A Series of Eight Landscapes
Artist
Liang Airu
(Chinese, active 1810 - 1850)
Date1814
DynastyQing dynasty (1644-1911), Reign of emperor Jiaqing (1796-1820) or Daoguang (1820–50)
MaterialsInk on paper
DimensionsH. 9 1/2 in x W. 9 1/4 in, H. 24.1 cm x W. 23.5 cm (image)
Credit LineGift of the Yeh Family
Object number2015.64
DepartmentChinese Art
ClassificationsPainting
On View
Not on viewSignedPage 1
Signature: For your instruction Master Yun luyi, Liang Airu (雲麓一兄大人同年正。梁藹如。)
Seal: Airu (“藹如”白文方印。)
Page 3
Seal: Qingya; Airu (“青厓” 朱文方印；“藹如”白文方印。)
Page 5
Signature: Qingya
Seal: Airu siyin (personal seal of Airu); Fushan daoren (“藹如私印”白文方印；“浮山道人”朱文方印。)
Page 6
Seal: “青厓” 朱文方印；“藹如”白文方印。
Page 7
Seal. Qingya; Airu (“青厓” 朱文方印；“藹如”白文方印。)
Page 8
Signature. Fushan daoren
Seal. Qingya; Airu (“青厓” 朱文方印；“藹如”白文方印。)
InscribedInscription on page 1. This four-line poem speaks highly of the value of his calligraphy, and reads:
Idle at home with no commonplace views,
writing this structure like the bones of the blue dragon.
Such a form will survive for thousands of years,
three hundred million and sixty-thousand days.
(閒居無俗心，寫此蒼龍骨，落落千年姿，三億六萬日。)
Inscription on page 3. This four-line poem praises the friendship of elites bound by shared pursuits in nature, and reads:
The trees overlap, the cloud light is moist;
the mountain peaks are chilly, the early morning air is clear.
Walking, elderly men recite ancient poems facing each other,
both forget worldly concerns.
(樹重雲光濕，峰寒曉氣清，行吟老詩叟，相對两忘情。)
Inscription on page 5. This four-line poem expresses a man’s enjoyment of a secluded, natural paradise, and reads:
A hermit resides in a thatched house under trees,
wild flowers and pine seeds shower down,
water flows under a stone bridge with no travellers
who would ask the immortals about white clouds
(樹底茅齋有隐君，野花松子落纷纷，石橋流水無人渡，誰向仙源問白雲？ 青厓。)
Inscription on page 7. This four-line poem describes the painted scene, and reads:
Glorious mountains enchant the distant horizon,
flowing rivers dim chimney smoke,
fishermen sing loudly to frontal shore,
clear wind blows hundreds years.
(山光媚遠天，流水澹生煙，漁唱喧前浦，清風幾百 年。擬大癡意。)
Inscription on page 8. This four-line poem in running script describes the painted scene, and reads:
The setting sun shines over tall trees,
smoke dims as twilight approaches;
a hermit sings of wild flowers,
dedicates poetry to the fragrant fall.
(斜日照高樹，煙光澹欲暮，幽人吟野花，秋香上詩句。 浮山道人。)
More InformationThis set of albums contains eight butterfly-wing pages. Only the right half of each page is painted with landscapes, while the left is blank. Liang Airu experimented with different approaches in laying out the compositions, some of which are close to the manner of old masters like Ni Zan (1301-74). The inscriptions he wrote on numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, and 8 seem to draw on Liang’s multiple, conscientiously cultivated roles, as a painter of hermits, a Daoist enthusiast, a poet and country folk. All the small works offer a broad view of a site by rivers and mountains. The compositions are simple, yet capture a mood of spiritual freedom and the seclusion he felt. His economical use of strokes and dry ink also share a close affinity with that of Ni Zan.
