Mr. Zhang Huang (1930.1–2010.1)
The General's Holiday, print, 1961
In their old age, people always like to reminisce about the past when they were young. Looking back on the military career of sixty years, the painting life is beautiful.
Participating in the revolution initially established a revolutionary outlook on life
In 1948, I studied in the political class of North China University, and although I had only been studying for a few months, after theoretical study, I initially established a revolutionary outlook on life serving the people, realizing that we should be revolutionaries first and foremost, and that all work was done in the service of the general goal of the revolution. I like painting, I brought a few collections of famous artists to the Liberated Areas, at that time I considered that I wanted to go to the front line of the struggle, so I gave the collection of paintings to the Chinese three departments of fine arts, at that time the person in charge of Comrade Jiang Feng asked me if I was willing to go to the three departments to study, according to my original state of mind, I will definitely feel that this is a good opportunity to learn painting, but at that time, when the three major battles were victorious, I expressed my willingness to go to the fiery battle front to receive training, at the end of the same year, the Pingjin picket corps, from the University of BGI, three hundred students into Pingjin work I am one of them. At that time, whenever the work was necessary, the troops did whatever was needed, posted notices for entering the city, painted large slogans, participated in the propaganda team's performances, and also painted propaganda posters, comic strips, and cartoons to expose the enemy's evils, exhibited them in neighborhoods, publicized the masses, and educated the masses. Comrades xiu jun and other comrades, I ran a study class for the backbone of the company's poster posters, painted the good people and good deeds of the troops into dirt slides, and went to the company for a tour. Due to the concern of the leaders of the troops, in 1952 I was transferred to the art group of the Soldier Reading Department of the leading organ of the public security force as an artist. The troops will draw whatever they need, and if they will not, they will study hard and continuously improve their creations from their work.
"The Triumph of the South Sea" print, 1963
Our fine arts work has received the care and support of the leaders and the masses
Comrade Li Yimin, deputy director of the Political Department of the Public Security Forces, attaches great importance to art work, and has repeatedly gone to the art group to talk about how to do a good job in the art work of the troops; once he saw a set of "Complete Works of World Art" published in Japan in a used bookstore, which was very expensive, and we wanted to buy it, but we did not dare to propose it, but he proposed to buy it back to improve everyone's painting level. Comrade Wu Yan of the art group made a print "Wellside", which was exhibited in the National Youth Art Exhibition and was well received, and Comrade Li Yimin praised him for going deep into life, saying that this painting reflected the relationship between the military and the people, which was also an encouragement to everyone. I often go deep into life with everyone. In order to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of the army, the Central Ministry of Culture and the General Political Department of the Central Military Commission organized art workers inside and outside the military to go deep into life and engage in creation. Comrade Li Qianxiang and I went to the Malkang region in northwest Sichuan to reflect on the struggle to quell the rebellion in Tibetan areas.
At that time, the counterinsurgency had just ended, the leaders of the unit and the masses attached great importance to us, introduced us to a large number of deeds and heroic stories in the counter-insurgency, for our safety, the troops sent a squad, brought a machine gun, under the leadership of the platoon leader, accompanied us to Malkang, Zhuo Keji primitive forest and other areas to paint sketches, providing sufficient material for me to complete the oil painting "Search", this painting shows the scene of PLA soldiers and Tibetan compatriots jointly searching for rebels in the primitive forest, this painting was selected for the all-army art exhibition. In 1957, I was transferred to work at the Higher Military Academy, and the cadets were all generals who had experienced hundreds of battles, and usually saw them participating in labor and mingling with the masses, and their ideological style made me deeply educated and created, "General Tian", "General's Holiday" and other works. The painting "General Tian" was praised by everyone during the exhibition and published in newspapers and periodicals such as People's Daily.
The Enemy Sharpens The Knife We Sharpen the Knife, print, 1963
In 1962, in order to reflect the deeds of our military and people in jointly annihilating the nine kuomintang armed agents, Comrade Hua Kexiong and I went to the coast of Guangdong to live in depth, and the cadres and fighters of the troops introduced us to a lot of combat situations, in order to make us more in-depth, the soldiers took us to visit the homes of fishermen on the island. The eighty-year-old lady sang a fishing song, and Comrade Hua Kexiong sang the northern Shaanxi folk song "Orchid Flower" to everyone. Our spirit of fighting together to defend the motherland deeply touched us, and I created "The Triumph of the South China Sea" to praise the heroism of their joint defense of coastal defense and the arrest of secret agents.
