Huang Dade
Art historian Wang Zhongxiu (1940-2018) is an expert in Huang Binhong's research, probably Gao Jianfu and Huang Binhongshan, and is an important figure in the "art revolution", so Mr. Wang Zhongxiu has been involved in his research.
In the preface to "Dream Butterfly Collection", Hong Zaixin praised Wang Zhongxiu for "making a brilliant interpretation of Gao Jianfu, which thus influenced the study of the guangdong painting world" and "like a detective novel, it is fascinating, worthy of being a model for the history of modern painting". Hong Zaixin also followed the path of Wang Zhongxiu and did a lot of research around Gao Jianfu, but the author of this article read it and gave birth to many doubts, and believed, "Academic research must speak according to historical materials, crazy speculation, chaotic logical reasoning, and devious words and sentences will lead academic research astray, and it is extremely necessary to be vigilant and vigilant." ”
Is the Battle of Fang Huang a "Battle of Ex-Situ"?
Huang Binhong was a member of the Guangdong Chinese Painting Society, and in the 1920s, the Chinese Painting Society had a debate with the eclectic school, known in history as the "Fang Huang Controversy". Wang Zhongxiu is naturally concerned about this. In the "Huang Binhong Ten Matters Examination : The Origin of the Truth Pictorial" (hereinafter referred to as the "Truth Pictorial" The Edge" ) wrote:
In 1925, in the "Special Issue of New Industry in South China" published by Yi Ru (Dachang), Huang Binhong published "Discussion on the Study of Chinese Painting - The Near Cause of the Trend of Shi Xi" (hereinafter referred to as "Talk on Painting Science"), "I don't know if this article is the fuse that led to the controversy between the old and new schools of painting in Guangdong, anyway, at this time, Guangzhou's "Seventy-two Xingshang Bao" reprinted it, and the following year it was included in the special issue of the Guangdong Chinese Painting Research Association." Yi Dachang seems to be an intermediary in this matter. "South China New Industry Special Issue" published a painting of Pan Dawei (Cold Cruel Daoist), entitled 'Dachang Resident has a South China Aesthetic Journal, the picture is Shou. In June, the cold and cruel Daoist people imitated Ni Gaoshi'. Pan Dawei was the president of the Guangdong Chinese Painting Research Association, and in 1926 the Great Controversy occurred among Huang's friends led by Gao Jianfu and Pan Dawei. This contest between the old and the new lasted for two years, and it was said to be unprecedented in its length and debate. It seems that the controversy that should have taken place between Huang and Gao did not appear, but the debate in Guangzhou was like a battle between Huang and Gao. ”
Huang Binhong's "Discussion on the Study of Chinese Painting- The Proximate Cause of the Trend of Time and Habit"
The combination of "I don't know"—"yes or no," "seems to be," and "inverted image" suggests that his argument is purely speculative.
Why such speculation? Because he could not "find information" with his hands and feet for Huang Binhong's people and things in the circle of friends in different places, as he did in the Shanghai Library and zhejiang Provincial Museum, he lost the advantage of "sitting on the bench for ten years", and could only rely on friends from all over the world to provide fragmented information, and he was completely unfamiliar with the intricate social environment and interpersonal relations in other places, unable to distinguish between right and wrong, and could only rely on subjective speculation to "use the structure of the annals to express his own views". (Addressed by Wang Zhongxiu on April 19, 2004)
With his imagination, he determined that Huang Binhong wrote "Talk on Painting" because of his "very different artistic orientation" from Gao Jianfu. But what did Gao Jianfu write in the twenties? No.
