Many of the national treasures on display in major museums today have been on the verge of being exported overseas during the war years. However, it is precisely because there are those "guardians of national treasures" of the Republic of China, silently guarding these ancient treasures, that we can see them in today's museums.
In the chaotic era of the late Qing Dynasty, the emergence of Mao Gongding caused disputes, experienced countless upheavals and displacements, almost fell into the hands of the Japanese, and finally remained in the country, thanks to Ye Gong's uncle and nephew's life to protect.
Ye Gong is like
Literati family Literature inheritance
Ye gongqi is an "encyclopedic" figure of the twentieth century. In 1881, he was born in the family of Ye Yanlan, his grandfather in Mishi Hutong, Beijing. Ye Yanlan was an official in Beijing at that time, was a family of late Qing dynasty literati, whose ancestral home was Panyu, Guangdong, and was also Ye Gongqiu's life enlightenment mentor, versatile, with profound achievements in articles and poems, Jinshi calligraphy and painting, appreciation and collection, etc., and was very interested in ancient portraits, compiling and drawing the "Portrait Biography of Scholars in the Qing Dynasty" and "Portrait Biography of Wenyuan in Past Dynasties".
Qing Dynasty Scholar Xiangchuan 29.9cm×30cm No Year Color on Paper Collection of the National Museum of China
Soon after his birth, Ye Gongqiu returned to Panyu, Guangdong province with his grandfather, and passed on to his uncle. From an early age, he began to contact the ancient calligraphy and paintings collected by the family, and he could also contact the collection of the Ye family. The cultural inheritance of the famous family and the close exchanges between the elite cultural circles have laid a deep cultural foundation for Ye Gongqi. A considerable part of the rich old collection of the Ye family was inherited by Ye Gongqiu for his research, appreciation and exchange, which provided strong conditions for his collection, and also cultivated the mission and sense of responsibility of inheriting and promoting national culture and art, and made Ye Gongqi a collector with a "big culture" pattern.
In 1882, Ye Gongqi accompanied his uncle to Jiangxi. In 1901, he entered the Tangshi Academy of Kyoshi University. In 1912, he was appointed Director General of the Highway Administration Department of the Ministry of Communications and Director general of the Railway General Bureau, and vice president of the Bank of Communications. In 1920, he became the Director General of Communications, in 1921 he became the first president of Jiaotong University, and in 1924 he became a director of the Central Bank. He resigned from politics in the early 1930s and devoted himself to cultural, artistic, Buddhist, and public welfare undertakings.
The feeling of home and country in the collection
In 1926, Ye Gongqi and his friends sold their property to buy Mao Gongding. In 1930, because other friends sold their share of the ownership, Mao Gongding was owned by Ye Gongqi alone.
In addition to Mao Gongding, Ye Gongding's collections are generally of high rank, including Wang Xianzhi's "Duck and Pill Tablets", Jin Wang Xizhi's "Cao'e Stele", Jin Wang Xian's "Duck Head Pill Thesis", Gao Xian's "Cursive Thousand Character Text", Song Huizong's "Xianglong Stone Diagram", Liang Kai's "Cloth Bag Monk Diagram", Zhao Mengfu's "Xingshu Bile Tablet", Huang Tingjian's "Fubo Shrine Poems" and so on.
After starting a collection business, Ye Gongqi was appreciated by many people in Beijing. He had a large collection of objects from some collectors of the time, such as Yan Jingxian and Yan Shiqing. As their family fell, their old collection was also transferred to Ye Gongqiu's hands, which also made his collection gradually enriched. Among them, many of Yan Shiqing's artistic views were also inherited by Ye Gongqiu.
