On May 15, the "Fine Arts Newspaper" of the China Academy of Art published Zhu Tong's travelogue to the former residence of famous celebrities: "Visiting the Former Residence of Qi Baishi in Xiangtan".
Visit the former residence of Qi Baishi in Xiangtan
■ Zhu Tong
The former residence of pilgrimage art master Qi Baishi Xiangtan is my greatest wish all along, and it is also the beginning of my desire to explore how the old man of Baishi went from being an ignorant teenager to becoming a self-taught talent to growing into a generation of masters. On April 30, 2021, I had the honor to attend a joint exhibition of calligraphy and painting held by the Qi Baishi Memorial Hall in Xiangtan, and for the first time, I came to Xiangtan thousands of miles away to see the new appearance and artistic style of the city in the hometown of the master.
Xiangtan, a prefecture-level city under the jurisdiction of Hunan Province, referred to as Tan, is also known as "Lotus City" because of its abundant production of Xianglian, also known as "Tancheng". It administers five counties (cities) including Xiangtan County, Shaoshan City, Xiangxiang City, Yuhu District and Yuetang District. Xiangtan has been established as a county since the Southern Dynasty, more than 1500 years ago, is an important birthplace of Huxiang culture, the cradle of China's red culture, and has the reputation of "Little Nanjing" and "Jinxiangtan". "Xiangzhong Lingxiu Thousand Autumn Water, the world's heroes have more than one county", Xiangtan great man and giant master Canruo Xingchen - Shu Han famous Minister Jiang Wan, late Qing Dynasty minister Zeng Guofan, a generation of leaders Mao Zedong, founding father Peng Dehuai, famous generals Huang Gongluo, founding generals Chen Geng and Tan Zheng were all born here, of course, there are cultural celebrities Qi Baishi. Xiangtan has won the honors of China Excellent Tourism City, National Garden City, National Civilized City and so on. How can such a place of great people and great masters not be born? The great man Mao Zedong was born in Shaoshan City, and the great master Qi Baishi was born in Xiangtan County, and the distance between the two places is more than 100 kilometers.
On Labor Day on May 1st, the weather in Xiangtan was sunny and sunny. At 8:30 in the morning, I went alone to the former residence of the old man in White Rock, and my friend did not accompany me because of other official duties. Qi Baishi's former residence is about 3 hours away from the hotel next to the Qi Baishi Memorial Hall in the Rain Lake District where I live, although the taxi can be fast, but it is less fun to travel, I chose to take the bus to go.
All the way to inquire about the route of the former residence, whether it is a junior high school student or an old man, they have come up with ideas on how to go, and the words reveal their familiarity and respect for the old man of Baishi! After 3 hours of bumps, I finally got off at the huge sign on National Highway 107 pointing to Qi Baishi's former residence. Just entered the mouth of Xinghua Village, a huge stone of more than 20 meters long and about 3 meters high came into view, read "Qi Baishi Cultural Tourism Zone", and the head of the old man of Baishi with silver hair was carved on it, and the holy place in my heart arrived. A 5-meter-wide asphalt new road leads to the destination, go inside without asking people, Xiangtan County Baishi Town Government has signs on the signboard, along the way on the wall or signs from time to time will appear about the white stone old man's text and pictures, Bayberry Garden, Tianfei Palace, Ginkgo Garden, Baishi People's Farm and so on all the way through, and finally reach the former residence of the Xingdoutang.
From October 1, 2014, the visit ticket of Qi Baishi's former residence was adjusted from 5 yuan to 15 yuan, mainly for the maintenance of the former residence and other expenses. I took a video while touring and quietly savored and thought about it.
The former residence was built in the Qing Xianfeng period, also known as the Qi family old house, xingtang old house, star bucket white house, the former residence sits west to east, backed by bauhinia peak, right side of the star bucket pond, left there is a rice field, in front of the door there is a fragrant lotus pond. Baishi Former Residence, which looks like a very ordinary and typical farmhouse, sits west to east, civil structure, thatched roof, is a typical hunan civilian residential building in the late Qing Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty, covering an area of about 200 square meters, with a total area of about 2,000 square meters. In 1993, it was listed as a cultural protection unit by Hunan Province, and in May 2006, the State Council promulgated it as a national key cultural relics protection unit. There are three main houses, two miscellaneous rooms, and one hall house in the middle of the main house, and above the gate hangs a plaque with gold characters on a black background: Qi Baishi Former Residence. There are two compartments on each side. But surrounded by tall, lush trees, in front of it is a square farmland surrounded by willow trees. On January 1, 1864, Qi Baishi, a world cultural figure and a master of modern Chinese painting, was born in the south main house of the hut and lived here for 36 years.
The furnishings of the former residence restore the bedrooms of Qi Baishi and the original wife Chen Chunjun, the parents' bedroom, the firewood room, the dining room, etc., so that people can feel qi Baishi's early life and living, and the other Chen has Qi Baishi carpenter tools, carved objects, paintings (reproductions) and colorful text and picture materials.
Qi Baishi's achievements and status in the modern Chinese painting scene are well known: an outstanding painter, calligrapher and seal engraver in the history of modern Chinese art and culture, the Ministry of Culture awarded the title of "People's Artist" in 1953, the International Peace Prize in 1955, and the World Cultural Celebrity in 1963. One side cultivates one person, and the other side feng shui nurtures a generation of talents. I believe that the emergence of outstanding figures, although it has a lot to do with their own efforts, is also closely related to the local customs and customs, and the aura of the landscape. Some netizen Shiyun: "Iron fence three rooms, pen like a farm tool busy." Yantian cattle did not stop, and the sunset shone on the east wing. "It is a true portrayal of his hard work, and the good feng shui located in Longtai and surrounded by greenery around Qi Baishi's former residence also nurtures his spirit."
Qi Baishi was born in a poor peasant family, and when he was young, he only studied private school for half a year, then dropped out of school at home, cutting firewood, herding cattle, farming, and doing everything. 12 years old to learn carpentry, 15 years old to learn to carve, 20 years old has become a skilled carving expert, his carpentry career has an important impact on his later unique Chinese painting art, his achievements show that he is completely a self-taught model, worthy of all of us to learn and emulate, study and learn.
Outside the former residence, the introduction plaque of Qi Baishi's grandfather's tomb reads: "Qi Baishi's grandfather Qi Wanbing, ranked tenth oldest, is known as Qi Shiye." Grandfather used the stove tongs to draw words on the ashes or used his fingers to draw words to teach the young Qi Baishi to learn, and Qi Baishi never forgot." It can be seen that Qi Baishi's success is not only diligent, but also thanks to superhuman memory.
Qi Baishi has a deep affection for his former residence and a deep attachment to the fertile land that raised him to become an adult, and he once left such a poem: "A hill of sweet potatoes is cool in autumn, and it is a warehouse for a poor family." To the old Mo suspect that the flavor is thin, self-simmering cow dung fire incense."
Seeing things and thinking about people, I can't help but feel that the success of a generation of masters Qi Baishi is not unrelated to his poor birth and the simple and natural inner world, and today's era is rich in materials, life is rich, and information is developed, but it is not a master, which is worthy of our reflection.
