Feng Zikai and the cat
The pioneer of literati lyrical comics
Feng Zikai is the pioneer of Chinese literati lyrical comics. The japanese painter Yumeji Takehisa directly influenced the creation of Toyokokai's manga. Feng Zikai once said: "The lyrical sketches of Yumeji Takehisa in Japan make people feel open-minded, like a cup of cold coffee in the bitter heat... A small painting with only a few strokes not only touched my eyes with the beauty of the shape, but also touched my heart with the meaning of poetry. "Influenced by it, Feng Zikai comics are also like sketches, mostly in the form of a single frame, the tone is concise and smooth, whether it is a life scene, a human condition, or a natural style, a poetic mood can be handy, exuding a strong atmosphere of life, with the characteristics of elegant and popular appreciation, suitable for all ages. In addition, Mr. Feng Zikai is also influenced by Mr. Chen Shizeng's character paintings, and the characters in the comic strips are sketched with a pen, paying attention to Shen Yun and are very documentary.
Feng Zikai (right) and Liu Zhiping (left) pose with their teacher, Master Hongyi
His comic writing began in the 1920s and is mainly divided into four periods: the first is to describe the era of ancient poetry, the second is to describe the era of children' phases, the third is to describe the era of social phases, and the fourth is to describe the era of natural phases. Early comic works are mostly taken from realistic themes, with "warm irony", and later often compose ancient poems and new paintings, especially like to take children's themes. His comic style is simple and simple, and his artistic conception is timeless and subtle, which is a bridge between literature and painting. Zhu Ziqing once compared Feng Zikai's comics to "small poems with cores", believing that they have a long aftertaste like an olive, while Yu Pingbo thought that "Zikai comics" are like "pieces of Falling Ying contain the love of the world". His works embody the affection for his family, the friendship of friends, the enthusiasm for life, and the affection for all things.
Pistachios in the family
Like Mr. Qian Zhongshu, Mr. Feng Zikai is also a cat lover, and can even be said to be a "cat slave". He has raised many cats in his life, including "white elephants", "uncle huang", "ami"... Feng Zikai is related to cats, although he says that he does not like cats, but only likes to draw cats, but in his pen, cats play an important role in the Feng family. In addition to raising cats, drawing cats, and writing cats, he also gained many cats given to him by readers, and he was also criticized for painting cats and writing cats in the "Cultural Revolution". Today, in front of the memorial hall of Feng Zikai's hometown, there is also a fat stone cat quietly guarding each other, and in the animal prose written by Feng Zikai in his life, he writes about cats the most, in addition, he also painted more than a hundred paintings about cats, which shows that Feng Zikai and "cat people" have a deep relationship.
In Feng Zikai's cat prose, "Ami" is a more typical one. In the text, Mr. Feng Zikai's description of the cat is meticulous, his love for the cat is even more overflowing, and the whole text is full of a full love for family members. In his pen, Ami is a living elf, who comes from a famous family, "Ami's father is a Chinese cat, and his mother is a foreign cat." Therefore, Ami's hair is very long, resembling a rabbit." Lively personality, "I think it is adhering to the mother's teaching, the attitude is extremely lively, except for sleep, there is no moment of stillness." If there is one thing on the ground, it is its companion to the game, and it will never get tired of playing." Bringing countless joys to everyone, "even if there is chagrin in the heart, it will forget everything and smile one by one." When a crying child sees Amy, he will burst into laughter." It can be seen that the cat has a great impact on Feng Zikai's family atmosphere, neighborhood relations, and hospitality, "Since coming to Ami, the home has suddenly become lively... There are often strange laughters in the room, it is the messenger or the postman who is admiring Amy... Among the visitors, some are also boring... However, since coming to Amy, our conversation has had an interlude, an adjustment, and the host and guest are comfortable." It can be seen that the cat has long become the pistachio of the Feng family, participating in many details of the family's life, and seems to be adding laughter and laughter to the family all the time to adjust the atmosphere, participate in nagging, and entertain large and small guests. Although Feng Zikai sometimes talks about some small problems such as cats stealing fish, compared with his love and attention to cats, these accusations have long become a kind of "anger" full of love. Imagine if you are indifferent to cats, would the Feng family improve the food treatment for the cats and buy three thousand yuan of cat fish every day? How could Feng Zikai describe the cat so delicately and warmly in prose?
