Biography of Professor Lu Foting
Self-portrait of Elder Lü Fo
Lü Fo Ting, milk name Tianci, character Buddha Ting, with character lines, number half monk. Born on November 29, 1911 in Shuangmiao Township, Biyang County, Henan Province, houyaozhuang, a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. His father, Lu Haibo, is a traditional Chinese medicine physician in internal medicine. Since childhood, Lü Foting has been quiet, enjoying pianos, poems, books, paintings, flowers, sitting meditation, and at the age of 10, Ru Su read the Buddha and took refuge in the Three Jewels. From the age of 5, Haibo Gong taught him to start practicing imitation characters, and at the age of 7, he began to study the "Emperor Fu's Birthday Monument" and "Liquan Ming"; from the age of 6, he learned to read "Thousand Family Poems" and "Tang Poems", and at the age of 8, he could compose five or seven words, and at the age of 12, he could compose poems and fill in words; at the age of 15, he had begun to write couplets for his neighbors who admired the name of the countrymen. Since the age of 5, Lü Foting likes to paint on paper, on the ground or on the wall, HaiBo Gong feels strange about the graffiti on the wall, but also feels that the stroke scene is very vivid and interesting; just when Lü Foting was 8 years old, in order to cultivate his artistic talent, Hai Bo Gong bought a "Mustard Garden Painting Score" to teach him to copy, and after a little foundation, he took out the family collection of Yun Nantian, Zou Yigui's flower and bird paintings, as well as Qiu Ying and Gai Qi's female paintings for him to appreciate, and after more than two years, Lü Foting could paint a large middle hall and four screens. At the age of 16, the county magistrates of Biyang and the heads of various organs and celebrities all asked Lü Foting for paintings.
In 1920, he learned flower and bird painting from his brother Lu Shixun, a flower and bird painter.
In 1923, Mr. Wan Xiaofeng, a former Qingxiu talent, learned to paint Xuemei.
In 1926, Lü Foting entered the county Christian Middle School and specialized in Western painting.
In 1927, he was transferred to the prefectural rural normal school.
In 1928, he made a special trip to Kaifeng to study the painting of figures and women in Kaifeng.
In 1929, he entered the Education Bureau of the Biyang County Government as a clerk. Mr. Zhang Songzhai, secretary of the Education Bureau, taught Lü Foting the Quan Tang Poems and the ancient poems of the Han, Wei, Jin, and Song dynasties, and also instructed him on the essentials of poetry and Yan (眞卿) calligraphy.
In 1930, Mr. Zhang Songzhai betrothed his daughter Zhang Shulanxu to him. His father-in-law was also a key figure in the realization of his dream of staying away from home and carrying on the dream of Kita Pingmei.
In 1931, Lü Foting was admitted to the Beiping Academy of Fine Arts, originally studying Western painting, and later transferring to Chinese painting, learning from Qi Baishi, Qin Zhongwen, Wu Jingting, Wang Xuetao, Chen Yuandu, Xu Yansun, Xu Xiangjie, Guan Pinghu and other famous teachers, which was an important stage in the painting realm. Lv Foting cherished the opportunity to study, worked hard, and practiced painting behind closed doors every day after class, practicing words and reading books, focusing on unremitting efforts, and always maintaining the top three in the class in school. Guided by different famous teachers, Lü Foting opened his eyes to explore the mysteries of traditional Chinese painting, and deeply agreed with Xu Xiangjie's emphasis on the concept of "directly teaching the ancients" and "starting from Song painting", and delved into Song and Yuan ancient paintings and studied them diligently.
In 1932, during his studies, through the introduction of his father-in-law, Mr. Matsuzai, Lü Foting's calligraphy was also guided by famous masters. At that time, he studied Han Li with Zhang Xubin, who was the director of the Beiping Biological Investigation Institute, Zhang Shi was a native of Nanyang, Henan, former Qing Xiucai, and later graduated from Henan Higher School, and was a classmate of Song Zhai Gong, Han Li was very skilled, quite famous in Beiping, every Sunday Lü Foting often went to receive guidance, this period of refinement in the lishu, laid a solid foundation for him to combine the personal "Lü body" style of kai, li, and seal in the future.
