Appeared - A Study of Shanghai's Two Thousand Years of Figures, Shanghai | Wu Zhen and Shanghai: The Most Unlikely Person

At 6 p.m. on October 23, 1933, Wu Hufan, a famous collector from Shanghai, was unfolding a rare ancient painting at home - "Fisherman" by Wu Zhen of the Yuan Dynasty - when a strange phenomenon suddenly occurred.

"It was already dark when a strange light suddenly appeared in the sky, stretching from west to east like a streak of silk, shining as bright as day. There was also a rumbling sound, which lasted for about five or six seconds, then disappeared in an instant, and the sound also became silent."

He wrote in his diary: commonly known as "Heaven's eyes open".

Wu Zhen's paintings are truly worthy of God's blessing.

Yuan Dynasty literati paintings are regarded as the pinnacle of Chinese literati paintings. The Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty are regarded as the best representatives of Yuan Dynasty literati paintings, among whom Huang Gongwang painted "Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains".

Wu Zhen is one of the Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty, and he is also the "real hermit" among them and probably the least known master.

Wu Hufan, a great collector who had a keen eye for "Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains", used the authentic cursive work "Ancient Pines" by Ren Xun of the Jin Dynasty, plus the calligraphy and painting scrolls of Wang Meng and Rao Jie of the Yuan Dynasty, and added a full 5,200 silver dollars to exchange for Wu Zhen's "Fisherman". From then on, he regarded it as a treasure and listed it as one of the "Four Treasures in the Collection".

This is undoubtedly a great pity - "half of the history of literati painting is related to Shanghai", and the key link that reached the pinnacle and connected the past and the future is the famous "Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty". However, no matter which version, the others have been here, most of them more than once. Only Wu Zhen is always "missing one of the three".

If you draw a map, you can clearly see the movements of Zhao, Huang, Ni, and Wang, like balls of thread, shuttling back and forth in the Yangtze River Delta. Zhao Mengfu and Huang Gongwang also lived in faraway Beijing for a long time, and Wang Meng also went to faraway Shandong to serve as an official.

The only one is Wu Zhen. A famous researcher who claimed that he "foolishly" chose him as the subject of his doctoral dissertation said:

"We have no reason to believe that he has ever traveled more than a few dozen miles from where he was born."

He is "the most complete hermit" and "a hermit among hermits."

"It is like a solitary root that embraces its own warmth, not sharing the glory of the peach and plum trees."

Qian Fen of the Ming Dynasty wrote about him: Ni Zan, Yang Weizhen and others "indulged in poetry and wine", but Wu Zhen, who lived alone and kept to himself, hung out with two or three monks and Taoists every day. He was an "ancient man of enlightenment" who did not care about fame, was indifferent to worldly affairs, and had no desires.

Contemporary Johann Cahill wrote about him: "Unlike the large number of 'literary hermits' of that era who retired in a collective way and created a secondary society for themselves in which they could continue to lead a social life, Wu Zhen seems to be an out-and-out hermit."

His paintings are considered "extremely rare" by those who have been looking for them. A famous story is that his friend Sun Zuo spent three years searching for them after his death, but found nothing.

Researchers say that there are very few historical materials about him. Therefore, his chronology is quite peculiar: most of his life is blank, and only his age is recorded year by year, and the age of others is recorded year by year.

Whether it is historical data or personality, it is indeed easy for people to form an impression: compared with "the large number of 'literary hermits' of that era" - even in the past two thousand years, if you were to select "the person least likely to appear in Shanghai", Wu Zhen would be the option.

When the reporter was looking for historical materials for the eighth chapter of "Shanghai's Two Thousand Years of Figures", he saw an old annals book, which had many records showing:

Like Huang Gongwang, Wang Meng, and Ni Zan, Wu Zhen had visited Shanghai;

Songjiang alone once housed all of the "Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty";

Wu Zhen also painted his favorite plum blossom on a wall.

From this, it can be seen that he had not been to Shanghai, but the historical materials were so scarce and it was inconvenient to search for them in the past, so he became "the disappeared him" and "the invisible guest".

This temple is called "Benyi Zen Temple" and its ruins are located in a community on Songle Road in Songjiang District, Shanghai.

In other words, this community has gathered all the "Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty".

This old record is called "Benyi Zen Monastery Records". It says:

——"Meiyingxuan: also known as Shuangchengxuan, named after the two orange trees in the courtyard. The Plum Blossom Taoist painted an old plum tree on the wall."

