Xuan He Shu Pu and Xuan He Hua Pu respectively recorded thousands of works collected in the court at that time, and wrote artistic comments related to masterpieces for hundreds of its writers, which can be described as the earliest collection of royal artworks in China. It occupies an important position in the art history of China. However, the author is unknown.
There are 2 volumes of Xuanhe Shupu and Xuanhe Huapu, which respectively record the masterpieces of calligraphy and painting collected by the imperial palace in Xuanhe period, and describe the history of calligraphy and painting from ancient times to the Northern Song Dynasty, with a brief biography of the painter and calligrapher before the works. There are 231 painters and 6,396 paintings recorded in "Painting Spectrum of Xuanhe". Xuanhe Shupu is the most voluminous description of calligraphy in the Northern Song Dynasty, and there are thousands of calligraphy works recorded. These two books are the earliest works of art history in the history of China, which collected the calligraphy and painting works collected in the court at that time completely and systematically, and made relevant figures introduction and calligraphy and painting comments. They provided valuable materials for future generations to understand and study the history of China's calligraphy and painting, and occupied an important position in the history of China's art. However, there is no author's name in his books, and several important catalogue books in Song Dynasty have not recorded his author. Therefore, who is the author of these two books has caused many speculations.
According to the Summary of the General Contents of Sikuquanshu, the works recorded in the book, such as "The Book of Song People", were finally decided by Cai Jing, Cai Bian and Mi Fei. Bi, Jing and Bian are all skilled in calligraphy, and Bi is especially good at distinguishing, and they all use their strengths. Therefore, the politics of Xuanhe is not impressive, and appreciation is unique. " In the book, the calligraphy works of Sima Guang, Wen Yanbo, Su Shi and Huang Tingjian, who were "members of the Yuan Wei Party", were all excluded. From their political standpoint, the author may be Er Cai. "Talks on Tiewei Mountain" contains: "Song Qiaonian was ordered to take charge of the Imperial Calligraphy and Painting Office since Chong Ning. After Qiao Nian, he stopped and was succeeded by Mi Fei. Almost to the end of the year, there were thousands of hidden rates above, which was a great event in the real Xi Dynasty. " It is believed that both calligraphy and painting were identified by Mi Fei. Judging from his artistic appreciation and the conditions of being in charge of the Imperial Calligraphy and Painting Office, his author is probably Mi Fei.
However, some scholars have pointed out that the facts and related tone analysis contained in the book are not like those written by Cai Jing, Cai Bian and Mi Fei. For example, "Biography of Cai Bian" says: "Since I was young, I was fond of learning books. At first, I was a Yan Xing, and my brushwork was elegant, but my maturity was unknown, so Guijiao was slightly exposed." If it is written by Chua's own handwriting, how can he belittle himself in this biography? In addition, these two books were written in the Xuanhe period (1119 ~ 1125), while Mi Fei died in the first year of Daguan (117), more than ten years before they were written. And the book "Biography of Mi Fei" said: "Dissidents say that the peak of their words is too steep, like a strong crossbow shooting 3 miles, and another example is that Zhongyou didn't see Confucius, which is the case or so." His criticism of Mi Fei's calligraphy is quite different from Mi Fei's self-righteous tone of criticizing the ancients in his famous book Hai Yue, so the author can't be Mi Fei.
Some people think that it was written by Song Huizong, and some articles in the book are obviously the tone of Huizong, such as "I", "My Renzu" for Song Renzong and "My Divine Examination" for Song Shenzong. The Biography of Cai Jing in Xuanhe Shupu said: "If it helps one person and the country is determined, how can Beijing help it?" It is entirely the tone of Huizong's "giving one person", and there is Huizong's "Preface to Imperial System" in front of the book, which shows that Huizong is the author.
Some scholars have pointed out that Song Huizong can also be regarded as a master of calligraphy and painting, and his thin gold body and flower-and-bird pictures can be regarded as excellent works in the art world at that time. He not only loved calligraphy and painting himself, but also asked his officials to sort out, identify and record the fine works of calligraphy and painting in the palace. It was under his personal care and supervision that Xuanhe Calligraphy and Painting Manual was completed. If there are several words in the book written by Huizong on a whim, it is still credible; If the whole book is written by Yu, it is tantamount to talking in a dream. It is a well-known fact that the books written by emperors are generally compiled by ministers collectively. In his Preface to Imperial Regulations, it is said that today's son is a cloud, which is a tribute to the courtiers. It can be seen that the so-called preface written by Huizong is so fake, let alone other parts.
According to Zheng Gou's Yan Ji Zao Shu Pian in Yuan Dynasty, it was noted that "Da De Ren Yin, Yan Ling Wu Guihe's collection of calligraphy characters between Song Xuanhe, which began in Jin Dynasty and ended in Song Dynasty, is called Xuanhe Pu, with 2 volumes." I thought the author was Wu Wengui of Yuan Dynasty, which was even more groundless. In the Song Dynasty, the book was called "Ben Chao" and "I Song", which was by no means the tone of Yuan people. According to the postscript of Wu Wengui's book "Ancient and Modern Law Bookstore" in Wang Shizhen in Ming Dynasty: "The Book of Xuanhe Calligraphy and Painting was never published at that time, and it was rumored that it was wrong, and I was ill, so I asked all the people to participate in the school, so I became famous." It can be seen that Wu Wengui copied and printed these two books according to the old school, not the author.
After careful reading of the two books, it is obvious that they faithfully reflect the official theoretical opinions and aesthetic attitudes in art, and the narrative history is systematic and plain, but they lack originality. There are contradictions in opinions from time to time, so it seems that the writer is not alone. It was compiled by an inner minister who was good at calligraphy and painting and refined in appreciation during the reign of Xuanhe. Huizong himself may have participated in the compilation of the two books and personally wrote several of them. Other minions, such as Cai Jing, should also have a great influence on the compilation process, such as the selection and comments of works. Even some scholars believe that Cai Jing's philosophers probably participated in the compilation of his book. For example, Yu Jiaxi, a modern scholar, thinks that Cai Tiao, the eldest son of Cai Jing, was promoting the secretary province at that time, and the two books must have come from Cai Tiao. There is some truth in this statement, but there is no direct evidence.