At noon on March 20, the author learned during a drink with his friend Zhang Zhen that his father, Mr. Zhang Xiaoqu, was originally a relief painting artist, and when pushing the cup to change the cup, it was very coincidental that Zhang Zhen's cousin Peng Jiuwu sent a photo of the Guanlin Octagonal Tower in Luoyang, and proudly said: "The paintings and reliefs on this octagonal tower are from the hands of his uncle Zhang Xiaoqu, and there are many such ancient architectural paintings and reliefs in Luoyang that are from the hands of his uncle." Looking at the photos inside Zhang Zhen's mobile phone, I was stunned, through the interview, so a long-dusted past opened Zhang Zhen's heart.
Zhang Xiaoqu inspected Fuzhou before his death
As the saying goes: "Life is a song, although suffering can hurt a person's body, but do not forget that in the depths of our hearts, there is a spiritual temple, where we can create rainbows, laughter and songs." Zhang Zhen's father, Mr. Zhang Xiaoqu, was a folk relief artist who came out of that special era in the past.
The relief painting on the octagonal pavilion in Guanlin, Luoyang City, is by Mr. Zhang Xiaoqu
In 1943, Mr. Zhang Xiaoqu was born in a high-quality family in Luyi County, Zhoukou City, and in 1962, he stressed more and more on class struggle every year, month by month, and day. Who do you fight with? The Outer Dou Emperor repairs the rebellion, the infighting seals the capital repair, and the land rich oppose the bad right, plus traitors, spies, and bourgeois roaders, and at the same time criticize the stinky old nine. In this series of class struggles, especially during the Cultural Revolution, people from bad families were actually thrown into the other category. Mr. Zhang Xiaoqu, who likes to paint and carve, and is self-taught, cannot continue to study because of his high composition and his family baggage is becoming heavier and heavier. So he packed his simple luggage and walked from his hometown of Luyi to Luoyang on foot. With his personal talent and wisdom and the basic skills of painting and carving from childhood, with the help of well-wishers in Luoyang, he slowly embarked on an artistic path. Entering the era of the catastrophe of the Cultural Revolution in the past ten years, art has entered the cold winter, and Zhang Xiaoqu, with his dedication and enthusiasm for art, has survived the cold winter and adhered all the way to reform and opening up, and the hardships along the way can be imagined. Zhang Zhen's cousin Peng Jiuwu apprenticed with his uncle Mr. Zhang Xiaoqu from an early age, and witnessed Mr. Zhang Xiaoqu's paintings and reliefs from Luoyang Wangcheng Park to Guansheng Temple, Guanyin Pavilion, Dragon King Pavilion, Wenchang Pavilion, Guanlin Octagonal Pavilion and then to Longmen Grottoes. For a time, it was well-known in Luoyang folk.
Mr. Zhang Xiaoqu took a group photo with his second son, Zhang Zhen, because the photo was long,( not clear enough. ）
Ancient architecture is beautiful precisely because of the relief and painting, Mr. Zhang Xiaoqu on the basis of his own art, with reference to the creation of successive generations of artists, continuous improvement and development, and gradually formed his own unique style. A piece of fine wood, after countless times of carving, can be called a work of art: an uninhibited life, after countless times of carving to attract the world's attention. Life is carved to give off a dazzling brilliance, and the same is true of ancient architectural reliefs. In luoyang Guanlin's octagonal pavilion left Mr. Zhang Xiaoqu's immortal footprints, her life plated with platinum, more dazzling under the sunlight, he dedicated a lifetime of art to his beloved cause, Peng Jiuwu still remembers a sentence that his uncle Zhang Xiaoqu often said: "As long as you want to change, then don't be afraid of the pain of carving, just take it as a rare experience." Eat bitterly, fang is a good person, and there is no pay how to talk about the harvest. ”
The wood carvings of the old mansion in Luyi County, Henan Province, Zhang Xiaoqu are all from the hands of the elderly
According to Peng Jiuwu's recollection, his uncle Zhang Xiaoqu not only likes to carve and paint, but also likes to paint, in his spare time, he will always pick up a paintbrush and wander freely on the paper, the peony painted is vivid and vivid, and many of the flowers, birds, fish, insects, peonies, and ancient animals on some ancient buildings in Luoyang are from the hands of his uncle.
Mr. Zhang Xiaoqu's relief paintings of ancient buildings in Luoyang
What made my uncle proud was the "unique recipe" of pigments. Traditional ancient architectural relief works are colored, using mineral pigments. The color of mineral pigments is more vivid than that of today's paint, but it is not so easy to grind and blend well to make the color enduring. In addition, unlike paint, paint works are relatively easy to weather and crack. How to improve the production process, so that the painted works can withstand the test of time, at that time there was almost no experience to learn from, to solve the problem, the only way to solve the problem is to continue to try. Mr. Zhang Xiaoqu puts the mineral pigments produced each time on the roof and endures long periods of sun and rain, tracking the changes in his colors and relief works. So repeated trial and error, improvement, a few years in a flash. In the process, he also restored a large number of old statues, from which he spied the characteristics and essence of the art of his ancestors. At present, there are many proud protégés of Mr. Zhang Xiaoqu in Luoyang, and it is precisely the traditional artistic spirit that Mr. Zhang Xiaoqu adheres to, and the ancient traditional relief painting art can be preserved and passed on.
Mr. Zhang Xiaoqu's wood carvings in the former residence
At the end of the 1980s, Mr. Zhang Xiaoqu, who had already saved up, took advantage of the spring breeze of reform and opening up, returned to his hometown in Luyi County, Henan Province, and opened a traditional furniture factory, leaving only his protégés in Luoyang, where only his relief paintings and the legend of his art were left. According to Zhang Zhen's recollection: During the peak period of his father's factory, there were more than 200 workers in Mr. Zhang's factory, and the benefits were still good.
On August 30, 2009, Mr. Zhang Xiaoqu passed away due to illness at the age of 67, coinciding with this year's Qingming Festival and the 80th anniversary of Mr. Zhang Xiaoqu's birth, and I would like to commemorate the birth of Mr. Zhang Xiaoqu with this article. May the art of mr. relief painting be reproduced in heaven.
(Text/Li Jing: Consultant of Fujian Sculpture Artists Association, Consultant of Xiamen Arts and Crafts Society)