——"During the victorious period, people such as Wu Zhonggui, Ni Yunlin, Huang He Shanqiao, and Da Chi Lao Ren traveled between Mi Ji Feng and Luo to compose poems about ancient sites. They came to this temple to look for the remains of Zhong Feng and Yue Lu Gong. They sent each other letters every morning and evening. Therefore, there are many hand-painted works in the temple, but unfortunately they are scattered and lost."

1. This pavilion is named "Shuangcheng Pavilion", which is opposite to the "Shuanghui Pavilion" in the Zen temple. Because of Wu Zhen's paintings, it is also called "Meiying Pavilion".

2. The word "Xuan" here, as can be seen in the "Cihai", refers to "a long corridor or a small room with window sills". From the fact that Wu Zhen painted on the wall and was able to paint a tree, Meiyingxuan is more like a "small room". Looking at the "Tiyong" in the annals, there are two poems "Meiyingxuan" written by different authors, one of which reads "What does the Xuanju have? A plum blossom is painted on the wall", and the other reads "I woke up early in the cold in front of the Sanxiuxuan", which are more like a room for accommodation - or is it a long corridor outside, and Wu Zhen painted on the wall of the corridor? Meiyingxuan seems to be a guest room for the Zen temple to entertain overnight guests, and perhaps Wu Zhen himself lived here.

3. Wu Zhen may have stayed for more than two nights, just like the other four masters of the Yuan Dynasty. They also left many precious manuscripts in Benyi Zen Temple.

Zhao Fan of the Song Dynasty wrote in "Old Plum": "Young plums are not bad, their colors are always rich. But this old one is not dry, so it can be clear and thin."

Li Longgao of the Song Dynasty wrote "Old Plum": "The lonely root in the snow has been twisted for a long time, and the ancient appearance in front of the rock is too high and cold."

In Dream of the Red Chamber, Cao Xueqin arranged for everyone to draw lots. Li Wan drew the "Old Plum" with the following verse: "I am content with my bamboo fence and thatched cottage."

So, what does the old plum tree he painted in Shanghai look like?

1. "The Taoist painters paint plum blossoms not for the flowers, but for the twisted old trunks. The cold wind blows against the window at night, and the big and small branches grow sideways and obliquely."

2. "The twisted roots are bent and old in the frost and snow, and the buds are blooming even earlier."

3. "The frozen leaves seem to contain snow, and the fallen petals are covered with moss."

Different authors, same pictures, both stand proudly against the snow and frost.

Moreover, the author of "One", Min Pei, is worthy of a closer look. He was a close friend of Huang Chunyao, a famous scholar in Jiading, Shanghai. According to the Complete Works of Huang Chunyao, Min Pei gave up the imperial examinations to study poetry, was filial to his mother, and raised his two younger brothers; when someone offered to help him with his wealth, he turned away, angered the person, and was pushed into a ditch, which left him with a limp; he looked up at the roof beams and devoted himself to studying poetry, and his family members did not respond to his calls... Before his death, he tightly grasped a scroll of poems he had written.

A person who regards poetry as his life, who “cannot be corrupted by wealth and honor” and who works hard on his poems and writes them, should be responsible for every word he writes and never write carelessly, right?

Min Pei's poetry was also good. Huang Chunyao said that it was "clear but not dry, and elegant but not vulgar", and he also wrote a poem of mourning for him, lamenting:

This is to compare Min Pei to Meng Jiao and Jia Dao, who also worked hard on their poems, and further argues that Li Bai and Du Fu are not all the brilliance, the Yellow River and the blue sea are not all the scenery, and that the clear streams in the mountains and the gurgling brooks are also a unique world of poetry.

Shanghai's humanistic aesthetics and Chinese humanistic interests are all in this vein.

This wise man wrote the most detailed documentary record known to date about Wu Zhen's "Shanghai Painting".

Interestingly, Min Pei seemed to love the image of himself wearing a bamboo hat and returning home in the wind and snow at night. Huang Chunyao described one of his self-portraits as "a bamboo hat covering my head with thick snowflakes, decorating my night home all year round", and in the poem "Mei Ying Xuan", Min Pei also described himself as "a wild monk wearing a bamboo hat in the wind and snow".

Judging from this sentence, he seemed to have come to Benyi Zen Temple in Songjiang and seen the old plum tree painted by Wu Zhen with his own eyes.

