志园’以赠友人。64岁时作《山水图》于‘香月堂’，又作《烟树茅堂图》于西湖蓝若。75岁作《山水图》，并题《西湖曲》于图上；77岁时游黄鹤山，作《山水图》并题诗以发思念古贤王蒙之幽情。此外，董其昌对杭州山水念念不忘，又有不少回忆杭州的山水作品，如今藏北京故宫博物院的《林杪水步图》和《平林秋色图》等。 ”

不过，董其昌的“实名山水”与当地的景观往往对不上号。

任道斌说，董其昌画的是心中的山水，可以用四个词来形容——中得心源，自来山水；笔墨造境，天马行空。这是超越时代的。

正因如此，董其昌很早就受到了西方艺术界的的重视。任道斌说，1992年，他受邀参加美国纳尔逊·艾京斯艺术博物馆召开的董其昌艺术研讨会，当时现身的董其昌作品有100多件，在纳尔逊·艾京斯艺术博物馆、纽约大都会博物馆和洛杉矶博物馆各展出了一个月。

董其昌为什么这么深受西方重视？

任道斌说，因为董其昌是中国的表现主义大师，而西方表现主义的出现比他要晚得多。西方学者认为董其昌的画，画的是他心里的印，他们把董其昌称为独来独往的“天马”。

任道斌还记得，那次研讨会，从机场到博物馆，一路上都挂着董其昌的书法“天马”。

【人物像】

董其昌（1555～1636）                                

松江华亭（今上海市）人，晚明杰出的书画大家，集前人之大成，融会贯通，洞察画坛时弊，以禅喻画，及时明智地提出与倡导“南北宗论”，并在实践上充分加以印证，创中国文人画理论史上又一高峰，翻开了文人画创作的新篇章。

其后，诸如清初四高僧、四王吴恽、金陵画派、新安画派等，乃至晚清、近代三百余年的画坛，大都在其理论辐射下而成就，形成了一个群体性的文人画创作高潮。

元代以降，具备自出机杼、承上启下地位的唯赵孟頫与董其昌二人，故称“画史两文敏”。

This painting by Dong Qichang depicts Fuyang, a Shangri-La near Hangzhou

Dong Qichang: Artist’s Intimate Bond with Hangzhou

Dong Qichang (1555-1636), an artist living in the last decades of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), is a key chapter of China’s art history. His influence can be seen in the 300 years and more since he passed away. Art historians agree that Zhao Mengfu and Dong Qichang are the greatest artists as of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) for their originality and their key links with the past and the present. Some art historians even go so far as to say that the 300 years after Dong’s demise can be called the Era of Dong Qichang.  

According to Ren Daobin, an art professor with China Academy of Art, Dong Qichang visited Hangzhou 18 times. The professor came to the conclusion after a thorough textual research that combed Dong’s essays and poems as well as historical records by his friends and scholars of his time. In a book published in January 2019 by Zhejiang Photography Press, Ren Daobin gives detailed accounts of the scenic spots Dong Qichang visited around the West Lake, the local art celebrities he met, and important conversations he had with fellow artists, and the artworks he created in Hangzhou or in remembrance of the city. The new book is an expansion of a similar book Ren published in 1988. For decades, Ren’s book on the timeline of Dong’s life and artworks was the very reference book for art historians who focused on Dong for case studies.      

On March 8, 2019, Ren Daobin held a lecture at a bookstore on South Hill Road in Hangzhou on Dong Qichang. The professor commented in a press interview later that none of his previous lectures attracted so many people. He guesses that it is because people are still interested in Dong Qichang. And the professor is known as “the person who knows more about Dong Qichang than did Dong about himself”.

People of today are indeed interested in Dong Qichang. March 10 saw the curtains descend on “Dong Qichang and His Jiangnan”, a three-month-long exhibition in Shanghai, which started in December 2018. On March 7, 2019, Professor Cao Zengjie began his lecture at a location on North Hill Road in Hangzhou on art authentication with the Dong Qichang exhibition which was to end in Shanghai three days later.  

In the autumn of 1585, the 39-year-old Dong first visited Hangzhou. He had just failed in imperial exams at the provincial level. He needed distractions to forget the misery. His friend Chen Jiru came along with him. Chen was also an artist. On September 30, they appeared in Hangzhou. Ren Daobin describes the visit as a wanderlust tour. In addition to sightseeing, Dong also viewed artworks in the collections of his friends. In particular, Dong admired nine calligraphy works by Mi Fu (1051-1107), an artist of the Southern Song Dynasty.   

Dong’s second visit to Hangzhou occurred 11 years later. This time, he had already become a Jinshi, an honor title for those who came out first in the imperial examination at the national level.

Published in January 2019, this book by Professor Ren dwells on Dong Qichang’s life and artworks.

Dong’s 18 visits followed a largely consistent schedule: taking sightseeing trips, touring the West Lake on a pleasure boat, meeting fellow artists, and painting. The West Lake simply fascinated the artist. In January 1610, the 56-year-old Dong stopped in Hangzhou on his way northward from Fujian to his hometown in Songjiang, now a part of the greater Shanghai. With his travel plan disrupted by a bad spell of weather, he decided to stay at a friend’s residence in Hangzhou for a while. During his prolonged stay of 15 days, he painted a long scroll in imitation of Mi Fu and his son Mi Youren.   

According to Professor Ren, Dong loved Hangzhou for several reasons. By Dong Qichang’s time, Hangzhou had long since stood out as a regional center in Jiangnan. A city of culture and wealth, it boasted a long history, poems and essays and artworks by well known artists and poets of different dynasties, the West Lake, Buddhist temples, the Grand Canal, and the Qiantang River. Hangzhou was home to a great number of art collectors. He came to the city to meet them and view their collections. These collectors were most willing and anxious to invite Dong over to look at their collections for the sake of authentication. Among the people he met and talked with in Hangzhou were men of letters, artists, and Buddhist monks. The inspirational communication certainly helped Dong to see broader perspectives and push back horizons.

Many of Dong’s artworks are associated with Hangzhou. Some were inspired by the works he had viewed at the houses of local collectors. Some were created in remembrance when he was not in Hangzhou. Though the artist named his landscape paintings in association with Hangzhou, those who know the West Lake most likely fail to find the landscapes in real world. While in creating these paintings, Dong gave a free hand to his imagination and impressions. Inspired by nature, he created a world out of his imagination, dream, and impression, guided by his understanding of the theories and practices of the masters before him. In short, his art is transcendental and he was ahead of his time, and he was a master of expression.

Professor Ren attended a Dong Qichang seminar in 1992 in the United States at the invitation of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri. More than 100 works by Dong were on display at the museum. These works were exhibited for a month each respectively at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Some art historians in the west consider Dong Qichang as a master of expressionism and his counterparts in the west came much later. They call Dong Qichang “Heavenly Horse”, which is a phrase whose origin can be traced to Liu Tingzhen of the Yuan Dynasty in a foreword he wrote for a poetry collection. The professor still remembers seeing the posters of “Heavenly Horse” in Dong’s handwriting all the way from the airport to the hotel after he landed in Kansas City, Missouri.    

(Executive Editor: Xinyu Xie)