After learning calligraphy from Mr. Zhang Xubin every Sunday, Lü Foting used to stop by to the Maitreya Monastery in Xizhimen to listen to the teachings of abbot Hao Xiu, who was his little compatriot and often lectured for him on the "Immeasurable Life Sutra" and the method of meditation of the mind, and often encouraged him to "not be satisfied with being able to draw a few strokes, but to make a wish to save sentient beings and become holy beyond the ordinary." The Infinite Life Sutra is one of the "Three Sutras of the Pure Land" of the Pure Land Sect, and after the explanation of Abbot Haoxiu, he was able to grasp the essence of the Pure Land Dharma, which was very profoundly enlightening to him to study Buddhism.
Lü Foting in front of the negative north parallel, father-in-law Mr. Zhang Songzhai with the family heirloom Of the Ming Dynasty guqin gift, after entering the American college, Lü Foting learned the guqin from Guan Pinghu teacher, and asked Zheng Yingsun, Xu Yuanbai and others for advice. In 1936, Lü Foting also went to Nanjing to participate in the large-scale guqin concert held by the Qingxi Qin Society, and to this day, the History of Chinese music is revered by the famous guqin masters.
In order to enhance the poetry realm and increase the opportunities for exchange, Lü Foting formed the "Chongyang Poetry Society" with seven or eight like-minded scholars of the American College, and often gathered to sing and sing together, exchanged ideas with each other, and followed the style of the ancient literati and scholars.
During the Meizhan period, Lü Foting often went to the Beiping Palace Museum to study the authentic ancient paintings, and carefully observed the exhibition of contemporary masters held in Zhongshan Park, and met Mr. Zhang Daqian in 1933. And once traveled to the Badaling Great Wall, the poem said: "Ten thousand valleys and thousands of rocks are a path, and the rangers are whistling in the spring wind." Climb to Bada and look at the Great Wall at sunset."
In 1934, Lü Foting graduated from the Beiping Fine Arts College, and before graduation, he held his first solo exhibition at The Huiwen Middle School in Beiping, focusing on gongbi figures and ladies, with some antique landscape paintings. After graduation, Lü Foting returned to Henan Province and traveled to Baiquan in Hui County, Henan Province.
The following year, at the invitation of the Henan Museum of Kaifeng City, Lü Foting once again held a solo exhibition, and together with Xu Yuanbai, Qiao Maoqing, Tan Fangcheng and Cao Yimin, he organized a calligraphy and painting research society to discuss calligraphy and painting with each other, and at the same time participated in the provincial art exhibition of Henan Province. During this period, he traveled with his painting friends to huangshan, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou and other famous places, sketching notes along the way, and painting diligently.
In July 1937, when the Sino-Japanese War broke out, Lü Foting went down to the mountain to organize the Anti-Enemy And National Salvation Support Association, on the one hand, he set up a drama troupe to publicize the anti-Japanese resistance, on the other hand, he raised funds to save the country, and donated his personal works and gold jewelry for his wife and children.
In 1940, in April, he toured Tongbai Mountain, in May he avoided Kou to Linru, in May he toured Yue Song Mountain, and in October he toured Suiping Mountain and Biyang Copper Mountain.
At the beginning of 1941, he fled to Lushan in the first month, visited Xiangyan Temple and Wudang Mountain in April, and in August, he was hired to teach at Yuantan Middle School in Henan Province.
In 1943, he was recruited to teach at Tangxi Middle School in Henan Province for half a year.
In the spring of 1944, he joined hands to paint the famous generals of the past, went to Qinshu to boost morale, and held charity exhibitions in Xi'an, Chengdu and Chongqing along the way. He also met with Mr. Zhang Daqian at Mount Qingcheng to discuss issues related to Chinese painting. In the autumn, due to the death of his father, he returned to Henan, and in order to avoid the Japanese army's search, he stayed for only seven days, that is, he rode to Nanyang to ride the Lishan Guangci Temple to live in seclusion, and sorted out the drawings of the travels to Xiyuehua Mountain, Zhongnan Mountain, Taibai Mountain, Qinling Mountain, and entering Sichuan to travel to Qingcheng, Emei, Fumen, Wuxia, and Jiange. Began to write the Book of Ten Thousand Miles of Shu Dao.
