King's mirror - King's mirror

The first Chinese painter in the late Ming and Qing dynasties. He is one of the so-called Four Kings and Wu Yun, along with Wang Shimin, Wang Hui, Wang Yuanqi, Wu Li, and Yun Ge. He was born in Taicang, Jiangsu Province, and was the grandson of the great literary figure Wang Shizhen of the late Ming. His pen name was Yuanzhao (Yuanshuo) or Yuanzhao. His pen names were Xiangbi and Senxiang Anshu. He became the governor of Lianzhou, so he was also known as Wang Lianzhou. In 1637 (the 10th year of the Chongzhen era), at the age of 40, he resigned from his official position and devoted himself to painting in his hometown. His style of painting was modeled after the Four Great Masters of the late Yuan Dynasty, especially Huang Gongwang and Wang Meng, and he learned and inherited the theories of Dong Qichang, whose works date back to Dong Yuan and Ju Ran of the Song Dynasty. He was close friends with Wang Shimin, who was of the same race, hometown, and age, and they honed their skills by copying ancient paintings that had been accumulated since their grandfathers, and together they built the foundations of Qing Dynasty painting as orthodox painters.

[Shinya Hoshiyama]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、明(みん)末清(しん)初の画家。王時敏(おうじびん)、王翬(おうき)、王原祁(おうげんき)、呉歴(ごれき)、惲格(うんかく)とともにいわゆる四王呉惲(しおうごうん)の一人。江蘇(こうそ)省太倉(たいそう)の出身で、明末の大文豪王世貞(おうせいてい)の孫。字(あざな)は元照（元炤）あるいは円照。号は湘碧(しょうへき)、染香庵主(あんしゅ)。廉州(れんしゅう)の知府となったので王廉州ともよばれた。1637年（崇禎10）40歳で官を辞し故郷で画業に専念。その画風は元末の四大家、とくに黄公望(こうこうぼう)、王蒙(おうもう)の風に倣い、宋(そう)の董源(とうげん)、巨然(きょねん)にさかのぼる董其昌(とうきしょう)の理論を学び受け継ぎ典型化した。王時敏とは同族、同郷、同年輩の親友で、祖父以来蓄えられた古画を臨模するなど、互いに画技を磨き、ともに正統派の画人として清代絵画の基礎を築いた。

［星山晋也］

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