A Study on the "Fanxiangwu" Pattern in Wen Zhengming's "Thirty-One Views of the Humble Administrator's Garden"

Abstract

Wen Zhengming's 《Zhuozheng Garden Album》 was created in the 12th year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1533), when Wen Zhengming was 64 years old. At the invitation of Wang Xianchen, the owner of Zhuozheng Garden, Wen painted the garden's landscapes and composed poems for the newly constructed garden. Each painting features the landscape name and a seven-character poem inscribed on the opposite page, integrating poetry, calligraphy, and painting to reflect the refined tastes of a literati. The album employs a blend of realistic and expressive techniques, with meticulously detailed architecture and lively, spacious natural scenery, creating an atmosphere of "mountains and forests within a small space." This paper conducts a visual analysis and discussion of the Fanxiangwu landscape among the thirty-one scenes depicted.