In 1945, he rode the Guangci Temple on Mount Li in Nanyang and began to draw a long scroll of "Shu Dao Wanli Map".
In 1946, he completed the long scrolls of "Shu Dao Wanli" and "Shu Dao Wanli Tu" (2330 cm long and 40 cm wide) and more than 80 paintings of figures and ladies, went to Kaifeng to hold a painting exhibition, and was hired by Nanyang Normal School as an art teacher.
In 1947, he went to Wuhan to hold a painting exhibition and toured Hengshan Mountain in Nanyue.
In 1948, Lü Foting crossed the sea from Xi'an via Nanjing and crossed the sea from Shanghai to Taiwan.
In 1953, he wrote the book "The Origin of Chinese Calligraphy and Painting".
In 1954, Lü Foting, together with Lin Zhizhu, Peng Youshi, Tang Hong, Wang Erchang, Han Yufu, Ye Huocheng, Yang Qidong, Lai Gaoshan, Chen Xiayu, Wang Shuihe and others, jointly organized the "Central Art Association" and held the Central Art Exhibition.
In 1955, he completed "The Origin of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy".
In 1956, he wrote the "Commentary on Master Shi Tao".
In February 1958, Lü Foting completed the manuscript of "Commentary on the History of Chinese Painting". Together with Zhu Yun, Xu Renzhong, Gao Yifeng, Wang Erchang, Li Changlin, Cao Weichu, Tang Xiaolan and others, he formed the "Eight Qing Ya Collection" and held a painting exhibition at Zhongshan Hall in Taipei.
In 1960, the "Lü Foting Painting Collection" was personally published (the first volume), and the brushwork of the painting style of this period tended to be simple and ethereal. In addition to teaching and painting, he often visits and sketches famous places in Taiwan, and his painting skills are more mature, especially emphasizing the pure beauty presented by pen and ink rhyme, and he has completed the hand scroll of "Treasure Island Wanshan Map", and has representative works such as "Yunhai Songguan Map" and "Yunshan Ancient Wood".
In 1962, on the first day of the first month, he began to draw a long scroll of the "Great Wall Map".
In February 1963, Lü Foting completed the long volume of the Great Wall WanliTu (4100 cm long and 41.2 cm wide) in one year. In July, we began to work on the draft of the long volume of the "Ten Thousand Miles map of the Yangtze River".
In February 1964, he moved to Taichung Baohua Mountain Dashan Jingshe and officially fell into the ink "Yangtze River Wanli Map".
In February 1965, he moved to Taipei Shanjia Jinglu Temple and continued to draw the "Ten Thousand Miles map of the Yangtze River". On February 27, he gave a lecture at the National Museum of History on "The Four Realms of Chinese Painting". By June, it took two years to complete the long volume of "Ten Thousand Miles of the Yangtze River" (6058 cm long and 61.2 cm wide).
On February 12, 1966, the "Biography of a Half Monk" was published.
In February 1969, the long scroll of "Transverse Highway" was drawn, and in August, Lü Foting completed the long scroll of "Transverse Highway" (3334 cm long and 60 cm wide). After ten years of sketching, the brushwork is twisted and curved, meandering and flexible, and the style is between the writing realm and the creation of the realm, using the high and far-reaching method or the far-reaching method to describe, showing the weight of the mountain and the depth of the hills.
In March 1971, a sen sen "Zen-ga" was written.
In March 1972, the Northern Transverse Highway was toured. Published "Shu Dao Wanli Chronicle".
In August 1973, Lü Foting retired from Taichung Normal College and lived in Dongshan Road, where he began to experiment with Zen painting.
1974, New Year's Day, text painting and Zen painting. In October, the "Collection of Famous Places of Lu Foting" was personally published (the second episode), and he began to try Zen painting with the method of splashing ink painting, presenting a hazy atmosphere of smoke and clouds and ethereal ethereality. In order to expand the painting path, he sought inspiration from the pictograms and characters, created text paintings, and recombined them into a symbolic realm with the shapes and brushstrokes of oracle bones, gold scripts, small seals, and large seals.
