"Nan Zhang Bei Pu" is a title that has been circulating for nearly 90 years. In the 1930s, The Beijing Liulichang painter Zhang Daqian, a young artist who came to Beiping from the south to look for opportunities, and Pu Ru, a descendant of the imperial family, put together a combination of calligraphy and painting, which was used as a marketing tool and also left a good story for the Chinese modern and contemporary painting world.
On April 26, 2022, Liu Yuan, Xie Fei and Dr. Gong Min, experts of the Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Department of Christie's Hong Kong, talked online about "The Inexhaustible South Zhang Beipu", bringing Dr. Gong Min's new book "Who Will Wang Sunyi - An He Zang Pu Xin Shu Lesson Manuscript" to share, and talk about the artistic life of the master of calligraphy and painting "Nan Zhang Bei Pu".
Pu Ru and Zhang Daqian, the age difference between the two people is two years, Pu Ru was born in the royal capital, is the grandson of Prince Gong Yi Bi, Zhang Daqian was born in Sichuan a scholar Xiang mendi, through the famous literati Chen Sanli matchmaking, they met in 1926 in Beiping ChunhuaLou, and then there were calligraphy and painting exchanges, until 1935, in the "Beiping Morning News" as an editor of the painter Yu Feimin officially put forward the "Southern Zhang BeiPu" statement.
Although the identities of the two are far apart, they are similar in age and have similar voices, Pu Ru's painting style is Northern Sect with Southern Sect, zhang Daqian's style is Southern Sect and Northern Sect, which has become a combination of calligraphy and painting. But Zhang Daqian has always taken Puru as a teacher, and the two young talents are sympathetic to each other and have many common topics.
An He and the teacher Pu Ru
Pu Ru's disciple An He collected a batch of Pu Ru class art manuscripts, that is, the courseware that Pu Ru gave to the students, a total of 356 pieces. Among them, there are Puru's formal works, his letters to An He and An He's father, Pu Ru's last desperate poem, and his pro-death post.
Pu Ru's disciple Qi Gong mentioned in Mr. Reminiscence's article that Pu Ru had visited many posts, but at that time Qi Gong could not find a single one, and there were many Pu Ru's Pro Posts in An He's collection of Pu Ru class art manuscripts.
Among the manuscripts, there are also poem manuscripts. Mr. Puru teaches students to write letters, write poems, and even how to buy painting materials.
PuRu demonstrated to the students how to buy painting materials such as paper and pencil
Pu Ru wrote a couplet to An He
Pu Ru painted a picture of a woman in a mirror based on An He
Pu Confucian taught students to paint, but also taught them Chinese studies, and he hoped that students could become literati of the nature of scholars. But at that time, many people went to school hoping to learn painting and sell money in the future. Pu Ru had high hopes for the students, hoping that they would have the ambition and feelings to open up peace for the world.
Puru wrote a motto for his students
The An He Zang Pu Xin Shu Shu Manuscript is a book like a martial arts secret. Pu Ru said that he was the first in classics, second in poetry, third in calligraphy, and fourth in painting. He hopes that his ideological ambitions will be close to those of the ancients, so that he can stand tall and create works with a high style. Su Dongpo did not learn to paint, but his calligraphy and painting is popular, if you let the literati of the Ming and Qing dynasties copy it, it is impossible to get su Dongpo's style. This is where a person's inner cultural accomplishment and temperament come into play. Pu Ru was born in the royal family, and from the age of four, he came into contact with ancient classics and digested them into his own things, which is the so-called "belly with poetry and bookishness".
Pu Ru painting of Zhong Kui
Although Pu Ru has literati feelings, he likes to paint bits and pieces of life, he is not old-fashioned, but very humorous. He draws Zhong Kui, unlike the traditional painting method, his Zhong Kui is not serious and super cute.
In the lesson, there is an interesting portrait of the face of the person, in which the eyes of one of the portraits are partially hollowed out, and the other two eyeballs are drawn, which can be pulled at the back and changed the angle. This is used in Pu Confucian teaching, explaining that people's eyes occupy an important position in paintings, and because of different perspectives, the image will be different.
Pu Ru showed the students landscape paintings
Pu Ru's landscape paintings are completely a Song painting atmosphere. His paintings were sold out when they first debuted, mainly because his style of painting was much higher than that of his contemporaries. He read a lot, immersed himself in the study of Chinese culture, and there are ancient paintings handed down from his family, which have a deep influence on his creation. Because Pu Ru is a Shu out, there are not many collections in his hands, otherwise If Pu Ru can see more ancient paintings, the breath will be higher.
