Xu Wei - Joy

A Chinese literary figure who excelled in poetry, calligraphy and painting in the late Ming dynasty. Born in Shanyin (Shaoxing County, Zhejiang Province), his pen name was Wenqing, later called Wenchang, and he was known as Tenchi, but also had many other pen names such as Seitou and Densuigetu. He showed great talent in many areas, and said that he was best at calligraphy, second at poetry, third at literature and fourth at painting, but he is currently most highly regarded as a painter. In addition to poetry, he is also known for creating plays such as the screenplay collection "Four Voices Monkey," and his novel "The Miracle of Clouds" was translated into Japanese in 1752 (the 2nd year of the Horeki era) during the Edo period and published in Japan as "The Popular Genming War Story." He devoted himself to ink painting, and excelled in miscellaneous drawings of flowers, crabs, and fish, leaving behind masterpieces such as "Flower Miscellaneous Painting Scroll" (Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, Tokyo National Museum). His style of painting was not limited to a specific teacher, and he pursued the abstract nature of painting and the chance nature of ink painting, becoming a pioneer of Qing Dynasty flower painting. His life was extremely unpredictable, losing his father at an early age, his family falling into ruin in his youth, his wife dying, and he was beset by misfortunes such as repeatedly failing the local examination despite his talent (giving up on the eighth try). In his prime, he was recognized for his literary talent and trusted by Hu Zongxian (Governor of Zhejiang Province), who fought against the Japanese pirates, but five years later, when Hu Zongxian was overthrown and died in prison, he became mentally unstable, attempted suicide three times, and then killed his second wife out of jealousy, spending seven years in prison. After being released from prison at the age of 53, he wandered from place to place, and in his later years retired to his hometown, during which time he painted many masterpieces of ink-wash floral paintings, but in the end he died in poverty, sleeping on straw. His writings include "Xu Wen Changji" and "Nan Ci Xulu."

[Shinya Hoshiyama]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、明(みん)代後期の詩文書画をよくした文人。山陰（浙江(せっこう)省紹興(しょうこう)県）の生まれで、字(あざな)は文清、のち文長といい、天地と号したが、青藤(せいとう)、田水月(でんすいげつ)そのほか別号が多くある。多方面に優れた才能を示し、自らも書が第一、詩が二、文が三、画が四といったが、現在は画家としての評価がもっとも高い。詩文のほか脚本集『四声猿(しせいえん)』など戯曲の創作でも知られ、また小説『雲合奇蹤(うんごうきしょう)』は江戸時代の1752年（宝暦2）に翻訳され、日本では『通俗元明(げんみん)軍談』として刊行されている。画は水墨に徹し、花卉(かき)および蟹(かに)や魚などの雑画に優れ、『花卉雑画巻』（ワシントン市フリーア美術館、東京国立博物館）などの傑作を残している。その画風は、特定の師をもたず、伝統にとらわれずに、絵画の捨象性、水墨の偶然性を追究して、清(しん)代の花卉画の先駆をなした。その生涯は数奇を極め、早く父を失い、青年期には家が没落し、妻に死なれ、才能をもちながら郷試(きょうし)に落ち続ける（8回目で断念）などの不運に付きまとわれた。壮年期に倭寇(わこう)と戦った胡宗憲(こそうけん)（浙江省総督）に文才を認められ、信任されたが、5年後に胡宗憲が失脚し獄中死するに及び、精神に異常をきたし、三度自殺未遂し、さらに後妻を嫉妬(しっと)から殺害して7年間の獄中生活を送った。出獄した53歳以降は諸方を流浪し、晩年郷里に隠棲(いんせい)し、この間に多くの水墨花卉の傑作を描いたが、最後は藁(わら)を敷いて寝るなど困窮のうちに没した。著述に『徐文長集』『南詞叙録』などがある。

［星山晋也］

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