The variable star meow in the comics
In prose, cats are members of the Feng family; in paintings, cats are more like Mr. Feng Zikai's stand-ins or confidants and companions. In his paintings, cats always play various roles like "changeable stars", such as friends, confidants, spectators and even "bodyguards", etc., and he observes the world through cat's eyes, thinks about life, understands the world, and expresses hope. "Don't forget the original heart - Feng Zikai comic special exhibition" exhibits more than ten cat comics, although the cat in the painting is not the main object, but in the composition and meaning of the painting play an important "balance" role. Feng Zikai's love for cats can be described as jumping on the paper and showing it all. According to the different painting intentions and inscription poems, we can roughly analyze the cat comics in the exhibition from four aspects: girlish love, literati reverie, life fun and friend interest:
First, girlish feelings
Feng Zikai"Weaver Girl Star Comes to the Pillow"
This poem was originally composed by the Song Dynasty scholar Qin Guan when he married his relatives: "The wind blows the moon into the bar, and the black magpie is silent and silent." The Weaver Girl star came to the pillow and knew that she was not in the world. "Expresses the deep affection between the couple. Here, Feng Zikai's new poem expresses the woman's infinite thoughts about her lover. In the picture, the woman lies on the pillow, knitting a sweater and gazing at the stars, as if weaving all her thoughts into the sweater. The kittens on the side squatted on the edge of the bed, quietly accompanied the owner, breaking the lonely atmosphere and bringing a little psychological comfort to the owner.
Feng Zikai", "Peach Blossom in the Courtyard"
This is a comic full of life. In the painting, the peach blossoms are blooming one after another, the grass is green, and the girl with long braids and new clothes is excitedly wearing crested shoes, ready to go out with her female companions to feel the breath of spring. A kitten lies behind its owner, like an old man who is accustomed to watching the world, calm and calm, very calm. The two are moving and static, the contrast is clear, and the liveliness of the girl and the composure of the cat are vividly expressed.
Feng Zikai", "Liang Shangyan"
The spring breeze rolls the bamboo curtains, the beautiful people lean on the building to shake the fan, watch the swallowtail cut spring, and the sky is full of red flowers. The beautiful person leaned on the building and stared, and the kittens accompanied each other, as if they pinned their thoughts on the spring swallow and the falling red, hoping that the lover could return as soon as possible. At this moment, although the kitten does not necessarily understand the owner's intentions, it sits quietly and watches the pieces of peach blossoms flying, so as not to make the owner look alone, so that the whole picture is full of warmth. It can be seen that Mr. Feng Zikai still pities Xiang Xiang and cherishes jade, and is reluctant to be too lonely.
Feng Zikai, "The Spring Breeze is Unfair"
In the spring, the grass is green, the breeze blows the willows, the red flakes fall, the warblers sing and swallow dance, the Yi people lean on the household, as if they are intoxicated by the beautiful scenery in front of them, a moment of thought, sadness, sighing that time has flown by, looking forward to the early return of their sweethearts. The industrious little sister in front of the door "did not understand the style" to sweep the falling flowers, breaking the poetic mood, and did not know that "the falling red is a ruthless thing, turning into spring mud to protect the flowers." However, the little white cat independent of the slope in front of the door, curled up and looked up, as if it had been immersed in the beautiful scenery, and the Yi people in front of the door were in harmony, forming a situation where one person and one cat became confidants to "Yin". The whole picture is fresh and elegant, the brushstrokes are delicate, the pieces of red and the spring breeze of the willow echo in the distance, the white cat and the Yi people are opposite, and the strong poetic meaning cannot help but make people fall into it and extricate themselves.
Feng Zikai,"When Grandma Was a Teenager"
In the picture, an aunt holding a shisha, sitting in front of her, wearing a green shirt and black pants, her hair is not messy at all, and her expression is peaceful and happy. The two children held the picture frame and carefully examined it against the grandmother, and seemed to hear the sounds of surprise and admiration from time to time. Grandma seems to have returned to that fancy year, although full of wrinkles, but still "girlish heart" bursting, feeling "hurry that year". A small white cat, squatting next to Grandma, arched slightly on the side, looked at everything in front of her with full attention, as if she had read Grandma's thoughts, and was happily tasting the beautiful "Little Grandma" with the child with an appreciative gaze. The whole picture is full of warmth, a sense of natural happiness, but it also shows the slightest pride of "although Shaohua has passed away, youth has not diminished".