The most representative of their artistic orientation was the 1908 Shanghai Times' "Toyo Kinxin", which declared that they would "collect the strengths of the three countries of China, the East and the West and synthesize a faction." However, at this time, Huang Binhong has not yet arrived in Shanghai. In the winter of 1912, Gao Qifeng played the banner of "eclecticism" in the "Truth Pictorial", but there was no wave, no repercussions, and there was no "disdain as some people in the north now" as Shu Shijun pointed out. ("Discussion of the Lingnan School of Painting", "Research on the Lingnan School", Shanghai Calligraphy and Painting Society.) It should be noted that at the beginning of the twentieth century, Chinese painting was in the autumn of decline, in order to save the decline of painting, painters searched up and down the crossroads of chinese painting, and various trends of thought and exploration were underway. Each has its own artistic orientation, even if it is a point of view for the text, no one will provoke anyone. Why does Wang Zhongxiu have this conjecture? I think the main reason is that he also lacks the proper control over the situation in the Shanghai art circle. What was the original meaning of "Talk on Painting"? Who and what is being referred to? Elder Bin did not confess, and Wang Zhongxiu did not examine it. Probably because the text mentions "compromise", it is determined that it is aimed at Gao Jianfu. And because the article was first published in the "South China New Industry Special Issue", and at the same time published a painting by Pan Dawei, "president of the Guangdong Chinese Painting Research Association", congratulating Yi Dachang on the birthday of the "Special Issue", so it was determined that Yi Dachang was "the intermediary of this matter". But if you think about it, does Dachang have a grudge with Gao Jian's father? No! In 1936, Gao Jianfu went to Shanghai to hold an exhibition, and Jian Youwen held an elegant collection in his Spot Garden, and when the Collection of Ya was held, Yi Dachang had "Jian Gong you Wen Ban Yuan's Painting Society Painter Gao Jian Father Impromptu Second Qin Huai Hai Xu De's Idle Xuan Rhyme" - poem: "The Spot Garden receives many Yingxing, far away from Gao Yu people Zhonghao, Cen Lou up and down the Yao Hua Wall, Li Hua depicts the surroundings of the county." Strange colt willow is all unbridled. Dangerous magpie barren vine Ning bad labor, unique autumn wind number and the first, the rest of the pen is as meticulous as cattle hair, the sage lord Daya called Jian Zi, among the many Ji I became a widow, the crater is full of red Aya cake, and the mirror scenery accompanies the green frost robe. Knowing that this will be easy to have, Wan Ya chu indulged with Wu Cao. "If Yi and Gao have a grudge, can they write such poems?" Will Yi Shi be the "intermediary" of this fierce controversy?
It is worth noting that Yi Shi is not a member of the Chinese Painting Society, and Pan Dawei is not the president of the Chinese Painting Society. Therefore, in this "historical material" that was created out of nothing, the normal calligraphy and painting remuneration between Yi and Pan became an ulterior motive "conspiracy".
Huang Binhong (1865–1955)
Huang Binhong "Lotus Pond Autumn Fun" No Year Color on Paper Zhejiang Provincial Museum Collection
To be fair, Huang Binhong's views on painting are not intense, nor are they novel. In Shanghai, as early as 1923, Nett had written an article pointing out: "Some people may advocate reconciling the strengths of Chinese painting and Western painting to form another kind of eclectic painting." I thought so. Orientals have their own characteristics and styles of Orientals, Westerners have their own characteristics and styles of Westerners, and in material civilization, of course, we can take their strengths to make up for our shortcomings, in order to achieve the realm of perfection. And in the aspect of spiritual civilization, the more significant the characteristics, the higher his value, the clearer the style, the deeper his interest, and there is no need to reconcile, why should we force him to reconcile? (Shanghai Republic of China Daily, May 7, 1923.) And Wang Yifu also said: "Some people advocate the integration of East and West in one furnace, and the method of creating compromise, although it is said to be the way of moderation, seems to be too accommodating, and it is not the essence of the artist, blindly paying attention to the method of pandering, and that kind of mind and wrist I think is not what pure Chinese painters should prepare." (The Current Affairs Newspaper, February 17, 1924.) In 1925, Teng Gu put forward the problem of "the unique spirit of the nation" and "has been obliterated", and the need to carry out the "revival movement of national art" (Tenggu: A Short History of Chinese Art). It can be seen from this that "Talk on Painting Studies" is by no means enough to form the fuse of the controversy, it is just That Wang Zhongxiu used "subjective speculation" to link it to that controversy.
As long as you read Hu Gentian's "Remembering the Storm of Guangdong's First Provincial Art Exhibition Sixty Years Ago", you can roughly know that as early as 1921, the so-called "new" and "old" painting schools in the Guangdong painting world began to fight, and it was full of gunpowder. In "Revolutionary Painter Gao Jianfu - An Overview and Chronology", Jian Youwen simply tied the controversy directly to 1921, saying that the Chinese Painting Society "will want to extinguish the new school and then be willing, and the means used are poisonous and despicable, and they do everything to the extreme." In addition to verbally insulting, attacking people, slandering people, and destroying reputations behind their backs, they have also produced words, ugly slanders, and newspapers and newspapers, large and small, and there is no day. "The controversy did not begin in 1926. Since this is the case, the controversy can neither be triggered by Huang Binhong's article, nor can it take place in Shanghai, let alone any "war of land", it can only appear in the magical land of Guangzhou.
Fang Huang Controversy: Fighting for Profit?
