Spring in the picture

"Eight Sons welcoming spring"

The Qing Dynasty work "Eight Sons Welcoming Spring" (pictured) vividly depicts the scene of children's joyful spring with bright colors and delicate techniques. The background of the folded plum blossoms highlights the seasonal characteristics of the turn of winter and spring. Eight children frolicked to the sound of gongs and drums. The first boy wears a tiger hat and holds a pair of spring couplets, and writes eight characters on it, "Spring King Zhengyue" and "World Peace", showing the expectations for the auspicious and healthy new year in the Spring Festival ceremony.

"Gou Mang Divine Cow Diagram"

In the ancient mythological system, the god of the spring was in charge of the birth of all things. The painting and worship of the "Gou Mang Sacred Cow Map" (replica, picture) expresses the ancient people's expectations for the smooth winds and rains and the harvest of crops in the new year. In the Qing Dynasty, the image of the god of the spring cow was formulated by the Qin Tianjian every year, and the drawings were presented to the emperor and distributed to the prefectures and counties to make statues, which were worshipped the day before the spring, and used by people to "whip spring" on the day of the spring.

《Jinjiang Spring Pan map》

Wu Yifeng, Mingli, the big walker, Zhejiang Pinghu people, famous calligraphers and painters. Wu Yifeng, because of his admiration for Xu Xiake, entered the sichuan with his teacher Huang Binhong at the age of 25, and then he walked non-stop to visit the mountains, lakes, scenic spots and monuments in Sichuan, and walked alone in the plateau cong mang sketching and creating, depicting the mountains and rivers with a rafter's brush.

In this "Jinjiang Spring Pan Map" (pictured), Wu Yifeng painted the spring color of Jinjiang with Lingxiu's brushstrokes. The brushstrokes are delicate and colorful, showing the vitality of the Spring Jinjiang River. At the same time, the painter uses ink to embellish the branches and leaves of the trees, and paints the characters with light ochre and light cyan, making the picture more lively and flexible.

"Green Lake Morning Dawn"

Yunnan painter Liao Xinxue's oil on canvas "Morning Dawn of Cuihu Lake" (pictured), created in 1956, is a painting depicting the spring scenery of Cuihu Lake in Kunming. The painting is set against the backdrop of Mount Wuhua, where the lush green of the painting surrounds mount Wuhua mountain with clouds and mist. The turquoise waters of the lake loom in large expanses of emerald green, and yellow pavilions dot it. The bushes in the close-up view are particularly bright and businesslike compared to the dark greenery in the middle and far views.

(Interviewed and sorted out by Shi Fang, Wang Mingfeng and Ye Chuanzeng, reporters of this newspaper, courtesy of the Capital Museum, the First Historical Archive of China, the Chengdu Museum, and the Yunnan Provincial Museum)

Typography: Wang Zheping

People's Daily ( 2022-02-04 04 edition)