messages encoded in bird-and-flower paintings (part ii)

1、<p>　　Messages Encoded in Bird-and-Flower Paintings (Part II)</p><p>　　IN the West, red roses are a symbol of romantic love, yellow roses of friendship. To observe Valentine’s Day, various kinds of rose

2、s are marketed on China’s streets and lanes. In ancient China flowers symbolized sentiments. For instance, twin lotus flowers on one stalk or two trees with branches interlocked were imagined to be devoted couples. The l

3、otus flower connotes nobility, and the peony, wealth and rank. For thousands of years these flowers have been key elements in the composition of bird</p><p>　　Lotus Flowers: Elegance and Purity </p>&

4、lt;p>　　In ancient China the lotus flower was admired for its statuesque elegance and purity, as described by the Song Dynasty Confucian scholar Zhou Dunyi (1017-1073) in his essay A Tale of the Lotus Lover as “Born ou

5、t of sludge but unstained; delicately poised but without guile.” Zhou Dunyi likened himself to a lotus, holding himself aloof from politics and material pursuits. Since then, this flower has become a favorite motif for C

6、hinese artists, and lotus flowers, one of the most common elements of </p><p>　　Yu Zhizhen (1915-1995) was the woman artist best known for her renderings of lotus flowers in the 1950s and 1960s. She was espe

7、cially skilled at depicting the flowers in full bloom. In 1937, to learn from the more experienced older generations of lotus painters, she joined the Palace Museum’s Traditional Chinese Painting Research Institute. The

8、artist started out by copying and researching important works from various dynasties in the museum’s collection. In 1946, she was formally apprenticed to</p><p>　　Li Kuizheng (1942 - ) was a student of Yu Zh

9、izhen. After decades of exploration, Li has formed his own unique style of painting lotus flowers. All his students know that Mr. Li never paints lotus flowers in class. He explains, “It is intolerable to sully the sanct

10、ity of the lotus flower by painting it in class, which is a blasphemy against the flower.” Li Kuizheng regards himself as a commoner whose selfish desires taint the purity of his soul, and painting lotus flowers as a way

11、 to purify it ag</p><p>　　Since lotus flowers comprise the Buddha’s lotus seat, many people regard withered lotus leaves as symbols of Nirvana. A line of the famous poet Du Mu of the Tang Dynasty reads, “Wit

12、hered lotus remains in the open listening to the pattering of autumn rain.” This image was often evoked in works by artists of later generations. Jia Mian (1952- ), a female artist, often depicted withered lotus, and mad

13、e inscriptions like “Gilded Buddha remains in the open listening to the pattering of the rain,” or </p><p>　　The aesthetic value of withered lotus was acknowledged by ancient Chinese artists, and in ancient

14、times there were artists who specialized in depicting them. Zhu Da (1626-1705) of the Qing Dynasty was one of them. His works depicting withered lotus deeply impressed viewers for their unique compositions and desolate a

15、tmosphere. One of his representative works is Lotus Flowers and Birds. In this long, narrow painting there are withered lotus leafs and a small bird perched alone on a strangely shap</p><p>　　Qi Baishi (1864

16、-1957), a great 20th-century artist, also created works depicting withered lotus. But his work differed completely from Zhu Da’s in that although the lotus leafs are withered, the seedpods are erect and straight, signali

17、ng the happiness brought by a bumper harvest. </p><p>　　Peony: Great Wealth and High Position </p><p>　　The peony is liked by people for its elegance and charm, known as the “national beauty and

18、 heavenly fragrance.” Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072), an eminent scholar of the Song Dynasty, was deeply in love with peonies. He wrote a prose piece entitled The Record of Luoyang Peonies. One sentence reads, “During the 20 day

19、s when peonies are in full bloom, the whole city goes mad for the blossoms,” showing the extent to which people can become infatuated with this flower. Zhou Dunyi compared the peony with the</p><p>　　Paintin

20、g the peony is practically a required course for every artist attempting bird-and-flower paintings. Li Tang, a Southern Song Dynasty painter who did not depict peonies when he was young, composed a poem in his old age: “

21、If I had known my works were not liked by my contemporaries, I would have bought more rouge to depict peonies.” When the peony is combined with other flowers and birds, it adds beauty and complexity to the symbolism. For

22、 instance, the combination of peony and Chinese craba</p><p>　　The peony is often selected for beginners of bird-and-flower painting for its big corolla, monochroic color and distinct image. But it is no eas

23、y job to paint a peony. While doing sketches of peonies Yu Fei’an (1887-1959) found that spring is the best season to capture the peony ?C when it is in full bloom and its leaves are sparse and thin. By summer, the leave

24、s have grown big, green and sleek, but the flowers have withered. In summer the thick leaves tend to also shade the stems, so compositio</p><p>　　Wang Daozhong (1931- ) is a student of Yu Fei’an, so good at

25、painting peonies he is known as “Peony Wang.” When he was young he lived near the Forbidden City in Beijing, often haunting the Imperial Ancestral Temple (present-day Working People’s Cultural Palace) to do sketches of p

26、eonies in full bloom. He learned the art of painting peonies from his teacher, but when he was about to give full play to his ambition, he was labeled a “Rightist” by the political movement of the time. Banished to remo&

27、lt;/p><p>　　Although Wang Daozhong did not exceed his teacher’s artistic accomplishments, his contribution to combining the painting technique of gongbi zhongcai (fine brushwork in heavy color) and industrial p

28、rinting and dyeing, and in popularizing the technique, have proved ineffaceable. </p><p>　　Chinese artists of various generations rack their brains to create variations on the peony’s image as a symbol of gr

29、eat wealth and high position. Zhang Daqian (1899-1983) thought the big corolla and bright colors could not fully express opulent wealth and exalted rank; he resorted to using gold powder to trace the lines of the corolla

30、. These gilded peonies glitter on the wall. </p><p>　　Li Kuizheng (1942- ) was not satisfied with tracing the flowers in gold. He borrowed the techniques of Western watercolorists and other modern forms, rep

31、lacing the original colors with gold to create the painting Gold Peony. The compositions by Li Kuizheng’s teacher are based on a grid, so corollas, leafs and stems each occupy a part, without a single visual focus domina

32、ting. Inspired by the Song Dynasty painting Lotus Flowers Out of Water, Li Kuizheng omitted all the stems, leaving only a big f</p><p>　　Day Lily: Forget Worry Grass </p><p>　　In traditional Chi

33、nese painting, the day lily is often combined with ornamental Taihu rocks or pine trees, and inscribed with sayings like “forget worry grass” or “birth of boys.” This is because in the eyes of the Chinese people the day

34、lily is a kind of magic grass you can wish upon. According to the Book of Songs, the earliest collection of poems in China, a woman whose husband was on an expedition far away grew day lilies in the courtyard of her home

35、. Its golden flower is pleasant to the eye</p><p>　　It is hard to prove whether the day lily can make worries pass or bring boys to pregnant women, but one thing is certain: Chinese people like this plant. I

36、n traditional Chinese paintings, the combination of day lily and rocks and pines symbolizes longevity and prosperous offspring. Flowers and Butterflies, a painting by female Qing Dynasty artist Ma Quan, depicts such a co

37、mbination. By the side of a strangely shaped rock are day lilies and corn poppies in full bloom. One butterfly hovers over th</p><p>　　Finally, in traditional Chinese paintings, pines, plum blossoms and bamb