Wang Zhongxiu's theory of the "battle to change places" was highly recognized by Hong Zaixin, a scholar in the United States, and Wei Xiangqi, a young student, and then gave great play to it. Hong Zaixin was the first to identify "profit" as the regional characteristic of this "controversy." He quoted a passage from Mr. Li Weiming's personal letter to him: "The new school relies on power, the old school loves antiquities, the so-called Confucians make a living as the first priority, first of all, survival, then culture, between the new and the old, without a 'profit' word, must not be able to talk about reality." ...... I read the "Chinese Painting Monthly" again, and the grumbling in the head and the private anger of fame and fortune all emitted a copper smell that made people cover their noses. ”
If it is said that "profit" is an important reason for Gao Jianfu to provoke controversy, it seems to be reasonable. After the final publication of Shanghai's "Truth Pictorial" in 1913, it was in the golden period of the Shanghai Mandarin Duck Butterfly Sect, in order to meet the trend of fashion, their brothers set up an "Aesthetic Bookstore", cooperated with Zheng Mantuo, printed a large number of beauty monthly brand paintings, with "nude beauty", "half-body beauty", "love painting of various countries" painting, "living people taking pictures", "famous handwriting" as a gesture, for a time dominated the Shanghai painting world, obtained huge commercial benefits, and found the best way for them to settle down in Shanghai. Later, Lü Li wrote a letter to Chen Duxiu, fiercely attacking the Yuepai painters and their art: "In recent years, Western painting has lost to the East, and the school has been lost; the theory of aesthetic education has gradually spread, and it is a layman's favor, meticulous, and vainly attacking the skin of Western painting, changing into vulgarity, in order to cater to the lustful hearts of the mediocre masses." Taming to this day, the painter of speech can hardly rely on such unreasonable paintings as his ability (the painter of the sea, only this kind of painting can become a coincidence; but his face is not different from yin and yang, and his limbs are not whole, then he is compared. Cover fine anatomy, purely non-known also. As for the title of the painting, it all starts from the idea of causing flesh, especially sighing. At best, it will cause the beauty of the eternal man to lose its righteousness, and to change its thoughts into despicable and dirty. In today's society, no one has the insight into what is wrong, and instead allows them to set up schools, publish magazines, and use specious professors and half-understanding remarks to harm young people. As soon as this theory came out, the voices of all walks of life on the moon card beauty painting continued to be denounced. Tang Jun, in "Telling the Emperors Active in the Shanghai Art Circles: The Anatomy of the Shanghai Art Circles", characterized those who were only keen on "doing senseless pictorials, printing senseless posters, painting fashionista women's paintings, taking nude photos, and painting brush portraits" as "fishing for profits and selling fame" and "selling names for themselves", which are "dirty". "What is fine art?" What is research and advocacy? They don't understand anything either... Such 'city servant art' naturally disappeared during the period of development of fine arts, and there was no need to attack, but during the embryonic period of Chinese art, it was impossible to allow his existence" (Fine Arts, Vol. II, No. 3). It seems that this is the reason why Gao Jianfu finally quietly left Shanghai. After Gao Jian's father returned to Guangzhou, according to the literature, in addition to running schools and painting, he used official relations to buy real estate, according to Li Gemin and Mai Hanyong, Gao Jian's father "the main income in the second half of his life is still the largest proportion of painting and rent collection."
Zheng Mantuo moon card painting, Gao Jian father inscription
In 1926, the second high school and the first Chen of the Henan Zhixin Amusement Art Association performed masterpieces for more than ten years, "asking for a price of thousands of yuan", which was purchased by the National Government, which greatly increased their value. He Yongren of the new camp published a "Letter to Mr. Chen Shuren", praising Chen Shuren for representing the purpose of the new school of painting, and urging Chen to improve the run, and three days later Chen Shuren agreed to change the ten yuan of the pen to twenty yuan. As for Gao Jianfu's painting price, it is naturally much higher than Chen Shuren's, and a painting of 500 yuan is definitely not affordable to the commoners in the "civilian art" he advocates.
He Yongren published "A Letter to Mr. Chen Shuren", praising Chen Shuren for representing the purpose of the new school of painting, and urging Chen to improve the example.
Chen Shuren replied to He Yongrenxin
In the first article written by Gao Jianfu's father to provoke controversy, he claimed that "the new school of painting is the crown of the Republic of China" and is "the era", "the masses", and "the world", and then violently attacked the old school's "stale thinking", "despicable character", "superficial learning", and "weak talent", and his paintings were "stale" and "disgusting". Which one is without anyone? This is undoubtedly to change the traditional aesthetic taste of the masses from the cultural level, "causing the tendency of low-level interesters."
