Zhong Zhengchuan, whose ancestral home is Meixian County, Guangdong Province, was born in Malaysia in 1945 and was the president of the Malaysian Book Art Association and the President of the Malaysian Ink Painting Association. He has been associated with Han Mo Danqing since childhood, and has been immersed in art for decades, and is a household name in Malaysia, known as "Malaysia's Qi Baishi". His works are collected by the National Gallery of Art Malaysia, the National State Guest House of Malaysia, the Chinese Academy of Art, the Qi Baishi Memorial Hall, the Zhang Daqian Memorial Hall, the Korea Culture and Art Museum, the National Museum of Education in Taiwan, former Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad, several Prime Ministers of Malaysia and heads of state, dignitaries, ambassadors, and national art museums.
Play their proper role
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country where Eastern and Western cultures converge and exchange. In the 1920s, Zhong Zhengchuan's parents immigrated to Malaysia from China. His father was a famous chess master in Malacca at that time and loved the art of calligraphy. Influenced by his father, Zhong Zhengchuan was influenced by Classical Chinese literature since he was a child, and it was the family's emphasis on traditional Chinese culture education that allowed him to have a deep affection for his mother country at a very young age. Under the influence of local Western culture, his works have diverse themes, and his painting style has both oriental charm and Nanyang style.
Chicken
As the founder of the Malaysian Ink Painting Association, Zhong Zhengchuan's works are extremely accomplished, with a vibrant natural atmosphere and a heart-warming sense of power, which is widely praised by the art community. He uses Danqing magic brush to connect the cultural ties between Malaysia and China, and his ink paintings contain the "god, rhyme, qi and taste" of Chinese painting, most of which are based on rural fields, simple and unpretentious, but full of charm.
Zhong Zhengchuan is good at flowers, birds, fish and insects, and many of his works are works that express the style of the South Sea, such as coconut groves, islands, fishing villages, etc. "I grew up in the countryside, and my parents raised a lot of chickens, ducklings, geese and other poultry. I also like to run around with my friends, run to the field, play with all kinds of small animals, often until late at night. It was the experience at that time that made me know all kinds of birds and animals very well, and I knew their movements very well, such as how to capture them, and that impression remained in my mind. Zhong Zhengchuan said, "So until now, my paintings have revolved around the mood of my childhood." Black herons, chickens, ducks, eagles, fish, etc. all ended up becoming important subjects in my paintings. ”
《Nanyang Style》
In terms of composition, Zhong Zhengchuan combines a lot of Western painting techniques, but it is expressed in ink, which is very innovative. His brush is very bold and his painting style is unique. Zhong Zhengchuan said that Malaysian Chinese painting is an important part of Nanyang painting and an important peugeot of Nanyang painting. "The Nanyang painting style is influenced by Western culture and Southeast Asian culture, so it has formed some more unique styles."
From his works, it can be intuitively felt that the two cultures are infiltrated and blended with each other. Zhong Zhengchuan's paintings generally involve subject matter with a strong Nanyang style, and the techniques of ink painting expression adhere to the Chinese cultural tradition. It is in this way that Mr. Chung Chung Chuan became an artist who used Danqing's magic brush to promote cultural exchanges between Malaysia and China.
(Images courtesy of interviewees)
Editor-in-charge: Yang Xiaojun