Liu Shiru Ming MoMeitu 407×133cm ink pen on silk Palace Museum
In the exhibition "Who Knows the Grace of the World - Commemorating the 140th Anniversary of Ye Gongru's Birth" there is a ming dynasty Liu Shiru's "MoMei Tu", the whole page is faint ink, Ye Gongqi made a long trek next to the work, introducing the bumpy experience of this work: One day, he received a book sent by a friend in Shanghai, and accidentally found that the wrapping paper of the book was a plum blossom of more than five or six feet, judging that it was a remnant of Liu Shiru's Momei work in the Ming Dynasty, and quickly wrote to a friend, asking him to send the remaining part of the book wrapping paper and repair it. In this way, he saved this precious ming painting. After the founding of New China, he donated this work to the Palace Museum.
Many classic calligraphy and paintings Ye Gongqi have made comments, looking at art in the way of thinking of a science student, and thus a little more rational. He commented on "Han Xizai's Night Feast Map" and "Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains", and wrote "The Art Record of Talking about the Distant Temple", and gave a detailed description of the important collections he had collected. He is a connoisseur with national cultural feelings, once said that "Yu Xi received calligraphy and paintings, originally for the proposed compilation of "Chinese Art History", for reference, so the standard is quite different", hoping to help the writing and development of Chinese art history through collection.
While living in Guangzhou, he organized a cultural relics expedition to the countryside around Guangzhou to investigate ancient cultural relics. Because he pays attention to the preservation of Guangdong culture and Guangdong literati calligraphy and painting, he also set up a special section for Guangdong cultural relics for his collection.
Ming Shi Xue Yue, Shi Han Yu, Shi Jin Shi Zi Shu Poetry Volume Guangzhou Hai Tang Temple Collection
Neck: 25×68.5cm Center of art: 25×166cm Tail: 25×133cm
Ye Gongqiu, who had been a deep believer in Buddhism all his life, paid more attention to the calligraphy and painting of literati monks, especially the literati monks in Guangdong, who combined Buddhist culture with rural culture and transformed it into his own collection concept. He collected many monks' calligraphy, such as the "Self-Book Combination Scroll" now in The Haizhuang Temple in Guangzhou, which was co-authored by three monks, Shi Xueyao, Shi Hanxing, and Shi Jinshi. Ye Gongqi wrote a long book in the opening title of "Character Zen", and the tail also made a long writing.
Ye Gongqi is quite intelligent in interpersonal communication, he is good at dancing with long sleeves, knows how to strategize, and treats people and things meticulously. He is also enthusiastic about public cultural undertakings, such as cultural relics protection, archaeology, cultural collection and collation. He participated in the establishment of the Shanghai Museum, the Shanghai Library, and also invested in the protection of monasteries, such as the Yungang Grottoes. He will try to participate as much as his energy allows.
He also contributed to china's early art exhibitions, was the main organizer and participant of the first and second calligraphy and painting exhibitions in Beijing, and cooperated with Cai Yuanpei, Cai Jianmin, Xu Beihong, Liu Haisu, etc., to take out various private collections for exhibitions. In the 1920 exhibition, Li Gonglin's "Five Horse Diagrams", which reappeared in the public eye a hundred years later, were also exhibited. And these activities were recorded by Chen Shizeng in the form of painting, thus giving birth to the famous work in the history of modern and contemporary art - "Reading and Painting".
Extensive travel
Throughout his life, Ye Gongqi traveled to Guangdong, Jiangxi, Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou and Hong Kong, and traveled extensively in each place. Friends spread all over the transportation, postal, communications, medical, archaeology, art and other industries.
Qi Baishi, Chen Shizeng, He Xiangning, Xu Beihong, Wu Hufan, Zhang Daqian, Huang Banruo, Mei Lanfang, Zhu Qizhao, etc. are all his friends in the art world. Among them, Wu Hufan is a person who has a profound influence on his collection career. Many of the ancient calligraphy and paintings in Wu Hufan's collection have Ye Gong's inscription. During his time in Hong Kong, Ye Gongqiu was particularly nostalgic for the old house in Suzhou, so he asked his friend Wu Hufan to make a "Fengchi Jingshe Map" for him. Ye Gongqi has made many paintings on this painting, and this work has become a witness to the friendship between the two.