Gao Jian's father's pursuit of profit is under the banner of "saving the country through art." However, he bluntly declared: Painting and painting "is the cheapest cause in the world, it can entertain itself, it can serve the people, it can also get a name, and it can be profitable, and everyone admires it, everywhere is greeted, the pieces are simple, people are competing to buy Tibet, thousands of autumns, and are enshrined as Hongbao, the art chronicles, painting genealogies, and art history of all countries are all published in special issues of your works, all of which are not only famous and special books about your big name, not only fame, showing your parents, but also winning glory for the motherland and seeking happiness for the people." He also said that the opening of the exhibition can not only make the art world recognize the eclectic artistic ideas and styles, but also "increase the reputation of each person's paintings." And in newspapers, magazines, and pictorial publications, they publicize the works of each person, so as to leave a good impression on society and the world", "If there is a considerable time of work, it is still suitable for the famous mountains to be hidden, and it is not appropriate for the new era of the world to open its doors." Although the ancients had hundreds of years after death or met confidants, they had already suffered a lot. In this regard, when Huang Binhong came to Guangzhou in 1928, he talked about the change of the old and new schools of painting and ridiculed them as "tired of good names"! What a hit!
Gao Jianfu (Chinese modern and contemporary Chinese painter and art educator. Born on October 12, 1879 in Panyu County, Guangdong Province, he died in Macau on June 22, 1951. Together with Chen Shuren and Gao Qifeng, he worked on the reform of Chinese painting, which became known as the "Lingnan School". ）
Gao Jianfu's "Bamboo Shoot Cherry Blossom Diagram" Color on Paper Tianjin Museum Collection
Of course, people have to eat and survive. Whether it is Confucianism, Taoism, Mojia, whether it is endowments or low, saints and gentlemen, three religions and nine streams, this is no one can avoid the topic of "making a living", but each casts its own law, using its own knowledge or skills to seek space for survival and development. However, if the cause of the controversy between the old and new schools is because "the art space (including the market) that the Chinese painting research association hopes to strive for" and "they must first open up their own living space in a special way for survival", this is actually their lack of understanding of the situation in the Guangdong painting world.
It should be noted that during the Republic of China period, the traditional painters in Guangzhou were by no means "professional" painters as Wei Xiangqi said, on the contrary, "professional" painters were like the morning star. At that time, there was a popular saying in the painting world: painting cannot be eaten as food, and it will only starve the wife to smoke the stinky house. In the 1920s, Zhao Haogong was framed, Pan Dawei was the manager of Nanyang Tobacco Company, Pan Zhizhong and Li Fenggong were taught Chinese painting at the school, Zhou Dingpei was a teacher at Sun Yat-sen University, and Huang Banruo made a living selling and teaching, in addition to judges, lawyers, and doctors. According to the literature, their works in the exhibition are clearly marked with prices: 10-20 yuan for cooperative paintings, 16 yuan for albums, and 8 yuan for noodles. In 1926, the masterpieces of the Chinese Painting Society were 50-100 yuan, and beginners were below ten yuan. Although most of them were sold, in addition to the miscellaneous expenses such as rent, decoration, and publicity, as well as the publication of journals and catalogues, they were divided among the painters. From this point of view, painting is really their side business. Of course, there is no need to deny that there are also antique forgeries with deep traditional skills, such as Zhao Haogong and Lu Zhenhuan. But what they gained from the antiques was only a slight improvement in their lives at that time, and it was still difficult to escape the "suffering of food without food".
Huang Ban Ruowen. As a member of the Chinese Painting Society in the 1920s, Huang Banruo made a living selling literature and teaching.
In the face of the National Government's high-priced purchase of eclectic paintings, from the logical reasoning, it is thought that Chinese painting will paint people unconvinced. However, the cause of the Fang-Huang controversy was by no means because Wang Jingwei "gave the party its private interests" a high price, but because Gao Shi copied the so-called "new school paintings of Chinese paintings" with his own copy of Japanese paintings, which led to the traditional painters to "distinguish between right and wrong, distinguish between right and wrong, and do not be evil and righteous, and we must establish the sectarian style of Chinese painting." It is worth noting that words such as "plagiarism" and "cultural aggression" have appeared in the polemical articles, and whether this is a war for economic "interests" or for the "interests" of the nation? It goes without saying that this is a battle to defend the national spirit and national culture! It is by no means what Wei Xiangqi and others are saying about "fighting for the living space of art". As Zhao Haogong said: "Whether the work is wanted or not, it may not be enough to testify to the superiority of art", what is important is to "rise up and seek the progress of Chinese painting". In the long process of debate from the 1920s to the 1940s, a large number of articles were preserved, but we did not smell the slightest "copper smell" from them, and scholars who could face history saw the traditionalists, as Shui Tianzhong said: they "showed both artistic self-confidence and condescending momentum in the debate", which made people feel their magnificent feelings of defending the national spirit and national culture. Therefore, if the dispute between the old and the new in the Guangdong painting world is boiled down to the fight for "profit", this is undoubtedly a blasphemy against those cultural elites who have national self-confidence, cultural self-confidence, and the spirit of defending the Chinese national culture.