Second, the reverie of the literati
Feng Zikai,"A Branch To Take a Bottle Before Looking"
A bottle, a branch of flowers, and a bottle of wine constitute a simple artistic conception and elegant style of "Cold Food Qing Offering". But unlike the usual literati confessions, there is an extra literati sitting and meditating and a kitten squatting in the painting. Over the past thousand years, the Cold Food Festival has developed from respecting the emperor and promoting loyalty and patriotism, dedication to success and retirement, honest and honest political ambitions, and filial piety that does not violate relatives to gather people's hearts and condense the soul of the country, and has become an important festival that embodies the ancestral culture of the Chinese nation. Painting Chinese people pouring themselves drinks, staring at vases of flowers, seem to be thinking about their own life ideals and ambitions, full of a strong nostalgic atmosphere and a faint atmosphere of sadness. In this regard, the kitten next to him does not necessarily understand, although it does not say anything, it is ready to go, giving the owner unlimited strength and support.
Feng Zikai,"Lamentable Ignorance"
The inscription poem is selected from Gao Shi's "Tian Jia Chun Wang": "When you go out, you can see it, and the spring color is full of flatness." Lamentable ignorance of oneself, Gao Yang is a drunkard. The poem is full of resentment, expressing the high degree of admiration for people's sniffles, suffering from the hero's uselessness, so that he is drunk all day and wastes time. This cartoon is more or less a depiction of such a depressed literati's frustration. In a tavern, three or five drinkers, staggered, talked very happily, only one person sat on his feet, in front of a separate table, facing a table full of delicacies, but did not have the heart to taste, poured himself a drink, as if looking at the double swallows outside the window, fell into meditation. This image of loneliness is incompatible with the lively scene around it. A small yellow cat, like a puppy, loyally and quietly accompanies its owner; like a master, it looks at the shoes in front of it, and also falls into contemplation. One person and one cat, completely forgetting the whole world, disregarding the good spring light, and deeply immersed in the thinking of their own life direction.
Third, the joy of life
Feng Zikai," ZiZhi Crying Four Times
This cartoon is a new work of ancient poetry, taken from the Song Dynasty Xie Fangde's "Silkworm Woman Yin". The original poem compares silkworm keepers with singers, mainly showing the hardships of silkworm women raising silkworms. But in Feng Zikai's pen, this painting is more about a young girl who explores silkworm babies at night with candles. The picture is less sad, but it is full of a strong breath of life. What is even more different is that Feng Zikai added a kitten to the painting, adding a lot of agility. Although the cat can't help, it is wide-eyed, lying down, and looks like a baby who is sworn to die to defend the silkworm baby, which is very intimate and loving.
Feng Zikai", "Placing Wine to Celebrate the Year of Abundance"
Feng Zikai was an alcoholic all his life, and he was also accustomed to the wine table. In its manga collections, similar drunken themes are not in the minority. The characters in Feng Zikai's drunken figure are mostly civilians or literati friends, rather than Zhu Men feasting. This cartoon shows the scene of celebrating the harvest with wine, under the warm light, the four people sit on the drink, reminisce about the hardships of labor, feel the joy of the harvest, although the old man and the old woman have been drunk, but still laughing, the picture is warm and happy. The kitten in the corner of the table, sitting upright, although not drinking, has been deeply integrated into the celebration scene, like a family member, enjoying the festive atmosphere with the hosts.
Feng Zikai", "Talking About Wine"
This cartoon shows the joyful scene of the peasant gathering, and extremely accurately interprets the poem "Passing the Old Man Zhuang" by Meng Haoran in the Tang Dynasty. Under the shade of the plantain green trees, next to the warm farmhouse, three or five friends sit by the window, taste food, drink good wine, talk about it, surrounded by chickens and cats, a harmonious and beautiful pastoral style. According to common sense, the pastoral style generally depicts the scene of chickens and dogs smelling each other, but Mr. Feng Zikai adds cats to the main part of the picture, which shows his doting on cats. The cat in the painting did not live up to Mr. Feng's good intentions, squatting calmly at the table, and seemed to be involved in the process of reminiscing with old friends.