Fengchi Jingshe Picture Volume (Partial) Wu Hufan 1937 Ink on Paper, Suzhou Museum Collection (Horizontal view)
Rather than exchanging and acquiring works from friends, Ye Gongqi cares more about the friendship with friends. In the early 1920s, Zhang Daqian, in his youth, was "quite a good at playing" and thus lost the ancestral Wang Xizhi's "Cao'e Monument". Many years later, Zhang Daqian's mother wanted to see the "Cao E Monument" when she was seriously ill, Ye Gongqi and Wang Qiuzhai came to visit and asked about Zhang Daqian's mother, and Zhang Daqian truthfully told the matter of losing the stele, hoping that they could help find it. As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Gongqi pointed to the tip of his nose: "Well, here it is." Zhang Daqian was overjoyed, pulled Wang Qiuzhai aside, and asked him to make peace from it, wanting to buy back the "Cao E Tie" at the original price, or to use the calligraphy and paintings of the past dynasties in the family, regardless of the number of pieces, Ye Gongqi could choose at will. If you really refuse to cut love, I hope to temporarily borrow two weeks to show the old mother and then return the wall. When Wang Qiuzhai conveyed Zhang Daqian's meaning, Ye Gongqi said, "What is this?!" I have loved calligraphy and painting all my life, but I have never been clever and arrogant, and I have not lost my mind'. This inscription is a relic of the ancestors of Daqian, and I would like to give it back to Daqian, not to mention repaying the original value or bartering. Three days later, the "Cao'e Monument" was returned. Later, when Ye Gongqi returned to Shanghai from Hong Kong and lived on a poor life and made a living by selling calligraphy and paintings, Zhang Daqian gave a lot of help.
As the first president of the Beijing Academy of Painting, Ye Gongqi's contacts with Qi Baishi were also very close. During the Republic of China period, Qi Baishi's innovative spirit was greatly admired.
Qi Lao Jiu Shi Qing Ye Gongqi 106cm×28cm 1950 Ink on paper Collection of Beijing Academy of Painting
Zhu Qizhao and Ye Gongqiu were colleagues in the Department of Transportation in their early years, and in the 1930s, the two jointly promoted the establishment of the China Construction Society. After the founding of New China, Ye Gongqi served as the deputy director of the Central Museum of Culture and History, and Zhu Qiju served as a librarian, and their relationship lasted for decades. On Zhu Qizhao's eightieth birthday, Ye Gongqi, as a friend for many years, wrote a congratulatory message for him.
Shu Huai Er Law Presented Zhu Qizhao Ye Gongqi 36cm×90cm 1951 Ink on Paper Central Museum of Literature and History Collection
Exhibition of paintings
In his later years, when his life was stretched, coupled with the chaotic situation, he brought most of the collection to Hong Kong in November 1937 when he fled from Shanghai to escape the war. In the early 1940s, when he planned to return to the mainland, he was detained by the Japanese, and it was not until October 1942 that he successfully returned to Shanghai. In the midst of the upheavals along the way, part of his collection was lost. Some of the collections are inconvenient to carry, so they can only be taken away by cutting the paintings. In addition, because of the hardships of life, he could only sell part of the collection in exchange for money, so the exhibition of paintings also became an important source of funds for Ye Gongqiu.
In the 1940s, Huang And ye went to Live in Hong Kong, where he helped him hold his first solo exhibition in Hong Kong through his personal ability and reputation, selling Ye Gongruo's calligraphy and paintings. Mr. Huang Dade, the son of Huang Banruo, and his family will present the old collection of huang Banruo's friendship with Ye Gongqiu to the Beijing Academy of Painting. In this batch of old collections, most of them are correspondence between the two men, and most of these letters are related to work.
Huang ShiZhai Tu Ye Gongqi 1947 Beijing Academy of Painting Collection Huang Dade donated
In 1950, Ye returned to Beijing and was appointed director of the Central Museum of Culture and History. In 1951, Ye Gongqi, Together with Xu Beihong and Mei Lanfang, jointly organized the "Charity Sale of Calligraphy and Paintings for Resisting US Aggression and Aiding Korea" to raise funds for the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and in just three days, about 15,000 calligraphy and painting works were collected.
