盛京故宮書畫錄(卷一),第一冊,頁23&*故宮書畫錄(卷八),第四冊,頁173&*故宮書畫圖錄,第十五冊,頁85-86&*戴嵩(約西元八世紀)最初學畫時,以韓滉為師。畫牛有青出於藍的聲譽,又擅長於農家風景。他的弟弟戴嶧也以畫牛而聞名。 畫兩牛相鬥,一頭牛用角觝觸,另一牛卻旋轉著身子,好像雖敗而欲再迎戰。依「事物紀原」(明高承撰),鬥牛之俗始於秦。此幅畫牛,身驅頗為健壯,大有蠻勁足以力仆萬人之慨。從其畫風觀之,此作或屬明中期以前輾轉流傳的摹本。 &*Tai Sung began his studies of painting under the artist Han Huang (723-787). Tai was thus able to excel at depicting the subtleties of the features of oxen. Tai also excelled at depicting the scenery of rustic life. Tai Sung and his younger brother (Tai I) achieved fame as experts in ox painting. This painting portrays two oxen engaged in battle. One, with head raised, seeks to escape, while the other ferociously charges, ready to gorge its opponent. No setting is provided in the painting, making the oxen appear as if ready to leap from the surface. According to the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) encyclopedia by Kao Ch'eng, The Origin of Things (Shih-wu chi-yüan), the custom of allowing two oxen to engage in a fight dates back to the Ch'in dynasty (255-206 BC). The oxen in this painting appear particularly powerful. Judging from the style of this work, it appears to be a copy dating to sometime before the middle of the Ming dynasty.