Orchids, Bamboo, Fungi and Rock

清朝年滓燮繪秓粷竹石梸絣圖焈紙本墨綎

Zheng Xie was praised both for his painting and his calligraphy. In this painting, Zheng combined the two in a manner that raises the question: "is the artist's subject an inscribed rock or did he simply choose an unusual place in the composition to record his thoughts?" Either is possible.

From ancient times Chinese scholars have carved inscriptions recording historical events or recording their own philosophical insights into rock. Some of these were famous stones left in the wild, but in the Song dynasty (960–1279), rock collectors also began to inscribe rocks that they brought into their gardens and studies. Zheng could very well be painting an inscribed rock.

On the other hand, the content of the inscription relates to the overall topic of the painting and seems to be a personal reflection. It reads: There are many orchids in the mountains, but no fungi. I asked a painter where I could find them. "Seek them in your own heart because only you who cultivate them there can fathom what you yourself have done." The ancients say that if you stay in a room filled with fungi and orchids for a long time, you may become oblivious to their fragrance, and, if the fungi and orchids are put inside a room, the room may be made beautiful but the plants may not be happy. I would rather live deep in the mountains and ravines, where the fungi are not plucked and the orchids not picked. Each of us would follow his destiny and be at peace with it. That is why I wrote this poem:

On high cliffs and steep precipices fungi and orchids grow.
The bamboo's slanting shade leaves only a few to endure the chill.
Let us make this world a grand room and spend carefree days in the company of these "men of virtue."

Artist's biography:
A native of Xinghua, in Jiangsu province, Zheng Xie was classically educated and followed the expected path of the scholar gentry. He obtained the highest degree in the imperial examination system and served in the imperial bureaucracy. His last posting was as magistrate of two districts in Shandong province. His biography states he was dismissed from this post due to a dispute with local authorities over aiding the victims of natural disasters (such statements are often included in biographies to emphasize the individual's moral values). Following his dismissal, he returned to Yangzhou, a wealthy city near his home town, where he made a living by selling his paintings.