In 1975, I was transferred to the Urumqi Military Region, where I fought with the military and civilian life in the frontier for a long time and established a deep friendship; every time we went to the border defense company, the cadres and fighters were often warmly received, and the company commander's instructors gave us their houses to live in, and introduced us to the life of the border defense struggle and the relationship between the military and the people. The company was some distance away from the forward post, and they gave us the most honest horses to ride and sent soldiers to accompany us to the checkpoint, so that we could feel the life there, and in order to familiarize ourselves with the life of the national comrades, the soldiers often took us to visit the tents of the national comrades and acted as interpreters, so that we could understand the deeds of a large number of soldiers and civilians stationed on the frontier. Once I went to a post in southern Xinjiang with a few comrades, the tires on the road exploded, a national comrade happened to be riding a horse passing by, he helped us change a spare tire, did not go tens of kilometers, the car went wrong again, at this time it was already dark, several ethnic comrades in the distance, came out of the tent, beckoned us to spend the night in the tent, took out their latest bedding for us to cover, and also killed a sheep for us, warm reception, we were a little too careless not to go, the soldiers in the same car said that this is a common thing in ethnic areas. During this period, I created more works that reflected the combat life of the defense army, such as "Wind and Snow Border Whistle", "Tianshan Love", "Tianshan Love", "Our Good Squad Leader", "Reunion" and so on.
From 1969 to 1975 Mr. Zhang Huang was on the border line of Ili Khorgos.
Literary and artistic works originate from life, higher than life, in the creation, excellence I have not entered a formal art school, I am in the study and creative practice of continuous in-depth life to improve, in order to complete a painting often have to be repeatedly conceived, repeatedly revised, "South Sea Triumph" has been revised twice. In the early sixties, I published Chairman Mao's poem "Winter Clouds", I was moved by this poem, I wanted to create a painting with the mood of Chairman Mao's poem, the original idea was a soldier reading this poem, the first draft has come out, but I think this way of expression is too direct, so I stopped. Twenty years later, when I went to Xinjiang, I saw the border defense fighters in the snowy area, not afraid of the wind and snow, full of spirit, high morale, and the spirit of revolutionary optimism in defending the frontier, and created a print "Plum Blossoms Rejoice in the Snow". From the late 1980s to the 1990s, after leaving the rest house, I lived in Xi'an Ganshu, and went to northern Shaanxi three times, to Yan'an, Suide, Mizhi, Ansai, Yulin, Jiaxian and other places, although I have never lived in these places, but this is a revolutionary holy place, there is always a sense of intimacy, to Yan'an is like returning home, so I created "The Return of the Wild Goose", and I also wanted to express more works of the spirit of Yan'an, but due to illness, I failed to achieve my wishes, which is my biggest regret. For more than sixty years, I have grown up under the cultivation of the party and the troops and under the care and love of the vast number of soldiers and people, and although the dedication I have made is far from meeting the requirements of the party and the people, I have done my best to study and practice Comrade Mao Zedong's literary and artistic thinking, often going deep into the troops and the people, drawing nourishment from them, and constantly transforming myself so as to better serve the party, the people, and the troops. I am willing to be a singer who praises the party, the people and the people's army, which is my life's pursuit.