The scene of Min Pei's death made Huang Chunyao "cry". He funded the printing of "Min Peicun Poetry Collection", but wrote at the end of the preface: My power may not be able to pass on your poems to future generations, and it can only be left to "someone unknown".

Today, because of Min Pei’s poems, we understand Wu Zhen, Shanghai, and Chinese culture.

There is another poem that plays a crucial role. It seems that after Wu Zhen's death, Yang Weizhen, a famous scholar of the Yuan Dynasty who was 16 years younger than him, came to Benyi Zen Temple and wrote the earliest poem in the annals, "Meiyingxuan":

"Who will write plum blossoms with a pen? Springtime is endless and reaches the sea. From the place where the jade is buried in Weitang, the fragrance will spread across the green window screens in the morning."

Weitang is Wu Zhen’s hometown, located in Jiashan, Zhejiang Province today, just a stone’s throw away from Fengjing Town, Jinshan District, Shanghai. There is a river that leads directly to the old city of Songjiang, Shanghai, where Benyi Zen Temple is located.

Stroke by stroke, Wu Zhen painted Laomei in Shanghai. Bit by bit, the past emerged from the sea of ​​history.

This painting seems to have attracted a great painter in later generations, the leader of the "Four Masters of the Ming Dynasty" - about a hundred years later, Shen Zhou appeared and wrote a poem titled "Guo Benyi's Painting", which was preserved in the "Benyi Zen Temple Records".

Benyi Zen Temple not only gathered the "Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty", but at least one of the "Four Masters of the Ming Dynasty" had also visited it.

Shen Zhou, who was "fascinated by Wu Zhen in his later years" and revered him as "my teacher", came specifically to look for the precious works left on the wall because Wu Zhen's "silk paintings are extremely rare"?

He "inscribed a poem on a painting", could the poem be about Wu Zhen's painting of old plum blossoms?

"The dark clouds are over the ground, the frost is not melting, the north wind is blowing the snow with a rustling sound.

Thousands of dots decorate the top of the mountain, and one or two feet of depth are buried in the waists of the trees.

The Taoist priest sat there too lazy to go out, so he asked Mr. Tong to write a poem for Zhongsu.

Plum blossoms fall randomly between fingers, the sound of green feathers is sad about the setting sun.

The cold weather made me stop my hands and I called my son to make some wine to comfort my deep affection.

He then got drunk and fell into a deep sleep, and the snowstorm never stopped. "

What is certain is that this Zen temple in Shanghai allowed Wu Zhen and Shen Zhou to have a rare interaction, and connected the Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty with the Four Masters of the Ming Dynasty in terms of their cultural bloodline.

First, a careful reading of "The Remaining Calligraphy of Plum Blossom Taoist" shows that one of the poems is "The Recluse of Chen Xianliang". Chen Xianliang is Chen Shunyu, a famous poet in the Northern Song Dynasty, known as "White Bull Hermit", who lived in seclusion in Bainiu Village - Fengjing Town, Jinshan District, Shanghai today.

This poem was not written by Wu Zhen. The Zhiyuan Jiahezhi published in 1288 already contained Zhang Yaotong's Xianliang Yinju, which is exactly the same as the poem written by Wu Zhen in 1280.

However, he may have read this poem, and as he admired his fellow townsman Chen Shunyu, he came to Fengjing, Jinshan to look for relics and copied this poem while painting. The summary of Siku Quanshu states that "The Remaining Ink of Plum Blossom Taoist" is a collection of "paintings written on paintings".

The line "The spring grass in the pond is green, I only remember Xie Gong's return" reminds people of Xie Lingyun's famous line "Spring grass grows in the pond". After writing this line, Xie Lingyun soon decided to live in seclusion. Was Wu Zhen also writing this with this intention?

The second is that in 1343, when "Sizhi came to visit Wutang", Wu Zhen hurriedly painted a bamboo in ink by candlelight as a gift, and solemnly promised in the inscription: "Wait for another day, I will paint another bamboo on the steaming river. Old Meihua Zhen bows."

Zhengxi is located in the area of ​​Liantang Town, Qingpu District, Shanghai. Judging from the inscription, "Sizhi" seems to live here, and he lives in "Zhu Suo".

The following year, Wu Zhen painted another painting, Ink Bamboo, and inscribed a poem that seemed to echo the previous agreement: "Recalling the time we met at Wushuitou, I sent Mulan off on her boat. I pity the setting sun over the stream, and the wild scenery and the sound of the wind bring me sorrow."

