石渠寶笈初編(御書房),下冊,頁1128&*故宮書畫錄(卷五),第三冊,頁380&*故宮書畫圖錄,第七冊,頁89-90&*1.江兆申,〈文徵明空林覓句圖 軸〉,收入國立故宮博物院編,《吳派畫九十年展》(臺北:國立故宮博物院,1975年初版,1976年再版,1981年三版),頁313。 &* 文徵明(西元一四七○-一五五九年),江蘇長洲人。初名壁,字徵明,後以字行,亦字徵仲,號停雲生、衡山居士。詩文書畫並佳,畫師沈周,為明四大家之一。 空林中枯樹數株,老松著葉無多。一翁撚鬚覓句,並取賈島詩:「吟安一個字,撚斷數莖鬚」之意。枯筆淡墨,極蒼勁。本幅作於乙巳年(一五四五),時年文徵明七十六歲。 &*Seeking a Poetic in an Empty Grove Wen Cheng-ming (1470-1559) Ming Dynasty Wen Cheng-ming was a native of Ch’ang-chou (modern Soochow), Kiangsu. He was originally named Pi; later he used his style name Cheng-ming as his given name. Wen Cheng-ming excelled in all the literati arts: poetry, prose, calligraphy and painting. He studied painting with Shen Chou and became one of the Four Masters of the Ming. Bare trees grow in an empty valley; an ancient pine retains only a few needles. An old man fingers his beard as he searches for a poetic phrase, the painting embodying the couplet by Chia Tao, “Peacefully humming a phrase, he strokes the stands of his beard.” Strong, effective use is made of dry brush and light washes. This painting was done in 1545 while Wen was 75 years old.