Chen Shi, a famous modern painter and art theorist, once said in the book "The Value of Literati Painting": "What is literati painting? That is to say, the painting has the nature of a literati, contains the interest of a literati, and does not study the artistic work in the painting, and must see the feelings of many literati outside the painting, the so-called literati painting. Or to paint with literati, it will lack artistic skills and branches, and use things outside the painting as a means of making up for the cover-up. As everyone knows, painting is also a spiritual person, a thinker, an activist also... The literati also have a beautiful personality, and they feel that the noble are also, and their daily cultivation character is very much above the mediocrity, so that they are also in art, and the lyricists they publish can attract people, leisurely and quietly think far and quietly, and get rid of all dusty thoughts. In the text, he concluded, "What is a literati painting, one is learning, the other is temperament, and the third is pen and ink." From this point of view, there are very few people who can be called literati paintings now, because the cultural soil that supports the literati no longer exists, and literati painters are rare, but they are not completely absent, and painters who can have some literati atmosphere are good. A painter with the atmosphere of literati painting, Mr. Li Xuhao is considered to be one.
Mr. Li Xuhao was born in Shanxi, studied classical Chinese language and literature in his early years, and was good at poetry, which is incomparable to many professional painters. Because the soul of Chinese painting is literary poetry, the so-called soul of character bone poetry, without poetry and calligraphy, Chinese painting loses its soul and bone, without soul and bone, it is the walking dead. Therefore, Mr. Li Xuhao was born to study classical literature and had an innate advantage. Some friends may say, what you say is not right, is it that many students who come from the class to learn painting are not as good as halfway out of the family, you don't say, this is really the case, many professionals, painting for a lifetime, the technique is also very skilled, but it is not the breath is not right, the craftsmanship, this is not the technique can make up. And often many people cultivate and learn well, casually draw two strokes, it feels very good, the so-called "vivid rhyme", this is the literati painting, need a lot of extra-painting elements to combine.
In the nearly confused years, Mr. Xu Hao's learning to paint is indeed a halfway monk, he began to paint for no more than ten years, that is to say, he began to paint in his forties, painting at this age, you can also paint famous, many people who have learned to paint since childhood may not be able to do it, some people say, this is also a bit mysterious, the so-called forty do not learn art, forty years old can also paint famous. Don't be convinced, I can give you a very good example. Jin Nong, one of the eight monsters of Yangzhou, learned to paint in his fifties and became the most accomplished painter among the eight monsters. Wu Changshuo called himself "Thirty Poetry, Fifty Painting", and later became a member of the Hai Sect. There is also Qi Baishi who also learns to paint in his thirties, so whether he is born in a class is not a prerequisite for everyone, mainly depends on endowments and comprehensive cultivation. Jin Nong, Wu Changshuo and others all had innate endowments and had a high degree of cultivation in poetry and calligraphy. Mr. Li Xuhao has a good quality in literature and writes a good article. He has been engaged in journalism for more than twenty years, busy with official business every day, busy writing official documents, but he can sink his heart to paint, which is rare and precious. This shows that his personal pursuits are different from others. Mr. Xu Hao can do the business of entering the world with the mentality of being born, busy during the day, and at night he puts down his body and mind, draws with a pen, enters the world of art, and reaches the state of self-forgetfulness. Mr. Xu Hao paints for his own amusement, and painting every day is his daily lesson. The purpose and motivation of his painting makes his painting not to please the world, naturally, elegant and fresh, unpretentious, and reveals a quiet and clean atmosphere.