Wu Zhen seemed to have arrived as promised, to Zhengxi and to Shanghai.

In the Qing Dynasty, Yao Jiheng's note in "Records of Books and Paintings in the Haogutang Family Collection" believed that "Shizhi" was "Zhang Boyu's Reverend". Reverend refers to parents or elders. Zhang Boyu, namely Zhang Yu, was a famous scholar in the Yuan Dynasty. Interestingly, Zhang Yu's father, Zhang Xiaosun, was indeed called "Shizhi" in the literature, and he also collected books and paintings.

However, the reporter found that the "Chronology of Zhang Yu" by researcher Li Xueyan showed that Zhang Xiaosun died in 1317, so it was impossible for him to "visit Wutang" in 1343.

“Similar to” may be someone else: a Shanghainese living in Zhengxi.

According to Yang Weizhen's An Ya Tang Ji, "There is a noble family called Cao Jishan above Zhengxi...Now there is a hermit named Zhensu in the same family." Zhensu? It is well known that Cao Zhibai, a famous painter in Shanghai during the Yuan Dynasty, whose courtesy name was Zhensu, lived in Zhengxi.

The Qing Dynasty's "Collection of Calligraphy and Painting" also shows that two paintings by Wu Zhen were once collected by the Cao family in Qingpu.

There are also historical records that Wu Zhen once wrote a poem on Cao Zhibai's painting: "The old man Yunxi is clear and strange." Yunxi is Cao Zhibai's pseudonym.

From this, it seems that they are from the Cao family in Qingpu.

Further investigation reveals that Yuan Dynasty Zen Master Tianru Weize wrote in his Reply to Yunxi Cao Daolu: "Last year, your brother Juzhu Weng visited my small retreat..." Was your brother Juzhu Weng the owner of the "Zhu Suo" that Wu Zhen wanted to visit in Zhengxi? And was Yunxi Cao Daolu the same as Cao Zhibai?

According to the "Dui Ju Ting Ji" written by Shao Hengzhen in the Yuan Dynasty, "Cao's family is the old family of Yunjian", and Cao Kecheng's grandfather was called "Ju Zhu Weng". Shao also has a poem called "Following Cao Ju Zhu Weng's Old Work"

Wang Hui, former director and research curator of Shanghai Qingpu District Museum, quickly replied: "Juzhu Weng is Cao Hefu, courtesy name Zhongda, the cousin of Cao Zhibai and son of Cao Yingfu. He once built Juzhuzhai. His brother-in-law Fang Hui, a poet from Shexian, wrote Juzhuji for him."

Although the Yuan Dynasty poet Cheng Tinggui also called himself "Juzhu Weng" and died in Huating, but on the whole, "Sizhi" is more like this "Cao Juzhu Weng".

From this, Wu Zhen not only visited the Benyi Zen Temple in Songjiang and painted old plums on the wall, but also seemed to have visited the Juzhuzhai of Cao's family in Zhengxi, Qingpu, met Cao Hefu, the cousin of Cao Zhibai, and painted two ink bamboos for him. He may have also met Cao Zhibai and painted for him, and left his paintings at Cao's family in Qingpu...

Is it true? Is it not? In short, Yao Jiheng's comment - "Zhonggui created these two paintings in two years, and his intention is to make calligraphy, painting and poetry so wonderful" actually points out a major feature of Wu Zhen and even Chinese painting:

It is said that Wu Zhen, who "wrote a poem on almost every painting", was the pioneer and even the founder of this paradigm.

Shanghai witnessed the initial growth of the Chinese literati painting paradigm.

In the same year, Wu Zhen also painted the famous “Eight Views of Jiahe”. The last scene in the painting includes the “Nine Peaks” of Songjiang.

Different from pure paintings, "Eight Views of Jiahe" is regarded as "the earliest geographical map of Jiaxing" and has the realism of a map.

That year, Wu Zhen not only met his friends in Qingpu Zhengxi, but also went to Jiufeng in Songjiang to collect folk songs?

This artist, who is regarded as one of the Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty who was best at using wet ink and whose "air was saturated with moisture", left behind the Nine Peaks in the Clouds in Shanghai, which are filled with moisture, dripping with ink, and look like fairy mountains, a painting that will last forever.

He also painted for Xie Boli who lived in Shanghai, and for Tao Zongyi who also lived in Shanghai, but none of the paintings looked like they were painted in Shanghai.