Bo Cheng, "Talking about the "Lingnan Three Great Artistic Means"—Plagiarism and Scratching", Guangzhou: National News, June 28, 1927
Hong Zaixin's so-called "once the conflict of interests in Lingnan is broken, the estrangement and antagonism between the old and new schools of painters will gradually disappear, and they will participate in various international exhibitions together, showing the strong vitality of Chinese painting", which should refer to the exhibitions held in Belgium and Berlin in the 1930s. But when both sides participate in these exhibitions, does that mean that "the estrangement and opposition are gradually eliminated"? In fact, the contradiction between the Guangdong painting world and the eclectic school has never stopped from the end of the Qing Dynasty to 1949, and the antagonism has shown an increasingly fierce trend, as long as there is a rough understanding of the history of Guangdong art, you will know that the controversy in 1948 is far more intense than the controversy in 1927, and the real "anti-Ge attack" of Fang Rending also appeared in this 1948.
Did Huang Binhong "remote control" the controversy?
In the view of Hong Zaixin and Wei Xiangqi, since the Dispute between Fang and Huang is a "war of changing places", Then Huang Binhong must "intervene" and "remotely control" this controversy. The "remote control" theory first appeared in the annotations of Hong Zaixin's 2003 article, after which Wei Xiangqi's imagination was richer, after "carefully examining the relationship between the initial establishment of the Chinese Painting Research Association and Huang Binhong", he came to the conclusion that Huang Binhong had many Guangdong friends who were "not only economically richer, but also had multiple identities such as publishers, collectors, and politicians", so that "even if it is far away in Shanghai, Huang Binhong can still know the changes in the situation in the Guangdong painting world", "can directly affect the direction of public opinion in the Guangdong painting world". Thus determining that Huang Binhong "already knows his position in the painting world in his heart, he will also consider his responsibilities in the history of modern Chinese painting, as well as the practical incentives for consolidating his academic status, which can also win him more economic benefits." In order to "compete with the "new school" and "compete for the art market", "Huang Binhong well organized the resources of these painters with traditional painting values", "Soon, the surging painting debate in the Guangdong painting world began, and it can be said that it was Huang Binhong who promoted and guided this seemingly inevitable duel.". He believes: "This painting history case seems to lack direct evidence of Huang Binhong's presence, but all the signs are reversed so that we can find Huang Binhong's inescapable involvement." Indeed, Huang Binhong views the course and outcome of the controversy with a more restrained and implicit expression, and he has achieved a victory in the factual sense." "Soon, the guangdong painting world began to stir up the painting controversy, it can be said that Huang Binhong promoted and guided this seemingly inevitable duel", he "as a 'mentor' to pass his painting ideas to the 'researchers' of the Chinese Painting Research Association, instructing to carry out research on the value of traditional painting based on this", which made the Chinese painting council members suddenly "show their academic accomplishment with a great leap forward". However, this is all from "the 'variant' of Huang Binhong's related articles is for 'transplantation' or 'appropriation'", Huang Binhong also "deliberately confessed or implied that the person who was involved in this incident kept secrets, so as not to push it to the cusp of the controversy and be embarrassed, perhaps the Chinese painting research association reached a consensus on this issue, and the highly prestigious Huang Binhong only needed to give inspiration without directly participating in it." Whoops, under Wei Xiangqi's pen, Huang Binhong suddenly became so obscene, cunning, and snobbish! All the princes of the Chinese Painting Society have become "Wen Scribe Gong" who are manipulated by Huang Binhong and plagiarize Huang Binhong's theory. This is really wei Xiangqi's astonishing work of the "Great Leap Forward" academically.
Huang Binhong's "Landscape Paintings of Shi Shiyan", Collection of the Art Museum of China Academy of Art
"It doesn't matter if china and the west" and "art saves the country"
Gao Jianfu said in a speech at the graduation ceremony of shanghai art college on July 5, 1920: "In the future, the painting of the world will not care about school, let alone Chinese and Western painting, and Chinese painting and Western painting, the survivors coexist, and the dead will die", Hong Zaixin called it "the prelude to the Shanghai 'National Painting Revival Movement'", in a sense, "it also responds to Wang Guowei's universal proposition that 'learning has no ancient and modern, learning without Chinese and Western, and learning without usefulness and uselessness', which has far-reaching historical significance."
