序一
姑苏自古繁华。读过《红楼梦》的人都会记得开篇那个经典的句子：“东南一隅有处曰姑苏，有城曰阊门者，最是红尘中一二等富贵风流之地。”确实，处于江南中心地带的苏州，在地理位置上可谓有着得天独厚的优势，而建城可考的历史就长达2500年之久。在温山软水与烟雨朦胧中，除了那些小桥流水、粉墙黛瓦之外，特别是园林奇石、昆曲弹唱、才子佳人、乃至吴侬软语，一起构成了人们历来对她所共有的美好印象。
姑苏何以繁华？其无疑有着自然环境、社会经济、文化传统等多方面的原因。我们不妨穿越时光的隧道，将镜头聚焦于某个时间节点，溯洄从之，或许能得到比较清晰的感觉。在此，清代苏州籍宫廷画家徐扬所绘《姑苏繁华图》卷即为我们提供了绝佳的视角：其以纪实精工之笔，将近三百年前苏州地区的城坊郊野、市井百态、人文风情等绘为丹青佳构，就像一位高超的当代导演所拍摄的一部记录片那样，为我们生动展现了康乾太平盛世之际的一道繁华丽影。
本次展览以一幅画——《姑苏繁华图》卷为线索，上溯唐宋、下沿明清，尝试从艺术史的角度呈现出姑苏自古以来何以繁华的传统。展览分为草圣典范、吴门风雅、画中龙脉、伪好之物、盛世滋生五个单元板块，展品来自辽宁省博物馆与苏州博物馆两家所庋藏的历代苏州籍书画家共计60余件套作品，其中除了草书名家张旭、“吴门四家”、“清四家”等大家名作之外，还有不少难得一见的名家之什，集中亮相于吴门故地。
姑苏之繁华，不是东京梦华式陈迹、而是太平盛世之再现。在此次展览中，我们可以惊叹于那源自大唐盛世而来的狂草书法的笔走龙蛇与云烟变灭；我们也可以欣赏到明清江南一隅那些悠游林下试图于繁华处作一闲人的文人风雅与隐逸清高；其中既不乏青绿山水的淡妆浓抹，也自有仿古山水的浑厚华滋。当缓步驻足于那幅来自乾隆清宫并数代递藏的姑苏繁华盛景巨制之前，看到画家那种将宏大叙事与细节考究二者兼顾的高度技巧，艺术爱好者定当为之而叹服；看到画面上那些似曾相识的街坊巷陌与名胜古迹，苏州本地人想必也难免会在心中泛起乡愁的涟漪。
2026年是苏州博物馆新馆建成开放二十周年。二十年前，《姑苏繁华图》卷曾回故地，观者甚众。二十年后，此卷再回家乡，有赖于辽苏两地多方机缘。感谢辽宁省博物馆同仁对展览的鼎力支持与配合。我们相信：以此次展览为契机，在两馆的精诚合作之下，辽苏两地的文化交流将会翻开全新的篇章。
谢晓婷
苏州博物馆馆长
FOREWORD
Gusu (present-day Suzhou) has been a land of abundance since ancient times. Readers of A Dream of the Red Mansion might be impressed by a sentence in the opening chapter: “In the south-easterly part of the country there is a city called Gusu, where the district around the Changmen Gate is one of the wealthiest and the most enlightened quarters in the mortal world.” Situated in the center of Jiangnan region, Suzhou enjoys a superb geographical position with a recorded history of 2,500 years since its founding. The typical Jiangnan sight of stone bridges spanning rivers flanked by houses with white-washed walls and black tiles in misty rain, and the classical elements of gardens, grotesque rocks, Kun opera, talented scholars and fair ladies and melodious Wu dialect, have combined to shape the fantastic image of Suzhou.
Suzhou owes its prosperity largely to the city’s natural conditions, social economy, rich culture and long-standing history. We may as well retrospect and focus on a certain point of time in the past to get a clearer picture. The scroll of “The Prosperity of Gusu” by Xu Yang, a Suzhou-origin court painter in the Qing Dynasty, provides a marvellous perspective for us. Through elaborate and realistic brushstroke, the scroll depicts the downtown and uptown, the bustling streets flanked by shops of various trades, and folkways of Suzhou region some 300 years ago, featuring the busy life during the heyday of emperors Kangxi and Qianlong’s reigns as vividly as a documentary filmed by modern directors would be.
With the scroll of “The Prosperity of Gusu” as the centerpiece, the exhibition manages to reveal how Suzhou has been prosperous from the Tang and Song down to the Ming and Qing Dynasties from the angle of art history. More than 60 works by Suzhou calligraphers and painters throughout the ages, which are from the collections of Liaoning Provincial Museum and Suzhou Museum, are displayed in five sections. In addition to the masterpieces of Zhang Xu (the master of calligraphy in cursive script), the top four masters of Wu-school painting and the top four masters of painting in the Qing Dynasty, the exhibition also assembles rare works of many other Suzhou-origin great artists.