Pu Ru lived in seclusion in Xishan Jietai Temple for a while, and his paintings, on the one hand, learned a lot of ancient paintings, and on the other hand, came from his sketches in the mountains. Pu Ru was famous for painting apes, and he also raised monkeys himself.
Puru at a young age
When Puru was 5 years old, he met Empress Dowager Cixi at the Summer Palace, and Cixi gave him a shanglian, and he came out on the spot. Cixi was very fond of Puru and praised that the aura of the dynasty was concentrated on this child.
Pu Ru's "Sunset Wild Ferry" is super miniature in size, more than 1 meter long and only 4 centimeters wide, and this painting has an element of showmanship. Pu Ru's paintings can often be seen in small places with his intentions, management and wrist strength. Pu Ru boxed from elementary school, and he could punch with other children under the Eight Immortals table.
This "Moss Slippery Baby Picture" is only the size of a palm, and it actually sold for 5.25 million Hong Kong dollars, which is a well-deserved "most expensive baby", the painting is not afraid of small, the key is wonderful.
Speaking of Zhang Daqian, this year's Christie's Spring Auction in Hong Kong has a painting of Zhang Daqian's "Flying Spring at the Mountain Temple" in 1963, which is one of the most successful splashes of color in his later years.
Zhang Daqian splash color is an art style acceptable to both the East and the West, because there is abstract beauty in the splash color. After Zhang Daqian returned to Brazil from Europe in 1962, he created the splash color painting method. But his splash is very oriental, very subtle, and it is realized from traditional culture, not a copy of European abstract paintings.
"Nan Zhang Bei Pu" met in the Famous Restaurant Chunhua Building in Beiping, and both of them also like food.
An He collected a note written by Pu Ru, which was written to his wife Li Moyun to explain the matter of eating. It can be seen that Puru is very casual, and even has a bit of a strict appearance of a wife.
Beijing Poly once photographed a handwritten menu of Puru, which also asked for ham to be added to chicken porridge and ice to drink soda.
Puru is very edible, when he was doing exhibitions and teaching in Hong Kong, local celebrities Such as Zhao Shaoang and Rao Zongyi received him, and it is said that Puru can eat 100 hairy crabs every night, but that is an exaggerated legend.
Compared with Puru, Zhang Daqian's reputation as a foodie is even louder. His chef in California was later hired as a chef in New York, and the Kennedys went on to visit. Zhang Daqian also created many dishes of his own, such as daqian chicken nuggets, liuyi silk and so on.
Zhang Daqian likes to cook
LiuYi Silk is a dish created for Zhang Daqian by Chen Jianmin, a famous chef at a Sichuan Hotel in Japan, which is made of 6 kinds of vegetables such as mung bean sprouts, magnolia buds, enoki mushrooms, leek yellow, celery white, and coriander stalks, and shredded ham, and later became a reserved dish for Zhang Daqian's family banquet.
Zhang Daqian is very affectionate, Chen Jianmin is his Fellow Villager in Sichuan, he gave Chen Jianmin a lot of paintings, one of which is "Spring Friendship" is a rare large-scale screen painting, which depicts their friendship.
Zhang Daqian's family banquet menu is Sichuan cuisine plus Cantonese cuisine, just look at such a menu, you know why his blood sugar is high in his 30s. Zhang Daqian has a bold personality, the friends he makes are of high level, and the specifications of cooking are also high. He entertains guests attentively, and he has to write a menu by hand every time he invites, which can be seen that Zhang Daqian is thoughtful and thoughtful. The title of "a thousand in five hundred years" is really worthy of the name.
In 1955, Pu Ru visited South Korea and went to Japan to give lectures, and Zhang Daqian was living in Brazil at that time, just in time to buy decoration and painting materials in Japan. In the 1950s, the Japanese economy had just entered a period of recovery, and after many large families declined, they sold things out, and Zhang Daqian took the opportunity to buy a lot of paintings. This is a photo of Zhang Daqian and Pu Ru and others gathering at that time.
In 1955, Pu Ru (front row, second from right) and Zhang Daqian (third from left in the second row) met in Japan
In the online conversation, Christie's experts also shared a calligraphy work by Pu Ru, "Three thousand miles away from life, twenty years after the lone goose left home." Pu Ru and Zhang Daqian, the twin stars of the painting world, spent the first half of their lives in the painting world, but the second half of their bodies were helpless to leave home, and they could not return for life, and the two words "leaving home" became particularly heavy in their hearts.