Yang Shichang
Pittore taoista Song, amico di Su Shi
Yang Shichang(杨世昌), courtesy name Zijing(子京), was a Daoist from Wudu Mountain in Mianzhu during the Northern Song Dynasty. His birth and death years are unknown. He was a Daoist scholar, painter, qin player, and brewing expert. He was skilled in painting landscapes and figures. His surviving work, "Kongtong Asking the Way" depicts the legend of Emperor Huang visiting Guangchengzi and uses the fine line technique. It is the only known painting by a Daoist from the Five Dynasties to the Republic period in the Palace Museum collection. His name is mentioned in "Illustrated Treasures: Supplement," which records his friendship with Su Shi. In the fifth year of Yuanfeng (1082), Yang Shichang went to Huangzhou to visit Su Shi, traveled to Red Cliff together, and participated in the creation of the "Red Cliff Rhapsody." In the work, the line "there was a guest playing a bamboo flute" refers to him. During this time, he taught the brewing technique for Mianzhu honey wine, which Su Shi recorded in his "Song of Honey Wine," with the preface noting, "Daoist Yang Shichang from Western Shu is skilled at making honey wine, exceptionally rich and mellow." Su Shi's "Honey Wine Method" provides the detailed brewing recipe: "Use one dou of rice each time, add two and a half liang of steamed wheat cake flour, brew as usual using the liquid from the mash, then add one liang of steamed wheat cake flour to ferment it." In July and October of the same year, Yang visited Red Cliff twice with Su Shi, accompanying him in the creation of the "Former Red Cliff Rhapsody," "Later Red Cliff Rhapsody," and "Niannujiao: Remembering Red Cliff."