In fact, Gao Jianfu's obsession with "pie" is well known: in 1908, he played the banner of "eclectic east and west as one school"; in 1912, he played the banner of "eclectic school"; in 1914, he played the sign of "three masters of the new school" in the "Collection of Paintings of Shiren"; in 1919, their monthly brand painters were awarded the title of "European and American New School" by the media; in the 1920s and 30s, they constantly advocated "new school" paintings; in the 1940s, they put forward "new literati paintings" and "new Song Yuan"; after returning from India, they were touched by " Now in the painting world of india, there are few morning stars who write about the ancient school, and the Tiger school is popular throughout the country, and he controls the painters in the whole country, which is the new school of painting in India", so he actively prepared for the "International Academy of Fine Arts" and "publicized our art to the world". To put it bluntly, it is to use its own "new school" to control the painting world in China and even the world. What would be "indifferent" in his eyes? Li Yuzhong said, "Father Gao Jian is to establish himself on the mountain and establish the sect on his own", which can be described as a sharp point! Hu Gentian even more deplored them for constantly proposing all kinds of "nouns or factions such as what sets of ideas" in order to "win the applause of the vulgar"; they "have only known to manipulate nouns all their lives, and have never clearly declared the theoretical basis for what he advocates, the old techniques, which are superficially spurned by the heroes of the movement, and the new techniques, even if they are preliminary sketches, have not been seriously cultivated, so how can they establish the faction they advocate?" ”
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Hong Zaixin's high praise for Gao Jianfu is speechless and surprising: when Wang Zhongxiu said that when Gao Shi played the banner of "collecting the strengths of the three kingdoms of China, East and West", it had foreshadowed that they had "embarked on the road of no return to transforming Chinese painting with Foreign paintings", but in Hong Zaixin's pen, it was the "prelude" to the revival movement of Chinese painting! It's really a bit of a "huh" feeling of today's people!
Gao's statement that "there is no such thing as East and West" and "the survivors coexist, and the dead all perish" actually stems from the preface to the "Guoxue Series" compiled by Wang Guowei for Luo Zhenyu in 1911: "Learning is neither new nor old, no Chinese and Western, no useful and useless; neither is a disciple; there is no new or old; there is no new and old; there is no Learning of Chinese and Western", and the premise of the question is that "the meaning of learning is not clear in the world for a long time." There is a dispute between the old and the new, there is a dispute between China and the West, and there is a dispute between useful and useless learning", that is, it is aimed at those who are keen on The Chinese and Western, the old and the new, and it is precisely because they do not know that there is true learning in the world, so they advocate abandoning the view of the portal between China and the West, the old and the new, and the factions, and directly entering the discussion of the real problem. However, Hong Zaixin ignored the logical relationship of the context of Wang Guowei and gave play to the words that Gao Jianfu had copied at will to modify, which became ironclad evidence to refute Wang Yi's criticism of the eclectic school's lack of theoretical achievements, and determined that this speech was "a response to Wang Guowei's universal proposition that 'learning has no ancient and modern, learning without Chinese and Western, and learning without usefulness and uselessness', which has far-reaching historical significance" and is an "avant-garde point of view", and then summarizing Huang Binhong's "future world, there must be no distinction between Chinese and Western paintings" as "Huang Binhong sublimated Gao Jianfu's father' The concept of "art saving the country" is from the level of modern art in the world, 'far-sighted, looking down on everything'."
In fact, just as Gao Jianfu's understanding of the Chinese painting tradition is very limited, Huang Binhong's understanding of Western painting is also limited, and the saying that "painting has no Chinese and Western" is a false proposition for both of them. The difference is that Huang Binhong is willing to understand Western painting and does not reject it; while Gao Jianfu is resistant to traditional Chinese painting, and even hears others say that Chinese painting is good to the point of gritting his teeth.
Gao Jianfu's "Imitation of Song Landscapes" Color on Paper Collection of Guangzhou Museum of Art
Because Huang Binhong often quoted that he saw the four big characters of "art to save the country" at the lintel of Gao Jian's father's house, Wang Zhongxiu mentioned in Binlao's conversation with reporters in the autumn of 1948 that "it seems to be the interpretation and identification of Gao's 'art to save the country'" (note, it is "seems"); so Hong Zaixin tirelessly expounded how Huang Binhong sublimated Gao Jianhong's concept of "saving the country through art", from the level of modern art in the world, "foresight, looking down on everything", and then played " The cornerstone of Huang Binhong's lifelong friendship with Gao Jian's father is 'art to save the country'."