The art of Chinese calligraphy and painting, for thousands of years, has formed a strong stylization and prescriptiveness, and it is still necessary to talk about the degree and inheritance of the law. Mr. Xu Hao learned to paint, and he first came to the mustard seed garden, which is the right way. Dong Qichangyun: Painters are already superior in taking the ancients as their teacher, and when they enter here, they should take heaven and earth as their teachers. Mr. Li Xuhao started from the mustard seed garden, copied Meilan bamboo chrysanthemums, flowers, fish and insects, and then learned the Bada Shanren, this choice is also very clever. The master of the Fa is on top, only to get it, to learn from the ancients, you must take the best, the height of the painting of the Eight Mountain People is undoubtedly unsurpassed in the past three hundred years. The achievements of the Eight Great Mountain People can be understood from the following three sources, one is the origin of family learning and innate endowment; The second is the hatred of the family and the country, the tragic plot; The third is to escape into the Buddha's gate and see through and put it down. The comprehensive cultivation of Confucian and Taoist culture and its special lineage and experience have created the Eight Mountain People. Mr. Xu Hao studied the Bada Shanren and liked the Bada Shanren, indicating that he had similarities with the Bada Shanren in terms of spiritual temperament, but the special life and experience of the Bada Shanren were beyond the reach of ordinary people. Because the hatred of the Bada Shan people's homeland is deeply rooted in the bone marrow, although he was mentally calmed in his later years, he can never let go of his heart, and the loneliness and coldness shown in his calligraphy and paintings are the monologues of his inner misfortune. In this regard, Mr. Xu Hao is very smart, he lives in New China, grew up under the red flag, although there are also hardships of real life, it is impossible to have the life and death experience of the Bada Shan people. One era has the atmosphere of one era, and the literature and art of one era cannot surpass the Eight Mountain People, but we must have ideals and goals to surpass the Eight Mountain People. Therefore, Li Xuhao could not learn the sorrow of the Eight Great Mountain People, he did the opposite, and expressed a sense of joy in his works, this sense of joy, is a kind of humor and funny, and there are some desolation and helplessness, which makes people look at it and seem to have some thoughts.
Mr. Xu Hao is now a special painter of Shandong Art Museum, his flower and bird paintings, mostly sketches, in the composition is also to learn the ethereal simplicity of the Bada Shanren, a work is only a bird and a fish, a large blank space under the picture, the combination of virtual and real, the artistic conception is far-reaching. His pen and ink are clean, the picture is quiet, the flowers and birds in the painting are rigorous, he paints with a sincere and serious attitude, his heart is calm and serene, and the breath of the picture is pure. In this impetuous world, there can be such a quiet and pure work, so that people can see it and be washed by the heart.
Mr. Xu Hao's flower and bird paintings present a kind of "empty space" because of their witty brush and ink and quiet atmosphere, which is similar to the works of Bada Shanren. He used pen and ink to do Buddhist deeds, which shows that he has seen through and put down his life and society. Mr. Xu Hao became a monk halfway through, and his works can reach such a state of style in just a few years, which is inseparable from his character pursuit. Confucius said: Zhi yu Tao, according to Virtue, according to Ren, Yu Yu Yi. He who is also the Tao must not depart from him. For art, we can only swim, and Confucius also called for being a gentleman, not a villain. Mr. Xu Hao's paintings do not use this to gain fame and fortune, he just likes it, of course, he is happy to have someone pay for it. So I said, Mr. Xu Hao is also a gentleman, and a literati is also. Although there are still many imperfections in his works, but with a goal, a direction, and the right direction, perseverance will definitely reach the other side of the ideal. Mr. Xinwen Xuhao recently strengthened his calligraphy practice, and after seeing several of his calligraphy works, it is not ordinary when he gets started, which shows that his understanding is very high. Painting with books is the expression that literati painting is best at - the combination of ink freehand and poetry, books and paintings has become an important artistic feature of Chinese painting. We look forward to Mr. Xuhao's better works.
(Shao Zhongwu: Professor of Shandong Academy of Arts and Crafts, Ph.D., master supervisor.) He is the author of "Appreciation of Calligraphy and Painting of bad Mountain People", the main research direction, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese painting. )
Introduction to Art:
Li Xuhao, no. He is a member of the China Association for the Promotion of Democracy, a senior media person, and a free calligrapher and painter. He likes to read, photography, meditation, is good at calligraphy, can write poetry, especially good at art criticism and ink writing. He is currently a painter employed by the Shandong Art Museum, focusing on the theoretical research of Chinese calligraphy and painting art and Chinese Buddhist culture. Its freehand flowers and birds take the method of nature, respect the ancient as the teacher, and take the ancient as the law. He first learned Shi Tao and the Eight Great Universities, and later learned Wu Changshuo, Pan Tianshou and other families. The work is concise and profound, and strives to be loose and quiet. Good at taking Zen into the painting, falling outside the brushwork, taking the intention of the law. Its calligraphy is as an apprentice to the ancients, and it goes deep into tradition. Lishu Zong Han Li, in and out of the "Ode to the Stone Gate", "Zhang Qianbei" and "Good King", ancient and simple; The Book of Conduct is based on the Second King, and involves both the "Four Houses of Song" and Dong Qichang.