The exhibition is rather an epitome of a peaceful and prosperous era than an evocation of the past glory as depicted in the Record of Splendors of Eastern Capital. Here, you may marvel at the free-flowing strokes and serpentine lines of calligraphy works in cursive scripts that date back to the splendid Tang Dynasty, and appreciate the refined scholars in Jiangnan region who retired from the bustling world to lead a leisure and seclusive life in mountain retreat during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Some works are painted in green and blue of varying hues, while some imitate the majestic and powerful styles of the archaic paintings. Standing in front of “The Prosperity of Gusu”, a masterwork that had ever been collected by emperor Qianlong and had been in the custody of the Qing Royal Court for several generations, any art lover cannot help but be amazed by the sophisticated skills involved in the elaborate and precise rendering of the kaleidoscopic urban scenes in such a grand scale. It’s only natural that local citizens will be struck by and overwhelmed with a nostalgia feeling at the sight of the familiar lanes, streets and places of interests depicted in the painting,
2026 marks the 20th anniversary of the completion and opening of the new building of Suzhou Museum. “The Prosperity of Suzhou” had attracted a large number of visitors when it was exhibited in Suzhou, its native land, 20 years ago. Now, the scroll is coming back home again, thanks to the efforts of relevant parties of Liaoning and Suzhou. We appreciate peers of Liaoning Provincial Museum for their full support and cooperation and fully believe that the exhibition will strengthen the ties of both museums and open a new chapter for cultural exchanges between Liaoning and Jiangsu!
Xie Xiaoting
Director of Suzhou Museum
序二
丹青载韵，文脉赓续；南北相望，风雅同辉。当辽沈大地的雄健风骨邂逅江南水乡的温婉灵秀，当千年翰墨跨越山海相遇，一场承载地域文脉、凝聚馆际深情的文化盛宴，便以“姑苏繁华”为题徐徐铺展。本次展览由辽宁省博物馆与苏州博物馆联袂呈现，以古代书画为津梁，牵绾辽苏两地的文化渊源，再现姑苏城的盛世风华，续写两馆携手同行、共传文脉的崭新篇章。
辽苏虽隔千里，文脉却声息相通。纵览古今，两地的交往交流呈现出一脉相承、层层递进的历史图景：从物产互通到人文交融，从文物流转传承到文化互鉴共生，辽宁的厚重沉雄与江苏的清雅灵动，在岁月长河中碰撞出璀璨火花。辽宁历史文化底蕴深厚，辽宁省博物馆馆藏宏富，薪火相传，以赤子之心守护中华文明瑰宝。江苏毓秀江南，姑苏城更是孕育出光耀艺林的吴门书画，苏州博物馆以“立江南观世界”之襟怀，成为展示江南文化艺术的重要窗口。两地文化同源异彩、互补共生，为本次展览的举办奠定了深厚的历史根基与文化基础。
廿载相知，笃行共进。辽苏两馆于展览交流、学术互鉴、文物保护、人才培养等领域持续深化合作，结下深厚友谊。此次“姑苏繁华”特展不仅是两馆深化合作的又一力作，更是双方携手践行文化自信、推动文化传播的共同实践。我们合璧两馆文物菁华，让观众得以尽赏姑苏繁华，共品丹青神韵。
本次展览以“姑苏繁华”为主题，甄选两馆古代书画精品，件件皆为史证艺珍。其中，辽宁省博物馆珍藏的清代徐扬巨幅长卷《姑苏繁华图》堪为至宝，这幅传世佳作全景式描绘了清代苏州的市井风情，被誉为研究清代苏州的“百科全书”，是连接辽苏两地文化的重要纽带——这幅绘制姑苏景致、珍藏于辽博的巨作，二十载后重回江南，与苏州文脉交相辉映，诉说跨越山海的文化情缘。
除《姑苏繁华图》卷外，展览还汇聚了60余件套艺术瑰宝，相映生辉。唐代张旭狂草书《古诗四帖》笔走龙蛇，尽显“草圣”的雄奇气度，为吴门书法的兴盛肇启先河。明代“吴门四家”精品齐聚，共绘吴门画派的鼎盛气象。此外，明代吴门书家祝允明、陈淳、王宠的草书名品，尽显吴门书法的灵动与洒脱。展览全方位展现姑苏地区书画艺术的绵延脉络与卓越成就，让每一位观者都能在这场文化盛宴中，与千年丹青对话，与南北文脉相拥，在丹青雅韵中体悟姑苏繁华的前世今生，感受中华传统文化的源远流长、生生不息。
笔墨流转间，是姑苏城的千年繁华；尺素丹青里，是南北文化的深情相拥。这些跨越千年的书画作品，不仅承载吴门文人的才情风骨，记录姑苏城的盛世盛景，更见证辽苏两地文化的交融共生，托举两馆守护文明、传播文化的责任与使命。我们相信，以此次合作为契机，必将进一步深化两馆协同，推动两地文化深入交流，让千年文脉在新时代焕发出蓬勃生机，为辽苏两地的对口合作奠定坚实的人文基础。
王筱雯
辽宁省博物馆馆长
FOREWORD
Paintings, with rich cultural connotation, carry forward cultural heritage. Despite the great distance apart, the south and the north equally bathe in the radiance of the civilization. When the masculine power of the northeast meets the feminine delicacy of the southeast, when the artworks across a time span of thousand years and a space of thousand miles encounter in Suzhou, the cultural feast titled “The Prosperity of Gusu” will be unveiled to showcase the regional cultural heritage and the profound connections of the museums between Jiangsu and Liaoning. The exhibition, jointly curated by Liaoning Provincial Museum and Suzhou Museum, will focus on ancient paintings and calligraphy works to explore the cultural connections of Liaoning and Jiangsu, reproduce the past glory of Suzhou in its heyday and open a new chapter for the cooperation of both museums in carrying forward the cultural heritage.