Remember that in 1906, Kang Youwei put forward the "theory of material salvation", but in a few years, the theory of material salvation "led to the fact of material national subjugation", so in 1913 some people put forward the "theory of spiritual national salvation" in the opposite way. Gao Jianfu is a social activist who is good at using slogans to advocate and package himself, and with the emergence of a large series of slogans such as education to save the country, transportation to save the country, sports to save the country, and culture to save the country, it is not difficult to speculate that "art to save the country" evolved from these slogans.
Cover of "Spring Sleep Painting Institute Held to Welcome the Provincial Education Conference Art Exhibition Catalog"
In October 1930, the Spring Sleep Painting Institute held a press to welcome the provincial education conference art exhibition with the following slogan:
Loyalty to the emerging art of the times to beautify life;
Strive to promote Chinese art, contribute to the world to promote aesthetic education to promote culture";
Beautiful bodies are prone to withering, and art is immortal;
We advocate the revolution of art and create new life for art;
· Cure the art of the East and the West, and promote a new way of art in the world;
・The vivid colors of art are used to render the gray outlook on life.
Slogan on the "Spring Sleep Painting Institute Held to Welcome the Catalogue of Fine Arts Exhibitions of the Provincial Education Conference"
"New" and "revolutionary" were the most fashionable words of the time. The "new" is revolutionary and progressive. With the emergence of a large series of slogans such as education to save the country, transportation to save the country, sports to save the country, and culture to save the country, it is not difficult to speculate that "art to save the country" is a makeover from these slogans. But people who know the history of guangdong art know that since the appearance of these slogans of the Spring Sleep Painting Academy, it has aroused great concern in society. During the exhibition, the famous Western painter and theorist Wu Huan once attacked wen and asked Mr. Gao whether the "works" that attacked the appearance of Japanese paintings were the so-called "faithful to the emerging art of the times". Is it the so-called 'we advocate the revolution of art to create new life for art'? Is it the so-called 'rule of Eastern and Western art and promote the communication of art in the world'? He then engaged in a thirty-six-day debate with Stucci.
In Guangdong, Gao Jianfu's "revolutionary" slogan aroused people's disgust, but why did Huang Binhong remember and quote it from time to time? In a letter he wrote to Bao Junbai, he may be explained: "The painters of the new world, as far as possible to 'save the country through art', chinese ancient and modern paintings, publicly regarded as the world's first-class, but it is not easy for those who study oil painting to know, nor is it an improvement in the style of overseas painters." Seeing that Ni Huang's painting saved the evil habits of China's rivers and lakes, Ni Huang traced back to the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties, and the Two Song Dynasties, so as to correct the accumulated shortcomings of the times and customs, and Qi Biao and overseas scholars were connected, and they should understand it from the discussion of painting in more reading. This means that "art saves the country" is a trend. At the time of the Xinhai Revolution, this slogan was already a hidden existence, and in the late 20s and early 30s, comics, printmaking and other artists have continuously used their works to reflect their aspirations to "save the country through art" - Huang Binhong's friend Pan Dawei was originally a catalyst for Chinese comics, He Jianshi and Zheng Luquan also participated in the work of "Truth Pictorial", which will also attract Huang Binhong's attention, but Pan Dawei and He Jianshi died early, and Gao Jianhong's father was an old friend who was still alive, so he recorded it and quoted it. However, as the author pointed out in the paper "Huang Binhong and the Guangdong Painting World" submitted by the author when he attended the Huang Binhong International Symposium in Beijing in 2004, Gao and Huang's "art to save the country" is two different things that the word agrees to.
