Classical Prose
核舟记
魏学洢
明有奇巧人曰王叔远，能以径寸之木，为宫室、器皿、人物，以至鸟兽、木石，罔不因势象形，各具情态。
尝贻余核舟一，盖大苏泛赤壁云。
舟首尾长约八分有奇，高可二黍许。中轩敞者为舱，篛篷覆之。
旁开小窗，左右各四，共八扇。启窗而观，雕栏相望焉。
闭之，则右刻“山高月小，水落石出”，左刻“清风徐来，水波不兴”，石青糁之。
船头坐三人，中峨冠而多髯者为东坡，佛印居右，鲁直居左。
苏、黄共阅一手卷。东坡右手执卷端，左手抚鲁直背。
鲁直左手执卷末，右手指卷，如有所语。
东坡现右足，鲁直现左足，各微侧，其两膝相比者，各隐卷底衣褶中。
佛印绝类弥勒，袒胸露乳，矫首昂视，神情与苏、黄不属。
卧右膝，诎右臂支船，而竖其左膝，左臂挂念珠倚之，珠可历历数也。
舟尾横卧一楫。楫左右舟子各一人。
居右者椎髻仰面，左手倚一衡木，右手攀右趾，若啸呼状。
居左者右手执蒲葵扇，左手抚炉，炉上有壶，其人视端容寂，若听茶声然。
其船背稍夷，则题名其上，文曰：“天启壬戌秋日，虞山王毅叔远甫刻。”细若蚊足，钩画了了，其色墨。
又用篆章一，文曰“初平山人”，其色丹。
通计一舟，为人五；为窗八；为篛篷，为楫，为炉，为壶，为手卷，为念珠，各一；对联、题名并篆文，为字共三十有四。
而计其长曾不盈寸。盖简桃核修狭者为之。
嘻，技亦灵怪矣哉！
Translation
In the Ming dynasty there was a man of extraordinary craftsmanship named Wang Shuyuan. With a piece of wood about an inch in diameter, he could carve palaces, vessels, figures, even birds, beasts, trees, and stones. In every case he followed the natural shape of the material and gave each form its own expression. He once gave me a carved nut boat, apparently depicting the scene of the elder Su boating at Red Cliff. The boat was a little over eight fen from bow to stern and about the height of two millet grains. The raised and open middle part formed the cabin, covered with a canopy of ruo leaves. Small windows opened on both sides, four on each side, eight in all. When the windows were opened, carved railings faced each other. When closed, the right side bore the words “The mountain is high, the moon is small; the water falls, and rocks emerge,” while the left side bore “A clear breeze comes slowly; the water waves do not rise,” both tinted with mineral blue. At the bow sat three people. The one in the middle, wearing a tall cap and a full beard, was Dongpo. Foyin sat on the right, and Luzhi on the left. Su and Huang were looking together at a handscroll. Dongpo held the beginning of the scroll in his right hand and rested his left hand on Luzhi’s back. Luzhi held the end of the scroll in his left hand and pointed at it with his right, as if saying something. Dongpo showed his right foot, and Luzhi his left. Each leaned slightly to one side. Their knees, close together, were hidden in the folds of clothing beneath the scroll. Foyin looked very much like Maitreya, with chest and breast exposed, head raised and gaze lifted. His expression differed from that of Su and Huang. He bent his right knee, curled his right arm to support himself on the boat, raised his left knee, and rested his left arm against it with prayer beads hanging from it; the beads could be counted one by one. At the stern lay a paddle across the boat. On either side of the paddle was a boatman. The one on the right wore a coiled topknot and tilted his face upward. His left hand leaned on a crosspiece, while his right hand pulled at his right toe, as if he were whistling or calling out. The one on the left held a palm-leaf fan in his right hand and touched the stove with his left. On the stove was a kettle. His gaze was straight and his expression quiet, as if listening to the sound of tea. The back of the boat was slightly flat, and on it was inscribed: “Carved by Wang Yi, style Shuyuan, of Yushan, in autumn of the renxu year of the Tianqi reign.” The characters were as tiny as mosquito feet, yet every stroke was clear, and their color was black. There was also a seal in seal script reading “Chuping Shanren,” in red. In all, the boat contained five figures, eight windows, one ruo canopy, one paddle, one stove, one kettle, one handscroll, one string of prayer beads, and thirty-four characters in couplets, inscription, and seal script. Yet its length was not even a full inch. It had been carved from a narrow peach pit. Ah, what marvelous and almost supernatural skill!
Analysis
“Record of the Carved Nut Boat” is a classic descriptive essay about miniature craftsmanship. Wei Xueyi describes a tiny boat carved from a peach pit by the Ming artisan Wang Shuyuan. Rather than simply praise the object, he records its dimensions, structure, figures, utensils, inscriptions, and seal in meticulous order, allowing the reader to visualize the artwork in detail. The structure is carefully arranged. The opening introduces Wang’s extraordinary ability to follow the natural shape of the material and give every form its own expression. The subject of the boat is then identified as Su Dongpo boating at Red Cliff, linking a small carved object to one of the great literary scenes of Chinese culture. The inscriptions on the windows quote Su Shi’s Red Cliff prose, making the boat not only a technical marvel but also a compressed literary world. The central section gives the essay its vitality. Su Dongpo and Huang Luzhi read a handscroll together, while Foyin sits apart with a Maitreya-like expression. At the stern, one boatman appears to call out, while the other seems to listen to the sound of tea. These details show that the carving captures not only forms but also gestures, moods, and relationships. The final inventory intensifies the sense of wonder. On an object less than an inch long are five figures, eight windows, several utensils, a handscroll, prayer beads, inscriptions, and a seal. The closing exclamation feels earned because the essay has already demonstrated the skill through precise observation. The work is valuable not only as a record of a craft object, but also as a model of descriptive prose. It combines spatial clarity, visual precision, literary memory, and admiration for craftsmanship.
About the Author
Wei Xueyi was a late Ming writer from Jiashan in Zhejiang. His prose is known for its refined and detailed descriptive quality. “Record of the Carved Nut Boat” is his most famous work. By describing a tiny carved boat made by Wang Shuyuan, Wei demonstrates both the marvel of miniature carving and his own powers of careful observation and orderly expression. The essay later became a classic text for studying descriptive prose in classical Chinese.