——Zhang Huang, the Third Dry Rest Center in Xi'an, 2008
Works Appreciated
Yamashita Zhang Huang 1956 print
Patrolman Zhang Huang 1963 Print
Lonely Hero Praise Zhang Huang 1964 Print
Cast a net on the Ili River Zhang Huang 1973 Print
Tianshan Shenhuo - Eighth Route Army Office in Xinjiang Zhang Huang 1975 Print
Tianshan Love Zhang Huang 1982 Print
Our good class leader Zhang Huang 1983 print
Snow Man Checkpoint Road Zhang Huang 1983 Print
Side whistle night zhang huang 1982 print
Deep in the Tianshan Mountains Zhang Huang 1984 Print
Zhang Huang on the snowy road 1985 print
Guard veteran Zhang Huang 1986 print
Qingquan Shui Zhang Huang 1985 print
Desert Night - On the way to Xinjiang Zhang Huang 1991 Print
Shogun Tian Zhang Huang Prints 1959
At the foot of the snow-capped mountains, Zhang Huang printed in 1961
Patrol Zhang Huang Prints 1985
Reunion of Zhang Huang Prints 1981
Visiting Zhang Huang Prints 1983
The Warmth of the Motherland Zhang Huang Prints 1963
Hunting return Zhang Huang prints 1957
Late at night, Zhang Huang 1964 Print
Introduction to Art
In 1983, Mr. Zhang Huang was in the Urumqi Military Region of Xinjiang
Zhang Huang (1930.1–2010.1), formerly known as Zhang Jianwu, a native of Yuzhou City, Henan Province, was the deputy head of the Literary and Art Creation Group of the Political Department of the Xinjiang Military Region, and left in 1986. He was awarded the Victory Medal in 1988. In 1996, he won the "Lu Xun Printmaking Award" issued by the China Printmakers Association for his contribution to the development of Chinese printmaking in the 1950s-60s (including the 1970s). He is a member of the China Artists Association and a member of the second council of the China Printmakers Association. Since childhood, he loved painting, and when he was studying in primary and secondary schools, he was in the period of the War of Resistance Against Japan and actively participated in anti-Japanese painting activities. After graduating from high school in 1947, he worked as an art teacher at the prefectural normal school. In 1948, he went to the Liberated Area of North China, entered the North China University, joined the Chinese People's Liberation Army in the same year, and engaged in art work for a long time in the army. His works have participated in many military and national art exhibitions, and many works have been collected by the National Art Museum of China and other places. The print "South Sea Triumph" won the All-Army Excellent Work Award. The works mainly reflect the life of the people's army and praise the friendship of the Chinese military and civilians, and the main works are: prints "General Tian", "General's Holiday", "South China Sea Triumph", "Night Of the Sentry", "Wall Newspaper Commissioner", "Our Good Squad Leader", "Wind and Snow Side Whistle", "Ancient Road Full Moon" and so on.
Artistic exchange
In 1949, the Picket Corps in Pingjin, Beijing, was with his comrades-in-arms, and Zhang Huang was on the right.
In the 1950s, Zhang Huang sketched in the public security border defense force
In March 1965, the Chinese Public Security Force held an exhibition of amateur art works in Beijing, the picture shows the group photo of the participating military artists, and the left one in the back row is Zhang Huang.
From 1969 to 1975, Zhang Huang was on the border defense line of Ili Khorgos in Xinjiang
In 1976, Mr. Zhang Huang was engaged in military cultural work in the Political Department of the Urumqi Military Region in Xinjiang.
In 1978, he was engaged in the creation of printmaking.
In 1979, he took a group photo with his old comrade-in-arms and famous painter Xiu Jun.
In the early 1980s, he went deep into various prefectures in Xinjiang to create art. The picture below shows Zhang Huang on the left and the painter Pantin Tintin on the right.
In 1983, the painters of the Suzhou Painting Academy who accompanied the grass-roots troops of the Xinjiang Military Region to create sketches browsed the scenic scenery of Tianchi, and mr. Zhang Huang stood in military uniforms in the back row.
In 1983, the old painters who organized the local painting academies went deep into the grass-roots companies of the troops to teach the cadres and soldiers the knowledge of art, and the first on the right was Mr. Zhang Huang.
In May 1985, zhang huang in the second row of the plausel delegation's group photo at the fourth member congress of the National Artists Association held in Jinan.
In the summer of 1980, he had a cordial conversation with the famous painter Pastoral in Urumqi, Xinjiang.
In 1990, Zhang Huang made a special trip to the place where the Yan'an Literary and Art Forum took place at the former site of the Yangjialing Revolution in Yan'an, and visited the small building of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee to commemorate the occasion.
(Edit: Artistic Taste 2021/02/03)