In 1975, the book "Research on Character Painting" was published. Author of "Commenting on Pu Xinxuan, Zhang Daqian, Huang Junbi" three people.
In 1979, he painted "China's Top Ten Famous Mountains".
In July 1981, the Collected Poems of Jiangshan Wanlilou was published. In July, the album of "Ten Thousand Miles of the Great Wall" and the album of "Across the Highway" were published and printed.
In 1982, "Chinese Painting Thought" was published. In September, Lü Ti's "Vajrapani Sutra" was published and printed.
In 1983, he made a sketch of the "Yellow River Wanli Map" and began to fall ink.
In June 1985, "Top Ten Famous Capitals of China" was published by the Cultural Construction Association. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, after two years and four months, the long volume of "Yellow River Wanli Map" (length 5106.7 cm, width 67 cm) was completed.
In 1986, Lü Foting voluntarily donated 4,000 US dollars for biyang Yigao to buy books, and he practiced it, and Ze was sent to school to express his love for the education of his hometown school.
In March 1987, "Lü Foting Calligraphy and Painting Collection" was personally published (the third volume).
In March 1991, the Taiwan Provincial Museum of Fine Arts held the "Lü Foting Calligraphy and Painting Research Exhibition" and published "Research on the Art of Lü Foting Painting (Research Report/Exhibition Album)", written by Professor Huang Dongfu. "Eight Thousand Miles of Road Clouds and Moon - Australia, New Zealand and Bali Tour" is published by the Taichung Municipal Cultural and Educational Foundation. In September, he returned to Zhengzhou, the mainland, to visit relatives and reunite with his family. In the same month, visit Tianzi Mountain in Xiangxi province and revisit Huangshan Mountain in Anhui Province. At the same time, at the request of President Biyang Yiguo, Lü Foting wrote the name of the school with a wave of inscription.
In 1993, "Travels in Taiwan" was published. "Lü Foting Famous Mountain Tour Collection" was personally published (the fourth episode).
In January 1996, the book "Remembrance of Dreams" was published, which was an excerpt from His own diary of his calendar year for Lu Foting. In June, the "Half-Monk Wencun • Painting Commentary" was published. At that time, Lü Foting, who was already 86 years old, gladly accepted the invitation of the Biyang County Party Committee and County Government to create a huge "Biyang Scenic View" map, which was dedicated to his hometown of Biyang.
In 1997, in the Middle Mountain Caotang in Taiwan, one day a wealthy businessman from the industrial circles came to visit Elder Lü Fo and told Him that he was willing to take 200 million yuan to buy the "Yellow River Wanli Map".
On June 30, 2005, in the presence of a notary public and protégé of the court, he made an oral will, confessed all subsequent events, and appointed the executor of the will. More than 10 pieces of "Yellow River Wanli Map" (long scroll), "Baoqin Guanliu Statue" (self-portrait) and "Vajrapani Sutra" (Lü Ti calligraphy) were donated to the museum's collection, and more than 200 pieces of Chinese paintings, calligraphy, text paintings and Zen paintings were donated to the collection institutions. On July 15, he asked Master Guangyuan, the abbot of Taipei Shanjia Jinglu Temple, to shave the degree of Lü Foting, with the legal name of "Complete Monk". On July 24 (June 19 of the lunar calendar), Lü Foting died at the age of 95 in an auspicious sleep.
Lü Foting (Buddha) was an amphibious calligrapher and painter, and ink painting was the main axis of his life's creation. Since he was a teenager, he liked to visit the famous mountains and rivers, and his paintings of "Shu Dao Wanli Map", "Great Wall Wanli Map", "Yangtze River Wanli Map", "Yellow River Wanli Map" and "Transverse Highway" are the collection of lü Folao's sketches of traveling through the strange peaks and rivers, and it is the peak of his life's landscape painting creation. "Zen painting" and "character painting" are his two major innovations in addition to calligraphy and painting.
Buddha's old man's character is first-class, his creation is fruitful, his writings are equal, and he is worthy of a master!
Editor's Note:
A Brief Biography of Professor Lü Foting was compiled by Mr. Lü Zhenkun, the son of Elder Lü Fo, on May 27, 2020 AD. This article has been abridged, apologies are hereby expressed.