He also has a famous painting called "Ink Vegetables". Huang Gongwang wrote an inscription in the "Yunjian Guest House" in Shanghai, leaving a profound painting theory on "resemblance in form", thus adding his own and Wu Zhen's wonderful touch to the key qualitative change of Chinese literati painting from resemblance in form to resemblance in spirit - the change from Song to Yuan Dynasty.

But judging from Wu Zhen's own inscription "A friend came by my house and asked for my ink to play with, so I left it as a gift, just to make our comrades laugh", and Qian Weishan's postscript "A guest suddenly arrived with a scroll, and I smiled and put down my brush in the south wind", it seems more likely that this painting "Ink Vegetables" was painted elsewhere and brought to Shanghai by a friend.

Was it Tao Zongyi who visited Wu Zhen in Jiaxing on November 15 of that year and asked for the painting and brought it back?

After about 200 years in the world, this painting "Ink Vegetables" once again had an indissoluble bond with Shanghai - Chen Jiru helped his friend "buy it at the Chang'an Lantern Festival."

From a painting on the wall, Huang Gongwang's inscription on the painting, to Chen Jiru's purchase of the painting, Wu Hufan's viewing of the painting, and then to today's collection of paintings in the Shanghai Museum... Wu Zhen and Shanghai are like "all the birds fly high, and the lone cloud goes away leisurely. I never get tired of looking at each other", and they have been thinking about each other for hundreds of years.

The most important thing is the spiritual connection and the harmony of the hearts.

The monk Chuanzi, written in the third chapter of "A Study of Shanghai's Two Thousand Years of Figures", and his 36 paddling songs, which repeatedly sang about the "Fisherman", "Fisherman's Zen" and "Fisherman's Hermit", which constantly expanded upon his journey of ferrying people by fishing, do they contain the soul key to why Wu Zhen is Wu Zhen?

It is said that there are 100 poems on the wall: "One Hundred Poems on Plum Blossoms" written by Zhongfeng Mingben, the most famous monk in the Yuan Dynasty.

There is still a strange story circulating: Zhao Mengfu's friend Feng Haisu looked down on Zhongfeng Mingben and showed him his 60 plum blossom poems. Unexpectedly, Zhongfeng Mingben responded with 100 "Plum Blossom Poems", and Feng "was amazed by it".

However, the reporter saw a clear rebuttal and "rumor-busting" in the "Benyi Zen Monastery Records": "It is said that the master once wrote 100 poems in response to Haisu Mei's poem. Haisu Mei's poem was not finished yet, but he wrote in response before he finished it. What's the point? The master never said such a thing. Please don't slander the master. The disciple Tianruwei will write a postscript."

Tianru Weize is the successor of Zhongfeng Mingben, and the Lion Grove in Suzhou was built for him.

A passage in the Ming Dynasty book "Zhenji Diary" by Zhang Chou revealed that Wu Zhen and Zhongfeng Mingben may have met:

On a painting titled "The Taoist Mei's Shining Guanyin", there is an inscription: "Monk Zhongfeng praised: Clouds, mountains, bamboo, rocks, and water are deep, and a ray of spiritual light lasts from ancient times to the present. The boy looks up at the cliff and puts his hands together in vain, not knowing that he has met the ancient Guanyin on the way. Taoist Meihua painted and wrote this."

From this, it seems that the two men met and may have discussed Buddhism. Then Wu Zhen painted the "Luminous Guanyin" and wrote the "Praise" written on the spot by Zhongfeng Mingben.

The meeting place might also be at Benyi Zen Temple, the only known intersection of the two people's whereabouts.

According to the Records of Benyi Zen Monastery, it is said that when Zhongfeng Mingben was in the Zen monastery, he asked for the "One Hundred Poems of Plum Blossoms" to be written on the wall. Could it be that Wu Zhen painted the old plum blossom on the wall for this reason?

Or maybe, Zhongfeng Mingben asked to write the poem on the wall because Wu Zhen painted plum blossoms?

The reporter had previously done research for the "Study on Shanghai's Two Thousand Years of Figures": When Wu Zhen was 34 years old, Zhongfeng Mingben came to Shanghai and seemed to have arrived at Benyi Zen Temple; around the age of 38, Zhongfeng Mingben seemed to have opened a hall in Benyi Zen Temple; when Wu Zhen was around 41 years old, Zhongfeng Mingben seemed to have lived in Benyi Zen Temple for a long time; when Wu Zhen was 44 years old, Zhongfeng Mingben passed away.

