Night Reading on Painting
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Summary
The writing is classical and elegant, its commentary grounded in solid historical scholarship, and the reflections reveal sincere humanistic feeling—keen, moving, and delightful to read.
Mr. Zhu Qi has a sure grasp of how to read paintings. Quoting the ancients, he gives direct voice to his feelings: nothing surpasses walking within a painting; and again, only with books and paintings are our days not lived in vain. Reading paintings—often walking within them—lets the weary spirit rest in ink-washed, mist-filled scrolls and dissolves the knots in one's heart into vistas of broad waters and distant mountains. When night closes in and the house falls silent, or when a traveler walks alone on the road, reading a painting one loves—reading out its poetry, savoring its charm, grasping its spirit—feels like listening to a zither or watching the waves: the heart is glad and the spirit flows free. Every painting is a living being; to read a painting is to read the heart, a communion of mind and feeling across time and space.
The works the author discusses are certainly famous works by celebrated masters, yet not entirely works by household names—which shows him to be a reader of distinctive taste. In his view, only paintings with feeling and artistry, with creativity and scholarly significance, are worth savoring. This is exactly in the spirit of Wu Hufan's collecting and inscriptions, which were not judged solely by a painter's reputation. The author himself says, "If it wins my heart, why care about its name and status? Yet the art world is vast and crowded; I can only take one or two and share them with you."
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers interested in Chinese and foreign painting who wish to be introduced to it in a relaxed, literary way
- Literature lovers who enjoy essays and value the beauty of language and personal expression
- People seeking a moment of tranquility in a busy life and spiritual healing through art
- Readers with some humanistic grounding who are glad to follow the author in cross-cultural, interdisciplinary thinking
Not a good fit for
- Readers seeking systematic, rigorous art history textbooks organized by period or school
- Readers expecting large numbers of high-resolution painting images for purely visual appreciation
Reading tips
- It is suggested not to read straight through in order, but to browse as the mood takes you, starting with chapters on paintings you know or are interested in
- You may wish to slow down while reading, look up the paintings mentioned (a simple online search will do), and ponder as you go, savoring the interplay of text and image
- It is best read in the quiet of the evening or in solitude, when it is easier to enter the context and mood of the author's "night reading"
About the publisher
SDX Joint Publishing Company is a publisher known for its humanities and social science titles, covering classics, culture, history, social fiction and politics. Its catalogue of 826 books includes Chinese and foreign literary classics such as The Scholars, Camel Xiangzi and Selected Short Stories of Chekhov, scholarly works such as Studies of Chinese Cave Temples, A Study of the Tuoba History (Revised Edition) and The Nine-Rank System: A Prehistory of the Imperial Examination, and translations such as Red Star Over China and Notes from the House of the Dead. Its authors include renowned Chinese and foreign writers such as Wu Jingzi, Lao She, Su Bai and Chekhov, as well as scholars and translators such as Chen Xiaoming, Wang Benhua, Guo Changbao and Zhu Xiansheng. Its publishing character lies in balancing the popularisation of classics with academic depth, with attention to textual quality and the transmission of knowledge.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 作者简介
- 自序
- 一 溪山小筑——画卷中的文人居舍
- 隐逸之心
- 溪山小筑
- 可游可居
- 幽居生活
- 二 文心岳意——文人画家的石头情结
- 三 老境难俦——传统书画艺术趣味观一探
- 四 夜坐与禅境
- 五 画扇秋风——渐渐远去的风雅长物
- 六 老缶像记——任伯年笔下的吴昌硕
- 七 从译林到画苑——画隐者纾
- 八 北楼新境——金城的晚期绘画
- 九 夜山行、黑宾虹与傅雷之怒
- 十 佛缘·艺缘·情缘——广洽纪念馆观画
- 十一 满纸瓜果香 落笔有神助——丁辅之画品
- 十二 与名画同千古
- 十三 梅景画事 吴门绝唱——吴湖帆的新古典主义创作
- 十四 柳意怅微微——丰子恺与郑午昌画柳
- 十五 梦觉红楼——邓芬腕底皆风流
- 十六 一画即开 万夫莫当——潘天寿的功力与境界
- 十七 山也零丁 水也零丁——丁衍庸的丹青苦旅
- 十八 香江入画——黄般若的晚期绘画
- 十九 远游无处不销魂——杨善深的心迹画境
- 二十 半唐余事——王伯敏的绘画创造
- 二十一 水墨双城记——香港与新加坡水墨画源流
- 二十二 吴冠中的新加坡缘
- 二十三 画开南洋风：刘抗
- 二十四 阔笔纵情写马来——读钟正山近作
- 二十五 刹那与永恒——观逸溪水墨
- 二十六 藏于陋巷无人识——郑剑峰画海洋生物
- 二十七 彩墨维新——王维新水彩画中的写意精神
- 二十八 二刚的痴与趣
- 二十九 本色——李津的随性水墨
- 三十 不同的叙述 别样的风景——南溪墨语
- 三十一 归家——叶剑青画胡同
- 附 图录
FAQ
Does this book require a lot of art knowledge to understand?
Does the book include images of the paintings mentioned?
How is this book related to the author's other works (such as *Reading Ten Thousand Miles*)?
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About the author
Zhu Qi is an author about whom little public information is available. Judging from the seven works held in the collection, her or his writing spans history, appreciation of classical poetry, and practical writing. The historical side is represented by Methods for Easily Understanding History, while the classical poetry titles include Understanding Li Bai, the Poet Immortal; Understanding Du Fu, the Poet Sage; the three-volume set The Pinnacle of Tang Poetry, which includes a volume on Wang Wei, the Poet Buddha; and Night Readings in Painting, a collection of cultural essays touching on literature and art. Zhu Qi has also written High-Scoring Chinese Writing for Management and Economics Exams, a guide to exam writing. Overall, the writing combines popular knowledge with guided appreciation, explaining historical developments, interpreting poets and Tang poetry in an accessible manner, and offering practical advice on exam composition. The works accordingly fall into the common categories of history, classical poetry, literary appreciation, culture, and examinations.
