Throughout the history of imperial China, the educated elite used various means to criticize government policies and actions. During the Song dynasty (960-1278), some members of this elite found an elegant and subtle means of dissent: landscape painting.

By examining literary archetypes, the titles of paintings, contemporary inscriptions, and the historical context, Alfreda Murck shows that certain paintings expressed strong political opinions--some transparent, others deliberately concealed. She argues that the coding of messages in seemingly innocuous paintings was an important factor in the growing respect for painting among the educated elite and that the capacity of painting's systems of reference to allow scholars to express dissent with impunity contributed to the art's vitality and longevity.

姜斐德（Alfreda、Murck），在香港新亚书院留学期间开始领略中国绘画的奥妙。后于普林斯顿大学获得中国艺术与考古学博士学位，主攻中国绘画史。曾在纽约大都会博物馆任亚洲部业务主管十二年6其著述有《宋代的诗与画——持异议的微妙艺术》（哈佛大学出版社2000年）。从1991年她与丈夫盂克文（ChrisMurck）在台北居住六年，1997年起在北京居住至今。先后在北京大学历史系和巾央美术学院人文研究所任主讲教师。现任故宫博物院资料信息中心顾问、古代书画研究巾心研究员。

另外，还著有《画可以怨否?潇湘八景与北宋谪迁诗画》，台湾大学：美术史研究，四期(1997)；《苏轼用杜甫韵字题王晋卿(烟江叠嶂图)》，中国第十届苏轼研讨会论文集．济南：齐鲁书社，1999；《以蒿苣、白菜和野草为画一一杜甫菜园的隐喻》《清华美术》，2005-12(中译Archivesof Asian Arf，48，1995)；《盛世华章》中的《无声的对应：中国士大夫的绘画与书法》，《对清朝征服的反应：吴宏与孔尚任》北京：紫禁城出版社，2008。