Feng Jicai: A sweet back and forth between painting and writing

Feng Jicai recent photo by Wang Xiaoyan/Guangming picture

【Approaching the Writers】

At the age of 80, he is a painter and a writer. When he had the impulse to create literature, he went to the study to write; with the desire to express it in painting, he went into the studio. For him, it is a sweet and happy round trip - painting is more personal, a personal feeling, a kind of rehearsal, a kind of expression; literature takes more of the thinking of life and the responsibility of society.

A few days ago, Feng Ji had just celebrated his 80th birthday. He feels that people's life is like a big river, sometimes in the middle of the current hit the water, sometimes also "make waves", but after 80 years old, people began to sink, still water deep, calm down. This kind of calmness has a benefit for his literary creation, so that he can gradually remember his past life, "the things that have gone away come back, and there is more of a taste of life."

On the eve of his 80th birthday, Feng Jicai's collection of short and medium stories "Danube Gorge" and essay collection "Studio a Cave In the Sky" were published by writers publishing houses, which were considered to be his birthday gifts.

Two new books, one about the study and one about the studio. Writing books and paintings happen to be Feng Jicai's two "old businesses". The study and studio in Feng Jicai's home are at opposite ends of a porch. When he had the impulse to create literature, he went to the study to write; with the desire to express it in painting, he went into the studio, "It was a sweet round trip, very happy."

Many people don't know that Feng Jicai's literary and artistic path began with painting. Every important day in life, Feng Jicai has the habit of painting. At the age of 50, he painted a large piece of tree, it was already autumn, but the leaves shone in the sun, "at that time I felt that my life had entered a golden age"; at the age of 60, he painted a painting "The Pride Is Still There", a boat sailed in the river, "At that time, I began to do folk cultural heritage rescue, I needed such a force"; at the age of 80, what to paint, he was still thinking.

On the wedding anniversary, Feng Jicai will also paint, and draw a pair of birds with his wife. This "tradition" dates back to the 1960s and 1970s, when together they painted a pair of birds in a snowstorm. Later, the scenery kept changing, but the two birds were always there.

Feng Jicai's mother was from Jining, Shandong, and the characteristics of that place were "wen and martial". Wen was the hometown of Confucius and Mencius; Wu, with its water and Liangshan, was the place where Wu Song Lu Zhishen was active. His father was from Ningbo, and since the Tang Dynasty, the entire family has been a literati for generations. The masculinity of Shandong people and the delicacy of Zhejiang people have both influenced him.

When he was 50 years old, Feng Jicai went to Ningbo to hold a painting exhibition, and his first time selling paintings was in Ningbo. "At that time, there was no money to repair He Zhizhang's ancestral hall, so I selected 5 of my favorite paintings in the exhibition and sold them and donated money." Today, the ancestral hall has become an important cultural tourist attraction in the local area. Feng Ji has done a lot of such things, "I don't have any ideas, I don't have any utilitarianism, just out of love."

Later, Feng Jicai sold paintings many times to raise funds. "Selling paintings can't save folk culture." Such a big China, so many cultural heritage, what role can the money I sell paintings play? It may also have a little effect, that is, to arouse people's thinking on this issue. At that time, after selling the paintings, Feng Ji had a feeling of "four walls of family disciples", and later he said, "I gave my heart to the earth."

For Feng Jicai, painting is more personal, a personal feeling, a kind of rehearsal, a kind of expression; while literature bears more thinking about life and responsibility for society.

Feng Ji began writing in the 1970s and published his first novel, Yihe Fist, in 1977. At that time, he lived in a small house of only a dozen square meters. There was a table in the room where the whole family ate, and after eating and leaving, he could write and paint on it. Feng Ji made a bookshelf out of some wooden strips and put the books on the shelves. He had a picture, he was wearing a very old dress, he had a patch on his elbow, and he was full of books behind him, and he was taking it standing in front of the bookshelf. It wasn't until the 1980s, when life slowly improved, that he had a study.

Some people think that the writer's study must be a room full of books, neatly arranged like a library. In fact, Feng Jicai's study was chaotic, with books and artworks completely mixed together. Someone else helped him clean up the house, and he asked that not a single piece of paper could be moved, "I know where the pile of paper I need can be found."

"The writer's study is the least defensive place for the writer, because all your imaginations and thoughts are naked in the study, and they must be expressed sincerely, and the reader does not need to read a false word." Feng Jicai said.

In the sense of writing, Feng Jicai has been separated from literature for 20 years, "but I will not leave literature." When doing folk cultural heritage rescue, he often has the impulse to create literature. The most literary imagination is when running on the ground, "especially sitting in the car at night, listening to music, for several hours, the literary imagination suddenly comes out."

Someone asked him, what is the writing plan? Feng Jicai replied that there was no plan, "Writing is a happy creation, the accumulation of life in the past few decades is too much, I can't stop writing one by one."

The five novels in "Danube Gorge" introduce elements such as fantasy, fantasy, and adventure in the real reality, which are also true and illusory, which is a style he has not had before. Feng Jicai said that enthusiasm for literature is nature, and those who engage in literature must express themselves in words when they have enthusiasm for life.

Feng Jicai insisted on writing literature as a work of art, and the so-called work of art is to have aesthetic value. He also insisted on the novelist's language—no matter how passionate it was when it was written, the language of the novel should ultimately be refined. This is also the tradition of Chinese literature, in the history of Chinese literature, the first to mature is poetry, then prose, and the biggest influence of poetry on literature is language. When I wrote "The Strange Man of the World", I wrote very quickly, but I changed it a lot, the language was not good, and I did not dare to let go. ”

Feng Jicai said: "Now I am a little different from before, I used to prefer to understand life with readers, and now I think literature has a very important mission, that is, to leave an aesthetic image and thinking about the times." A good artist should influence the spirit of an era, especially the spirit of aesthetics. ”

(Author: Jiang Xiaobin, China Youth Daily reporter)

Source: Guangming Daily