Though thousand miles apart, Liaoning and Jiangsu have been interconnected in cultural heritage. History shows that the exchanges and communications between the two regions have been continuous and steadily on the rise over the years. From the commercial trade to cultural exchange, from the circulation and inheritance of antiquities to the mutual learning and cultural symbiosis, the interaction between the majestic civilization of Liaoning and the refined culture of Jiangsu have ignited splendid sparks in the long course of history. Liaoning Provincial Museum, based on the profound history of Liaoning Province, houses an enormous number of collections and has been dedicated to preserving the treasures of Chinese civilization from generation to generation. Suzhou Museum, nurtured by the picturesque Jiangnan and prosperous Gusu that has been the cradle of the splendid Wu-school painting, is an important window to display Jiangnan culture and art with an outlook of extending vision “from Jiangnan to the world”. The cultures of the two regions share the same origin and complement each other with their own unique charm, which lays a solid historical and cultural foundation for the curation of the exhibition.
Both museums have cherished a profound friendship and made steady progress with solid efforts over the past two decades. The intensive cooperation in aspects of exhibition exchanges, academic studies, protection of museum collections and staff training have strengthened the bonds between the two museums. The special exhibition of “The Prosperity of Gusu” is not only another outcome of the expanded collaboration, but also signifies our joint efforts in bolstering cultural confidence and promoting cultural communication. The choicest objects of both museums are on display, so as to enable audiences to fully experience the prosperous city of Gusu and appreciate the charm of paintings.
This exhibition has taken “the Prosperity of Gusu” as the theme, and selected ancient paintings and calligraphy works from the two museums, all of which prove to be precious artworks with high artistic and historic value. Among them, the most valuable treasure is the mega scroll of “The Prosperity of Gusu” collected by Liaoning Provincial Museum. This timeless masterpiece drawn byXu Yang (a court painter in the Qing Dynasty)represents with utmost meticulousness the panoramic view of the bustling street life of Suzhou in the Qing Dynasty It has therefore been hailed as the encyclopedia of Suzhou in the Qing Dynasty and has served as an important cultural bond between Liaoning and Jiangsu. The great work, which depicts the scenery of Suzhou and is collected by Liaoning Provincial Museum, is going back to Jiangnan for exhibition for the second time in 20 years. It will bring out the best of Suzhou culture and tell of the strong cultural ties between Suzhou and Liaoning despite the long distance.
Apart from the scroll of “The Prosperity of Gusu”, the exhibition also aggregates over 60 pieces/sets of precious artworks. With its bold and free-flowing strokes and imposing vigour, the calligraphy work of “Four Poems in Cursive Script” by Zhang Xu of the Tang Dynasty, who has been honored the divine master of calligraphy in cursive script, foreboded the thriving development of Wu-school calligraphy. The exhibition also brings together the selected works of the top four masters of Wu-school painting, showcasing the brilliant achievement of Wu-school painting in its prime. Also included in the list are the renowned cursive works of Wu-school calligraphers in the Ming Dynasty, including Zhu Yunming, Chen Chun and Wang Chong, which fully demonstrate the dynamic and unrestrained style of Wu-school calligraphy. The exhibition shows in all dimensions the unbroken lineage and the outstanding achievements of painting and calligraphy art in Suzhou. The cultural feast provides the audiences with an occasion to empathize with the paintings and calligraphy works created in the course of a thousand years, as well as to embrace the northern and southern cultures simultaneously. Here, visitors may relive a prosperous Gusu through the paintings, and experience the long-standing and ever-growing vitality of Chinese traditional culture.
The brush and ink outline the thousand-year prosperity of Suzhou,while the silk scrolls reveal the profound bond of southern and northern cultures. These paintings and calligraphy works created in a time span of thousand years not only bespeak the talents and characters of Wu scholars and record a thriving Suzhou in its zenith, but also bear witness to the blending and common development of culture between Liaoning and Jiangsu, and contribute to both museums’ duties and missions in protecting civilization and spreading culture. We believe that this collaboration will be a good opportunity to promote the cooperation of the two museums and the profound exchanges of both regions. It will revitalize the millennium-old cultural lineage in the new era and lay a solid cultural foundation for the paired cooperation between Liaoning and Jiangsu Provinces.
Wang Xiaowen,
Director of Liaoning Provincial Museum