What is certain is that after his teacher passed away, Tian Ru Weize also came to Shanghai, to Songjiang, and seemed to have lived in Benyi Zen Temple for a long time. He stayed in Shanghai for at least 12 years, and his "principles of the Dao rose day by day". The emperor bestowed a title on him, and later he went to the Lion Grove. He wrote a long poem "On a Boat in Shanghai", and took a boat to the old town area of ​​Huangpu District in Shanghai today: "The Wuxi sluice gate urged the oars to go down to Huangpu in a hurry to catch the tide", "I traveled to Shanghai when I was fifty, and I am fifty-five again this year"... Shanghai is Shanghai, and he came again and again.

What is most relevant to this article is what he wrote in "Answer to Zen Friend Yi Hai": After the death of the master in Tianmu Mountain, everyone "drifted east and west", "I also followed the boat to Huating, and over time we have maintained a good relationship and made many new acquaintances."

Monk Chuanzi, a Zen monk in the Tang Dynasty, was another famous "fisherman" in Shanghai after Zhang Zhihe. Mr. Chen Shangjun called him "an important poet monk who must be mentioned in the history of Shanghai literature."

He "flew a small boat every day" to ferry people around Zhujing Town, Jinshan District, Shanghai, and used a straight hook to fish like Jiang Taigong. Jiang Taigong fished for entering the world, Yan Ziling fished for leaving the world, and he fished for "crossing the world."

One of his famous poems is: "A thousand feet of silk line hangs straight down, one wave moves and thousands of waves follow. The night is quiet, the water is cold and the fish don't eat, the boat is empty and returns in the moonlight."

He is also famous for his dozens of "Rowing Songs", or Fisherman's Songs.

Mr. Shi Zhecun mentioned that the sentence structure of the Fisherman's Ci by Monk Chuanzi and the Fisherman's Ci by Zhang Zhihe is exactly the same, both are seven-seven-three-three-seven. This is considered to be the original form of Ci, and the two are also considered to be two important figures from poetry to Ci.

Zhu Liangzhi, director of the Center for Aesthetics and Aesthetic Education at Peking University, believes that the "Southern Zen monk" Chuanzi, who appeared more than 60 years later than Zhang Zhihe, made great contributions to Zhang Zhihe's thoughts, thus establishing the "water Zen" with a wide influence in the fields of Chinese philosophy and art. Wu Zhen's art "can be said to be the direct successor of the 'water Zen' represented by Zhang Zhihe and Chuanzi. Without such 'water Zen', there would be no fisherman art."

Some people say that Wu Zhen is most famous for not his bamboo or plum paintings, but "Fisherman".

A study mentioned that in the "Complete Jin and Yuan Ci" compiled by Mr. Tang Guizhang, there are 42 "Fisherman's Song" from the Yuan Dynasty, and Wu Zhen alone accounted for 20 of them.

He once painted four "Fisherman Pictures" in one month, just like Ni Zan once painted only bamboo for three years.

"Mei Daoren's 'Water Zen', which originated from the Zen Buddhism, answers the question of ultimate value in its own unique way." Zhu Liangzhi made an in-depth analysis: Wu Zhen's Fisherman Picture does not describe the fisherman rowing towards the homeward journey, nor does it rely on the reed bank. Instead, it is "a small lonely boat, boundless. That sandbank is not his home"; Wu Zhen is not a prophet who sees through the world, but a wise man who has made important discoveries about the value and meaning of human life - "The strength of his art lies not only in his superb brush and ink skills and outstanding modeling ability, but more in his understanding of traditional Chinese philosophy of life."

Researcher Liu Xiaowen also believes that the fisherman described by Wu Zhen is neither a savior nor a world-weary person, but rather seeks a kind of harmony. He has a calm mind, wears light grass clothes, and only fishes for perch rather than fame. He does not envy Yan Ling for sitting on the fishing platform, and he lets the moon shine through the clouds and he lives his life as he pleases.

Because of the last three words, Wu Zhen was called "Mr. Ren".

This, together with the last three words of his other sentence "A happy person in the north and south of the Yangtze River", is regarded as the entrance to understanding Wu Zhen's inner world.

From limited historical materials, we may be able to outline a little-known real Wu Zhen - who is likely to be different from the impression many people have.

