石渠寶笈續編(養心殿),第二冊,頁1169&*故宮書畫錄(卷八),第四冊,頁99&*故宮書畫圖錄,第十一冊,頁65-66&*蔣廷錫(西元一六六九-一七三二年),江蘇常熟人。字揚孫,號酉君,又號西谷。官至文華殿大學士,善於畫花卉草蟲。 本幅在湍泉坡地上,畫寒天裡依然挺立、蒼翠和綻放的松、竹、梅三友,應不只是畫其形態,也喻有歲寒三友無畏和堅忍不拔的精神意義。全幅的用筆較寫意,用色以墨為主,富有深淺濃淡的變化,更顯得沈厚有力。&* Chiang T’ing-hsi, a native of Ch’ang-shu in Kiangsu Province, served up to the post of Academician in the Wen-hua Hall. He excelled at painting flowers and grasses-and-insects. This work depicts a tall pine, green bamboo, and craggy plum tree-the Three Friends- on a slope by a rushing stream in winter. This probably is not only a rendering of these individual subjects but also an intentional depiction of the “Three Friends of Winter”, which symbolize the spirit of perseverance and determination. The brushwork tends towards the “sketching-ideas” manner with most of the suggestion of coloring done in ink. The variation between light and dark ink gives this work an even greater feeling of substance and force.