Fourth, friends and interests
Feng Zikai, "I'm drunk and sleepless and go"
According to Feng Zikai's children, this work is very similar to Chen Shizeng's painting with the same title, presumably feng Zikai was inspired by Chen Shikai's paintings and imitated them. The excerpt in the painting is from Li Bai's "Drinking with The Ghost in the Mountains" in the Tang Dynasty: "The two people drink the mountain flowers, cup after cup. I was drunk and went to sleep, and the Ming Dynasty deliberately came with a piano. This cartoon depicts that after several rounds of drinking, it has reached the point of "three cups do not remember who the owner is". The master himself was already drunk and feeling drowsy, so he unceremoniously expelled the guests: "Go and go." Although it is not mentioned that "the Ming Dynasty intends to hold the piano", we can also roughly feel that he will definitely ask a friend to come back on another day, drink and talk together, and beat the festival and sing. Therefore, such eviction orders are really good intentions. In the painting, although the kitten has not drunk alcohol, it seems to feel the owner's strong drunkenness, so she sleeps on the side of the corner of the table in order to guard the left and right and ensure that the owner is thoughtful.
Feng Zikai,"Persuade the King to Drink More Wine"
The inscription poem is excerpted from Wang Wei's Tang Dynasty's "Sending Yuan Er Envoy Anxi" ("Weicheng Qu"): "Weicheng Chaoyuyi light dust, guest house green willow color new." Persuade the jun to enter a glass of wine, and go out of the yang in the west for no reason. Presumably, this painting shows the scene of the host setting up a feast for his friend. The red candles are highly lit and the lights are bright, and the three people sit around the table, pushing cups and changing cups, and the interest is high. Unlike the other cats in the drinking picture, the kittens at the table in this painting seem to smell the fragrance and stand up with great interest, but they want to join the banquet. This situation can't help but make people can't help but be amused, breaking the negative atmosphere in Wang Wei's poems.
Feng Zikai", "Grass Cup and Plate For Laughter"
Feng Zikai likes to drink, and has a casual attitude towards drinking, just like his essays and paintings, where he is happy, "doing", tasting life from wine, and the interest of the literati. In the painting, the three friends get together, drink and chat, and it is not comfortable. It can be said that the lights are not on, the dishes are not much, the wine is not good, the wine is not good, the words of the three tours are more, the young things, the heroes, the sad things, one by one, one by one, gush into the heart, speak freely, and enjoy themselves. A cat sits on a hole in the wall, and seems to want to talk to its friends and the future like its owner. Looking at the whole picture, the viewer will surely feel a thousand emotions: wine is less than a thousand cups for confidants, there are books, poems, wine, friends, and cats on the road of life.
Feng Zikai "Good Friendly Wine, Good Bird Good Sound"
After three rounds of drinking, friends talk freely, smoke on their legs, talk and laugh, and feel uncomfortable. A bird hangs high in front of it, hissing and singing, and it is very lively. A kitten, sitting quietly next to it, without being afraid of the stage, as free as the owner's legs cocked erlang, sitting quietly in front, although there was no half a word, but it seemed to have completely integrated into the atmosphere of high-minded talk. Listening with the ears open, it is like a friend who is gradually getting drunk, listening pleasantly; it is also like a meditative master, who has long understood the world in the light clouds and breeze, and a good school of calm and leisurely, which can be described as "good friendly wine, good bird good sound good cat".
Cats and birds, one low and one high, one static and one moving, not many brushstrokes, the image is unknown, but it constitutes a corresponding trend on the picture, adding a sense of agility. It is conceivable that when Mr. Feng Zikai created this sketch in his later years, although it was a few faint strokes, it was invigorating and directly expressive.
Through the above four theme comics, we can see that Mr. Feng Zikai's cat comics are quiet and indifferent, but they are vivid and naughty, and his joy of life and life philosophy are also vividly expressed. The cats in the comics, although they have different movements and different colors, they can always be consistent with their owners, so that they can think together, enjoy together, sleep together, and wake up together. In terms of picture composition, the cat is either moving or static, high or low, or main or secondary, always occupying the picture, even if it is a corner, it also adds a lot of agility to the whole picture. Perhaps, "the cats in the corners of those comics are the embodiment of Feng Zikai, peeking through the cat's eyes to see the scenes of worldly life"; or, the cats carry the pursuit of life that Mr. Feng Zikai wants to express in each picture, they are the hopes in each painting, which can dissolve the negative emotions in the original poem one by one and bring warmth to the viewer. This should be Mr. Feng Zikai's original intention.
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