In fact, he came from an extraordinary family. His grandfather was a military officer who participated in the Battle of Xiangyang, his family was a wealthy shipping merchant known as the "Big Ship Wu", and his uncle was a good friend of Zhao Mengfu for whom he wrote the tombstone.

He was not without ambition, and he would "express his dissatisfaction in a few vertical and horizontal bamboo branches". Lu Yong and Fu Shen talked about Wu Zhen's use of sharp brushes in painting bamboo branches, which was unprecedented. In Wu Zhen's eyes, bamboo not only has the elegance of "people in places with bamboo are not vulgar", but also has a very strong side - "the fierceness of Dong and Xuan, the integrity of Yan and Yan. It will not yield even if it is chopped off, and it will stand firm in the wind and snow."

But he also deeply appreciates the blandness: "I love the clear evening breeze, and I enjoy it as I please... The blandness comes without a trace, and the mountain air is refreshing in the morning." He wrote poems for vegetables: "You must bite the root to appreciate the blandness." He also painted vegetables in ink many times. He has a seal with the words "Blandness with flavor" engraved on it.

The General Catalogue of the Complete Library in the Four Treasures commented on his poems: "He went on alone, and was not moved by poverty or hunger. His mind was lofty, and his words were naturally extraordinary." But he also wrote poems for an ordinary clothes pestle: "Whose clothes pestle is this? It looks ancient. This pestle is just here, and it doesn't make any sound when autumn comes."

Gao Xunzhi commented that his paintings are "like an old general grabbing a flag, full of vigor and energy, and no one can stop him." But at the same time, Wu Zhen's contribution to the theoretical history of Chinese literati painting is the concept of "ink play" of "playing with calligraphy and ink." Some articles say that the West also has similar concepts and theories: "Art is a free game."

Whether in painting, poetry, or heart, he seems to be transcending and controlling everything, becoming a contented person who "let the moon and clouds flow as he pleases".

Zhu Liangzhi's in-depth interpretation of Wu Zhen's fisherman art is three points: First, nothing is revealed or hidden. Zhang Zhihe is "happy in the wind and waves", the monk Chuanzi is "mingling in the world", and Wu Zhen is "riding the tide in the sea". Ride, sit, drive, "sway with the waves, let the wind blow, put down the oars in the arms". The fishermen described by Wu Zhen are all "riding the tide", not fighting, but using the peace in their hearts to integrate the external waves.

The second is not to fish for big fish. The monk Chuanzi said: "Big fish never leave the pursuit of fishing." The fisherman of Zen Buddhism is not avoiding the act of fishing, but letting go of the fishing line of life experience in the waves of greed, thus achieving transcendence. Wu Zhen also wrote: "How can I make a small silk line to feed myself in the lake."

The third is to be a "Master Ren" - the "master" of the rivers and seas. Wu Zhen has a very detailed understanding of the core ideas of Southern Zen. Many people say that the heart is like still water. But few people know that water is like the heart. Zhu Liangzhi sighed: Mei Daoren is really a person who sees the true nature of life.

One point of view is: The highest meaning of life is the key to understanding Wu Zhen's art and life.

One interpretation is that he paints the "original heart" of the human heart in its most natural state. He not only paints as he pleases without breaking the rules and enters the realm of freedom, but he goes a step further and reaches the realm of nature.

Wang Yuanqi of the Qing Dynasty may have made the most accurate comment: "Those who think there is a successful method do not know the abbot; those who think there is no successful method do not know the abbot either."

"A Study of Shanghai's Two Thousand Years of Figures" wrote that the dozens of "Oaring Songs" by Monk Chuanzi survived the world because Lü Yirou, a local sage from the Northern Song Dynasty in Shanghai, engraved them on a stone tablet in Fengjing Haihui Temple. Fengjing was where Chen Shunyu lived in seclusion. Haihui Temple has the "Record of the Scriptures" written by Chen Shunyu. In the text, it is written that "no action, no stop, who drowns and who carries" - the same as the above-mentioned "no fishing" and "no exposure, no hiding", which are the same lineage of Chinese wisdom and civilization.

The previous sentence of Chen Shunyu's "No action, no stop, who is drowning and who is carrying" is: "Galloping in a chariot without arrogance, wandering in a machine without boundaries." Wu Zhen wrote in "Bamboo Records": "Galloping within the rules, wandering outside the dust and dirt, following the heart's desire, without exceeding the standard."

Did Wu Zhen go to Haihui Temple and read "Records of the Tripitaka" and "Song of the Row" when he came to Fengjing to look for Chen Shunyu's relics?

