The first impression of this painting is that the scene is open and magnificent. In the distance, towering peaks rise from the ground and stand tall, showing the heroic dignity of indomitable spirit. Close-ups, small bridges and flowing water, canoes moored on the shore, and constant pedestrians and horses create a gentle and soothing scene. Set each other off against the distant mountains, combining rigidity with softness, and the picture is harmonious and vivid. There are also towers, pagodas, pagodas and waterfalls dotted among the cliffs by the stream, and the jungle is green and continuous, making the whole work full of spring and lush, which makes the viewer feel comfortable.
Although Li Cheng's landscape paintings have the distinctive features of abrupt and magnificent peaks in Hao Jing and Guan Tong's works, his performance is more about the geographical features of Shandong Plain. Li Cheng's pen is clear and peaceful, which forms the unique charm of "bleak weather". Slender but not weak, strength is innate, such as cotton wrapped in iron. He used ink carefully, gently and meticulously. Describing cliff stone carvings is often outlined with thin lines first, and then written slowly with clear thin lines, step by step. In particular, the use of light ink, delicate and prudent, clear and vivid. Mi Fei once said in the History of Painting: "Li Chengmo is as light as fog, and the stone moves like a cloud." The peaks in the work are rubbed with light ink, which really has a sense of agility and obscurity.
Li Cheng's works don't use many colors, but the colors are elegant, simple, quiet and solemn, with a graceful charm, without any anger and affectation. Wang Shen, a painter in the Northern Song Dynasty, once compared Li Cheng's paintings with Fan Kuan's, saying that Li Cheng's paintings are "moist and clean, and the smoke is light and moving, like a thousand miles away, delicate." Indeed, compared with Fan Kuan, Li Cheng's works are more literary, which is closely related to his extensive talents and rich knowledge. The "bookish spirit" in his works is very heavy, and this feature is even more obvious in this "Maolin Yao Yuan Atlas". Li Cheng's painting style has a great influence on later generations, and many people follow him with their hearts and hands. Mr. Huang once said: "Li Cheng's landscape paintings are smooth and free, and there is a beauty of cherishing ink as gold. The cold forest in the plain is unprecedented, with natural and unrestrained charm and vast smoke, although Wang Wei and Li Sixun can't pass it. Anyone who calls mountains and rivers will become the first in ancient and modern times. " This is not an exaggerated compliment, but a proper evaluation.
Because Li Cheng was so famous, there were many exhibits at that time. Because this picture of a secluded cave in Maolin has no clue, later collectors named it Li Cheng according to the inscriptions of Xiangbing in the Southern Song Dynasty, Ni Zan in the Yuan Dynasty and Zhang Tianjun in the early Ming Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were Zhang Chou and Wu Sheng. I once thought that the inscriptions and postscript were the supplements of later generations, and I suspected that the works were not the original works of Li Cheng. Contemporary appraisers also have many inferences about the ownership of this work. In fact, to appreciate an ancient painting and calligraphy work, we should first pay attention to its artistic quality and spirit of pen and ink, and then to the question of authenticity. This is Rainbow Xizhi's Preface to Lanting. As long as the taste is high, what's wrong with being a copy?
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Zhang Chou and Wu Sheng suspected that the paintings and postscript in this volume were complementary. It is doubtful whether this was written by Li Cheng. Contemporary appraisers also have many differences on the ownership of this work. For example, Mr. Xie thinks that the painting style is very close to Yan Wengui's handed down works, so he thinks it is a strict handwriting; On the other hand, Mr. Yang identified Jia Sidao's collection seal in the Southern Song Dynasty from the chaotic collection seal on the screen, thus inferring the unified relationship between painting and postscript, and made a comprehensive textual research on the literature records of Li Cheng's painting style, thus confirming that the painting was made by Li Cheng or his direct students; Mr. Chuannian insisted that the painting and the postscript were combined into one volume by Ming people, but he was convinced that the painting was a Song painting and the postscript was also credible. The cut marks in the painting world are the flaws left by the Ming people. Based on their opinions, combined with the opinions of Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, even though the exact author of this painting cannot be determined, the style of this painting itself, as a wonderful and anonymous work in the Northern Song Dynasty, has been recognized by scholars.
The documentary description of Li Linyuan's Cave Map was first found in Ni Zan Qing Lu in Yuan Dynasty. The descriptions of the Ming and Qing Dynasties related to this volume can be found in Qinghe Book, Information Table of Painting and Calligraphy, Wu Sheng's Grand View Record, Bian Yongyu's Collection of Paintings and Calligraphy in Gufengtang, An Qi's View of the Moyuan Club, Li's Collection of Paintings, and The First Collection of Baodi in Shiqu, etc. , for reference.