Ni Zan (1301-1374) was a painter and poet of the Yuan Dynasty. His initial name was Yue, his courtesy name was Taiyu, and his later courtesy name was Zhen. His courtesy names were Yunlinzi, Jingmanmin, Huanxiazi, etc. People from Wuxi, Jiangsu. Rich family, knowledgeable and ancient, famous scholars from all over often come to his door. From Emperor Shun of the Yuan Dynasty to the beginning of Zhengchu, he suddenly dissipated his wealth and wandered around the Taihu Lake Lake. Skilled in painting landscapes and ink bamboo, modeled after Dong Yuan, influenced by Zhao Mengfu. In his early years, his painting style was clean and refined, but in his later years, he underwent reforms and was plain and naive. Sparse forests and sloping banks, secluded and elegant, with simple strokes and distant meanings, cherishing ink as precious as gold. Using a side edge dry pen for texturing, it is called “folded band texturing”. The ink bamboo has a graceful posture, with just a few strokes, exuding a sense of elegance. Calligraphy was introduced from the imperial court, with the demeanor of Jin people, and also skilled in poetry and prose. Together with Huang Gongwang, Wang Meng, and Wu Zhen, they are known as the “Yuan Four Families”. There are surviving works such as “Autumn Gathering in Yuzhuang”, “Six Gentlemen”, “Rongxi Zhai”, etc. He is the author of the “Qing Dynasty Pavilion Collection”.
竹枝词
（五首其三）
[元]倪瓒
阿翁闻说国兴亡，
记得钱王[1]与岳王[2]。
日暮狂风吹柳折，
满湖烟雨绿茫茫。
注释：
[1]钱王：指五代十国时的吴越国王钱镠。目前有钱王祠存世，在杭州。
[2]岳王：指南宋初抗击金兵的主要将领岳飞。目前存有的岳王庙是历代纪念民族英雄岳飞的场所，在杭州西湖西北角。
Bamboo Branch Songs (III)
Ni Zan
The old men talk about the kingdom’s fall and rise;
For captive king and general slain[1] they give deep sighs.
At dusk the wind breaks willow branch with might and main;
The over brimming lake is veiled in mist and rain.
注释：
[1]General Yue Fei(1103—1141) slain by the Song emperor who would not recover the lost land lest the captive emperor’s return should dethrone him.