Are Monk Chuanzi, Chen Shunyu, Wu Zhen and Tianru Weize, like Zhao Mengfu, Zhongfeng Mingben and Wen Tianxiang, another precious pearl in Shanghai's two thousand years of humanities?

Zhang Guan, a painter from Songjiang during the Yuan Dynasty, became friends with Wu Zhen and was influenced by him.

Li Liufang, one of the four masters of Jiading, learned painting from Wu Zhen.

The emergence of Wu Zhen brought together the four masters of the Yuan Dynasty in Shanghai, and injected the core factor of Wu Zhen's spirit into Shanghai's 2,000-year-old humanities. He constructed Shanghai and influenced Shanghai.

He was also seen in Shanghai. Under the active advocacy of Dong Qichang and Chen Jiru in the Ming Dynasty, Jiashan built the Plum Blossom Temple. On the stele of the Plum Blossom Pavilion today, you can still see the "Tomb Record of the Taoist Priest Xiumeihua" written by Chen Jiru.

His tomb is surrounded by Weitang in the north and Huatingtang in the south, both of which flow directly to Shanghai.

Among the guests over the centuries, Wei Xueyi, the author of "Notes on a Walnut Boat", was his fellow townsman. Zhang Daqian invited painters such as Huang Binhong, He Tianjian, Ma Qizhou, Zhang Shanzi, Hu Ruosi, Ding Liuyang, Gong Tiemei, Hong Pie, Zhang Chongren, and Xiong Songquan from Shanghai to gather here, and even designed his own tomb to look similar.

According to folklore, the donkey would go shopping for Wu Zhen, and the seller would just put the items in the hanging basket. He mocked himself as "a useless person" and "an old scholar".

Ni Zan wrote three crucial words for a landscape painting by Wu Zhen: the mist and clouds are "faint and without a trace."

As a "true hermit" and a "hermit among hermits", he seems to be a person who truly lives out his true self and lives according to his true nature.

He does not just go with the flow, but rather "takes advantage of" and "adapts to" whatever happens, and is at ease and natural.

If Su Dongpo was in the world and out of it, and fulfilled himself in the ups and downs, then Wu Zhen was more like neither in nor out, or more accurately, no in and no out. People saw in Su Dongpo the food at the end of the road, the magnanimity in the ups and downs, and the temperament in the joys and sorrows, while in Wu Zhen, it seems to be more peaceful, indifferent, without traces, and natural. The monk Chuanzi's "full boat, empty, returning in the moonlight" carries "emptiness", while Wu Zhen is "nothing" - nothingness that originally had nothing.

What makes a person a human being is a pursuit throughout the ages. If Su Dongpo is the A side of an ideal personality, then is the B side Wu Zhen?

When Wu Hufan looked at Wu Zhen's "Fisherman", he thought the natural phenomenon was "actually a meteorite".

According to the Shenbao, around Shanghai on that day: Nanjing, at about 6:50 p.m., a white light suddenly appeared, illuminating the earth like daylight. Suzhou, at 6:59 p.m., a strong white light was about ten feet long and wide. Jiangyin, at 7 p.m., the sky was as bright as daylight. Wuxi, at 6:30 p.m., there was a sound as loud as the wind, and it was as bright as daylight in an instant.

A check on the Ningbo Historical Records website shows that on October 23, 1933, at 7:30 p.m., a "giant star" appeared in the sky over Ningbo, speeding from north to south. Its tail was about ten feet long, and its red light shone as bright as day. There was a rumbling sound, and it lasted for about four seconds.

The meteorite, which was seen in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Anhui, fell over an area of ​​15 miles in Dangtu, Anhui. The rare "eye-opening" of the sky alarmed Li Siguang, who dissected the specimens for testing, and reports came in one after another.

However, Wu Zhen is to Shanghai like a strange light, coming and going in a flash, illuminating the past and the present.

The scroll of Wu Zhen's "Fisherman" in the Shanghai Museum is the one that Wu Hufan unfolded in 1933 at the beginning of this article. In the scenery of the Jiangnan water town, fourteen fishermen are scattered around happily rowing boats, some drunkenly lying in the sunset, some fishing alone in the misty waves, some catching fish and collecting nets, and some listening to the rain behind the window. At the beginning of the scroll is Liu Zongyuan's "Fisherman's Farewell" and sixteen inscriptions, and the poetry, calligraphy and painting complement each other.