赵孟頫的一生行迹（1254-1322）
赵孟頫，字子昂，号松雪道人，吴兴人，宋太祖十一世孙，元代书画大家。书法诸体皆精，创"赵体"；绘画开元代新画风，主张"书画同源"。官至翰林学士承旨，虽仕元遭议，然其艺术成就冠绝一代，影响深远。
吴兴（1254） · 吴兴少时
宋理宗宝祐二年，赵孟頫出生于吴兴（今浙江湖州），为宋太祖赵匡胤十一世孙。其家为南宋宗室，虽已渐趋没落，但文化传统深厚。赵孟頫自幼聪慧，五岁习书，十四岁以父荫补官，少年时即以书画知名于吴兴。
吴兴（1276） · 南宋遗民
宋恭帝德祐二年，元军攻占临安，南宋灭亡。赵孟頫时年二十三岁，作为宋室后裔，他经历了国破家亡的巨大悲痛。此后他隐居吴兴，潜心书画，以艺术寄托故国之思，十年间不入城市，不交权贵。
大都（1287） · 仕元入京
元世祖至元二十四年，赵孟頫被推荐入京，忽必烈召见后极为赞赏，称其为"神仙中人"。赵孟頫遂仕元朝，授兵部郎中。此举在当时和后世都引起极大争议，许多人批评他以宋室后裔而仕元为不忠。
大都（1295） · 书画巅峰
元成宗元贞元年，赵孟頫在京城创作了大量书画精品，其"赵体"书法日臻成熟。他倡导"书画同源"，将书法笔意融入绘画，开创了元代文人画新风。此年他创作了名作《鹊华秋色图》，以赠好友周密。
大都（1305） · 书画巅峰
元成宗大德九年，赵孟頫升任翰林学士承旨，此为文臣最高职位。他在朝中虽位高权重，但始终保持文人心态，不参与政治斗争。他将大量时间用于书画创作，留下了《洛神赋》《赤壁赋》等书法名迹，"赵体"风行天下。
大都（1314） · 晚年归吴
元仁宗延祐元年，赵孟頫已年过六十，多次请求致仕归乡，但仁宗爱其才不肯放行。仁宗对群臣说："赵子昂乃我朝之李白、苏东坡也，岂可令其离去？"赵孟頫虽身在朝廷，心却在吴兴山水之间，他在诗文中频频流露出归乡之念。
吴兴（1319） · 晚年归吴
元仁宗延祐六年，赵孟頫之妻管道昇病逝于归乡途中，赵孟頫悲痛欲绝。管道昇不仅是他的妻子，更是他艺术上的知音和伴侣。此后赵孟頫更加消沉，终于获准回吴兴终老。他在吴兴度过了生命最后的三年，以书画自遣。
吴兴（1322） · 晚年归吴
元英宗至治二年，赵孟頫病逝于吴兴，享年六十九岁。朝廷追赠魏国公，谥号"文敏"。他一生虽因仕元而备受争议，但其在书法和绘画上的开创性成就无可争议。"赵体"书法影响数百年，其文人画理论更开启了中国画的新纪元。
The Life Journey of Zhao Mengfu, Prince of Calligraphy
Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322), courtesy name Zi'ang, art name Songxue Daoren, was a native of Wuxing (present-day Huzhou, Zhejiang), an eleventh-generation descendant of Emperor Taizu of Song and the greatest calligrapher-painter of the Yuan. Master of every script — creator of the 'Zhao style' — and founder, through his doctrine that calligraphy and painting spring from one source, of the Yuan literati painting manner, he rose to Chief Academician of the Hanlin Academy. Though serving the Yuan drew censure, his artistic achievement crowned the age.
Timeline of the Journey
- 1254 · 吴兴 — Born a Song imperial clansman in Wuxing; writing at five, enrolled by his father's privilege at fourteen, famed for brushwork in his teens.
- 1276 · 吴兴 — When the Yuan took Lin'an in 1276 the twenty-three-year-old heir of the fallen house retreated into ten years of silence, pouring loyalty into art.
- 1287 · 大都 — Summoned to Dadu in 1287, Kublai hailed him 'a man among immortals'; entering Yuan service as he did remains the controversy of his life.
- 1295 · 大都 — By 1295 his Zhao style had ripened in the capital; painting calligraphy's pulse into landscape, he produced the Autumn Colors on the Que and Hua Mountains for Zhou Mi.
- 1305 · 大都 — Named Chief Academician in 1305 — the summit for a civil official — he kept aloof from faction and let his brush speak in the Luo Shen and Red Cliff handscrolls.
- 1314 · 大都 — Past sixty he begged to retire; Emperor Renzong answered, 'Zi'ang is my dynasty's Li Bai and Su Dongpo — how can I let him go?'
- 1319 · 吴兴 — When his wife Guan Daosheng — his soulmate in art — died on the road home in 1319, he finally got leave to end his days in Wuxing.
- 1322 · 吴兴 — Died at Wuxing in 1322, aged sixty-nine, posthumously Duke of Wei, 'Wenmin'; the Zhao style has governed Chinese brushes ever since.
Between a fallen dynasty's blood and a conqueror's court, Zhao Mengfu chose the brush — and made the compromise yield one of history's supreme hands. 'The brush's intent must survive the bones' — his own line is the epitaph of his art.