Seven Words of Xingshu Ye Gongqi 151cm×39cm No Year Ink on Paper Collection of Beijing Academy of Painting
Ye Gongqi's calligraphy and painting were influenced by family learning and taught by the master-apprentice system. His calligraphy is more characteristic and easy to identify. Yan Zhenqing, the first teacher of "Thexue", successively took the Fa Zhao Mengfu, Li Yong, Chu Suiliang, as well as Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi. "Steleology" inherits the lingnan calligrapher Chen Li's lineage, advocating that "calligraphy should be rooted in the seal and subordinate".
Orchid Figure Ye Gongqi 25cm×25cm No Year Color on Paper Collection of Beijing Academy of Painting
Ye Gongqiu loves to express the theme of orchid bamboo, and the painting has the typical style of literati painting in the late Qing and early Ming dynasties. Drawing on the ancient methods of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the colors are light and elegant, the penmanship is exquisite, and the ancient meaning is full of ancient meaning, conveying the elegant atmosphere of the literati.
Mozhu Ye Gongqi 1944 67×33cm Wuxi Museum
He not only loved to paint orchids and bamboo, but also collected a large number of works on this subject, and often took out his own collection to copy. Ye Gong's "Ink Bamboo" "imitates Gu Dingzhi and obtains its form". Gu Dingzhi's "New Huangtu" was also collected by Ye Gongqiu and is now in the Palace Museum.
Ye Gongqiu and the establishment of the Beijing Academy of Painting
In 1956, Ye Gongqi purchased a batch of fine engraving rare books for the Beijing Academy of Painting in preparation, and at that time, Qi Gong, as Ye Gongqiu's assistant, helped him prepare for the establishment of the Beijing Academy of Painting. Many of the ancient editions of the Beijing Academy of Painting were collected under the impetus of Ye Gongqi and Qi Gong, including the Kangxi Dynasty fine engravings "Pei Wen Zhai Calligraphy and Painting Notation", "Past Dynastic Inscription Painting Poems", "Ink Pond Compilation", "Plum Blossom Xi Shen Spectrum", "Hanxi Calligraphy General Explanation", "Four Copper Drum Zhai On Painting Collection Engraving" and so on.
On May 14, 1957, the Beijing Academy of Chinese Painting (now the Beijing Academy of Painting) was established, with Ye Gongqi as the first president and Qi Baishi as the honorary president. The next day, Ye Gongqi published an article in the People's Daily: "The content of this painting academy will be different from that of ordinary schools... In general, the inherent 'academy' and 'painting academy' system will be adopted, and the modern and modern 'school' and 'research institute' systems will be combined and integrated. In addition, he also mentioned in the text: "When it comes to the work of the 'Painting Academy', it is generally impossible to create, research and teach the three aspects", and these "three" are the main functions and development directions of the Beijing Academy of Painting today.
The pavilion is on its back
Ye Gongqi died in 1968, and before his death, he carefully arranged the location of his old collection and donated it to museums and libraries in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Suzhou, Qingdao and other places.
Before his death, Ye Gongqi asked his descendants to bury himself in the Yangzhi Pavilion next to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in his will. Yangzhi Pavilion is a small pavilion he built on the edge of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum at his own expense in the 1930s, taking the meaning of "high mountain up, jingxing stop". At the end of his life, he expressed his admiration for Dr. Sun Yat-sen.
epilogue
Ye Gongqiu is far-sighted and has his own life plan and goals.
"Clothes are all over the world, who can recognize its grace, once the achievements are accomplished, it will be left behind" is Ye Gongqi's poem "Cocoon" when he was fifteen years old, and he seems to have foreseen the trajectory of his life as a teenager. In the following 70 years, he promoted the development of transportation, education and cultural undertakings in modern China, and used his life to make indelible contributions to the protection and inheritance of traditional culture.