"A stubborn boy who scribbles with his hands and enters the painting by chance, not only to sit on the cold bench, but also to climb the mountain, to have the position of not feeling life, to make up for his work with clumsiness, to practice the lawless method, to be at ease with the encounter, to do his best, to be plain and simple, and to enjoy himself." ——Plant science painter Zeng Xiaolian once summed up his life in a few words.
Zeng Xiaolian: Born in June 1939 in Weixin County, Yunnan Province, China. Professor-level painter, engineer and plant science painter at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He loved to draw since childhood. In 1959, after graduating from high school, he entered the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences with half-work and half-study. When the Flora of China project was launched, Zeng Xiaolian was selected to paint plant specimens.
He is currently a professor-level painter at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is a member of the China Science Writers Association, a member of the Fine Arts Professional Committee, and a member of the China Yunnan Artists Association. He has been engaged in the illustration of scientific and technological books for a long time, and has published more than 2,000 illustrations.
An avid painter since childhood, he showed superhuman talent. In 1959, after graduating from high school, he entered the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences with half-work and half-study. At that time, when the "Flora of China" project was launched, Zeng Xiaolian was selected to paint plant specimens.
Together with more than 300 plant taxonomists across the country and 164 illustrators who were able to participate in painting at that time, he spent 45 years compiling the world's largest and most diverse set of masterpieces, flora of China. The book consists of 80 volumes and 126 volumes, with more than 50 million words. Of these, the index alone amounts to 1155 pages. In October 2004, all the publications of Flora of China were completed. And this "45 years" only refers to the 45 years that lasted before and after the first publication began.
So far, he has created more than 2,000 lifelike plant science paintings for scientific research works, including Flora of China.
In fact, many people may not know much about plant science painting.
Plant science paintings are often referred to as "plant portraits" and "plant identity cards". It is like taking a standard photo of a plant with an ID card, which requires both an accurate reflection of the morphological characteristics of plants and organs and a strong artistry.
"I think the highest state of plant science painting is that you have to restore its life, standing in front of your picture, should project a vigorous vitality, I am not satisfied with my work, I hope we young people continue to walk on this road." 」 Zeng Xiaolian once said this in an interview.
But in fact, he is known as the "first person of Chinese plant painting", and he is not from a science class.
In June 1939, Zeng Xiaolian was born in Weixin, Yunnan. When he was a teenager, he copied the portrait of Chairman Mao, "bold, but not like the painting."
In 1958, Zeng Xiaolian graduated from high school and was recruited by the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences as a trainee draftsman. For Zeng Xiaolian, who loved graffiti since childhood, he was happier to be able to work related to painting than to enter the university.
Today, a few years later, he is a professor-level painter at the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a member of the China Association of Popular Science Writers, and the first person in Chinese plant painting.
In 1997, Zeng Xiaolian retired as a researcher-level senior engineer. The child was successful in starting a business, and he also moved to Beijing with his family, and since then he has created many works on the theme of flowers and birds.
He spent several years creating "Yunnan Flowers and Birds". He painted all the flowers and birds in his hometown, of which "Yunnan Flowers" took about two or three years, and the paintings in "Yunnan Birds" took about five or six years.
Since then, Zeng Xiaolian has successively created and published works with different themes and forms, such as "Hundred Flowers of Yunnan, China", "Painting Collection of Medicinal Plants", "Collection of Colored Ink Paintings of Zeng Xiaolian", etc.
Today, the vast majority of plant painters in China have retired or changed careers, and less than ten people are engaged in painting plant science paintings full-time. At the age of 82, Zeng Xiaolian is still running around to promote this unpopular but indispensable profession.
In July 2017, the Century-old World Botany Congress was held in China for the first time. He was responsible for participating in the exhibition of plant science paintings.
September 2021 mouth 30. Zeng Xiaolian's new works exhibition debuted in Kunming on the 30th, with the theme of "one flower, one bird, one world", and exhibited more than 80 works recently created by Zeng Xiaolian.
"Mr. Zeng Xiaolian has done one thing in his life, painting flowers and birds. Calmly live in your own world. ”
Nie Rongqing, curator of the exhibition, said that holding this exhibition on the eve of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Kunming is also to let Zeng Xiaolian's works be displayed in front of the world.