Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting: Famous Masters

original: "芥子園畫傳名手" (Jieziyuan Huazhuan: Mingshou). This section of the manual provides models based on the distinct techniques of historical masters for students to copy.

Autumn clouds are like autumn waters, empty and cold; beasts and birds are as if frozen.

The original text likely refers to the "ten thousand sounds being silent" (wanlai ji), but the transcription "beasts and birds are like ice" (shouniao bing) preserves the sense of a chilling, silent landscape.

I once sat at my desk beside the pines, where there was deep shade.

I shall paint this upon raw silk; the emerald cliffs fall in layers

original: "生綾" (shengling). This refers to untreated silk, a popular medium for painters who wanted the ink to sit on the surface rather than soak in deeply.

like white lotuses. These heavenly, lofty peaks seem as though they could be

original: "天璣" (Tianji). This refers to the third star in the Big Dipper, used here to emphasize the celestial height of the mountain peaks.

scaled. Imitating the brushwork of Ding Henian while on a boat in Guangling.

Guangling is an ancient name for the city of Yangzhou. Ding Henian (1335–1424) was a poet and artist of the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties, famous for his "reclusive" and elegant style.