元代는 군자를 상징하는 회화주제가 유난히 발달하였다. 당시 출사가 불가능했던 문인들은 ‘淸高’를 추구하며 은거하고 그림과 시로 자족하였다. 선승인 雪窓 普明(?-약 1352)도 문인사대부들의 전유물이었던 묵란화를 그려 이러한 시대의식을 표출하였다. 설창은 묵란화에 공자, 굴원에 의해 고착된 ‘군자’, ‘충절’, ‘지조’ ‘절개’ 등의 난초의 상징적 의미를 투영하였다. 때문에 설창이 만든 묵란화의 전형은 조선의 왕과 문인사대부, 일본의 선승들의 묵란화 형성에 지대한 영향을 미쳤다. 설창은 원각사 출가 시기부터 그림을 그리기 시작하였으며, 운암사 거주 시기에는 최초의 난화보인 『화란필법기』를 지었다. 특히 운암사, 승천사 시절에는 회화적 기량을 발휘해 묵란화를 활발히 제작하였고, 선승동료 회기원희를 비롯해 조맹부, 조옹, 우집, 가구사, 이기 등 많은 인물들과 서화로 교유하였다. 당대의 문인들은 설창의 묵란화가 조맹견과 조맹부의 난법을 이어 받았다고 하며 ‘설창난’을 높이 평가 하였다. 실제 조가의 난법과 설창난과는 구도나 소재가 유사하다. 다만 묵란화 양식의 기준이 되는 난잎이나 꽃잎, 꽃술이나 돌의 표현, 대나무 등의 요소가 조가의 난법과 다른 설창만의 특징적인 면모를 보여준다. 때문에 설창의 난 그림을 ‘설창난’이라고 특별히 이름 지어 부르는 것이다. 『화란필법기』는 설창이 난 그리는 방법을 적은 기록이지만 현존하지 않는다. 그러나 『정제지정직기』 「화란법」이 설창의 유실된 『화란필법기』의 내용을 요약해서 기록해 놓은 것으로 확인 되어 현존하는 최초의 蘭譜임을 알 수 있다. 송원대에는 매화나 대나무를 그리는 화보가 상용화되었으며, 이러한 고화보를 토대로 현재까지 매죽에 대해서는 폭 넓은 연구가 진행되어 왔다. 그러나 묵란화 연구는 난화보의 부재로 진척이 없었다. 때문에 운필법, 집필법, 난초를 그리는 세세한 설명을 기록한 설창의 「화란법」은 최초의 난화보로 난 그림 연구에 중요한 1차 사료임을 알았다. 설창은 자신의 작품에 대한 기록을 남기지 않아 그의 회화지향을 알 수 없었다. 그러나 그의 작품에 반복적으로 나타나는 款識 즉 ‘구원여분’, ‘광풍전혜’, ‘현애쌍청’, ‘현애유방’, ‘물외청락’을 통해 그의 회화관을 엿 볼 수 있었다. 즉 그는 공자, 굴원이 읊고 노래한 난초와 혜초의 상징성을 자신의 삶에 대입하고자 했다. 설창은 식물적 형상을 초월하는 난초의 정신성을 자기화 내면화 했고, 묵란화로 그 상징성을 추구하는 인생지향을 보여주었다.
During the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) in China, there were pronounced developments in painting themes symbolizing principled and moral gentlemen. At that time, members of the literati who failed to retain government posts retired from public life to live in seclusion, dedicating their time instead to painting and writing poems in pursuit of purity and loftiness of heart. Chan monk Xuechuang Puming (雪窓 普明, unknown-c.1352) also expressed the spirit of the time through ink paintings of orchids, which was the preserve of literary noblemen. In his ink paintings of orchids, Xuechuang reflected the symbolic connotations of orchids such as “gentlemen,” “loyalty,” and “fidelity,” which were propagated by Confucius and Qu Yuan. Thus, the archetype of Xuechuang’s ink orchids had a profound effect on the creation of ink orchid paintings not only by the kings and literary noblemen in the Joseon dynasty, but also by Zen monk-painters in Japan. Xuechuang began painting after having entered into monkhood at Yuanjuesi. During his stay at Yunyansi Temple, he compiled the first collection of ink paintings of orchids titled Hualan bifa ji (畵蘭筆法記, Notes on brush techniques for painting orchids). In particular, his sojourn at Yunyansi and Shengtiansi Temples saw the artist exerting his outstanding talents to produce prolific paintings of ink orchids. Xuechuang also exchanged paintings and letters with a number of his peers including Huiji Yuanxi (晦機元熙), Zhao Mengfu (趙孟頫), Zhao Yong (趙雍), Yu Ji (虞集), Ke Jiusi (柯九思) and Li Qi (李祁). The literati of this era were highly appreciative of “Xuechuang’s orchids” in recognition of Xuechuang’s stylistic influences from Zhao Mengfu and Zhao Mengjian (趙孟堅). Indeed, Xuechuang shared similarities with the Zhao family in terms of the composition and materials used. However, Xuechuang made himself distinct from the Zhao family’s painting styles in his depiction of the leaves, petals or pistils that define ink orchid paintings, and other elements such as rocks and bamboo. This earned his ink paintings the exclusive title “Xuechuang’s Orchids.” The collection Hualan bifa ji is Xuechuang’s treatise on composing ink paintings of orchids, which no longer has any extant copies. However, Hualanfa (畵蘭法, Techniques for painting orchids), which was included in the book titled Jingzhai Zhizheng zhi ji (靜齋至正直記, Records on various systems of the Yuan Dynasty), was later confirmed as the abridged version of Hualan bifa ji and eventually became recognized as the first collection of ink orchid paintings. During the Song and Yuan dynasties, compilations of ink paintings portraying plum blossoms and bamboo became commonplace, which has allowed in-depth research on the said genres of ink paintings to the present day based on historical painting collections. In contrast, the research on ink paintings of orchids has made little progress due to the absence of such materials. For this reason, Xuechuang’s Hualanfa, which contains meticulous descriptions on how to draw ink orchids, is considered a crucial primary historical source as the first collection of its kind in the study of ink orchids. Since Xuechuang left no records of his artwork, it is difficult to discern the artist’s intentions behind his paintings. However, it is possible to gain a glimpse into his philosophy on paintings through recurring inscriptions in his works such as ‘Jiuwan yufen (九畹餘芬, Lingering fragrance in Jiuwan),’ ‘Guangfeng shuanhui (光風轉蕙, Orchids bending in the wind),’ ‘Xuanya shuangqing (縣崖雙淸, Orchids on a cliff in shared harmony), ‘Xuanya you fang (懸崖幽芳, Enchanting fragrance of orchids on a cliff), as well a phrase he used as his seal ‘Wuwai qingle (物外淸樂, Standing aloof from worldly affairs and enjoying purity in life)’. In short, he aimed to apply the symbolism of orchids as once sung and praised by Confucius and Qu Yuan into his own life. He internalized the spirituality of orchids beyond their botanical form, while depicting his intent to promote the symbolic aspects of orchids in his life through ink paintings of orchids.