Truth Pictorial
Gao Jianfu's "art to save the country" only stayed at the level of "becoming a civilized and helping others": he used the theory of "aesthetic education to save the world" in his letter to Tagore, and in 1933,"Declaration to the Japanese Art Circle and Tell the World" he said that "the sword tasted the oath to take art salvation as the vocation"; in the "Preaching", there is also the phrase "we should take the salvation of art as our heart". It can be seen that Gao Jianfu's slogan of "saving the country through art" is overshadowed with a strong layer of religious color. More importantly, behind Gao Jianfu's "art to save the country" is hidden a strong personal and small group (faction, the same door) of the selfish desire, he openly said to the students: "Painting well, for the cheapest cause in the world, can not only entertain themselves, but also serve the people, but also get a name, but also get profits, and everyone admires, everywhere welcomes, pieces of rulers, people compete for Tibet, thousands of autumn karma, enshrined as Hongbao, art history, art history of all countries, all major publications of your works, all big books and special books of your big name, not to promote your reputation, to show your parents, It can also win glory for the motherland and seek happiness for the people. He also said that opening a painting exhibition can not only make the art world aware of the eclectic artistic ideas and styles, but also "increase the reputation of each person's paintings." And in newspapers, magazines, and pictorial publications, they publicize the works of each person, so as to leave a good impression on society and the world", "If there is a considerable time of work, it is still suitable for the famous mountains to be hidden, and it is not appropriate for the new era of the world to open its doors." Although the ancients had hundreds of years after death or met confidants, they had already suffered a lot. And these are all things that Huang Binhong despises. When the protégé Dai Yunqi wanted to form a "Huang (Binhong) Zhang (Daqian) Same Door Meeting", Elder Bin "tried to stop it" and advised him to "not follow the habit of flaunting, but to work hard from learning". For exhibitions and publications, Huang Binhong believes that "fame and fortune are enough to recruit, and the exhibition is not a simple zhi". "It's time to cherish yourself. Not really successful, do not show people"; "eager to learn, the emperor is not lazy, afraid of inferiority." "Tasting words" steals from learning, morality, and articles, and cannot be falsely praised. Therefore, the works of the ancients that are commonly rewarded, taken into too many collections, have been enough to damage the products, and the situation is the sound of the tiles, and the miscellaneous sheng, which must not be moving and clear. He yin Yin warned his disciples and friends: "Nowadays, European and American scholars revere Zhongbang art, and they are familiar with painting and enjoy it. Painters in our state do not practice painting methods, do not look at ancient and modern famous deeds, do not read the books of predecessors on the theory of names, do not make friends with people at home and abroad, in order to expand their knowledge, but deceive the public with exhibitions, and frighten the rich with high values. This Yan Xizhai Da Confucian's so-called 'poetry, calligraphy and painting, the four worms of the world', sincerely hurt his words. ”
Although Huang Binhong's "art to save the country" also contains the traditional components of "enlightenment and helping others", his thinking on "art to save the country" is at a higher level of promoting traditional Chinese culture and constantly elaborating:
"The Great Counselor of Heaven and Earth, the Cultivation of Heaven and Earth, the Poison of the Pavilion, and the Beauty of the Mountains and Rivers of the Small, in order to cleanse the character." Therefore, the rise and fall of the country depends on culture";
"There are two meanings of eternal life, one is the life of the individual, and the other is the life of the nation and the nation. The life of an individual is short and long, and the so-called immortals should pay attention to the life of the nation. ”
"In Chinese theory, spirit is better than matter, and it can not only cure individual diseases with spirit, but also prevent the symptoms of national diseases";
"Asking about the calligraphy pen shows that I am sensitive and studious, and I am not ashamed to ask." It is difficult in the ancient past, and it is necessary to study and seek this today, this is the time when art saves the country, and painting is especially the precursor of literature and art. Spiritual civilization, recognized by the world, is the responsibility of our generation, and it is not to be shirked";
"Painting revival thinking to save the country, special health medicine can be a hundred diseases Su";
"The good lords preached for art, and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has arisen since then, which must be credible, but it is not only contemptible but also contemptuous of selfishness." "In the two hundred years of the Qing Dynasty, only the Paintings of the Jinshi Family still had ancient meanings... This is not the so-called high-pitched singing at present, and we should be so based on the law. May those who aspire to save the country join hands";
"The Fa is the face, and the qi is the spirit. ...... Many Europeans and Americans can know it and study it in depth, but Chinese scholars cannot do so, and they are very anxious. Today's popular saying that art saves the country, and it is better to know the truth and be good first";
"Writings and speeches, the establishment of a purpose, the promotion of national spirit, when different from the situation of the predecessors";
"The world knows that art is a kind of temperament, but it is not. Art can not only be pleasant and pleasant, but also reorganize social morality and save the nation from peril, which has no shortage of precedents in history. We should know that at the time of the chaos and decline of the world in history, it is the opportunity for art to try to heal. The longest life of the people in the world is china, and the fact that it can stand tall in the world and hang for thousands of years without decaying is art... We should strive to do it in the field of culture and art, and believe in 'art to save the country'" ..." He stressed that traditional culture is "the life of the nation and the country" and that "the rise and fall of a country must depend on culture.". Specific to painting, the pursuit of pen and ink is also regarded as "the key to saving the country".
In short, the core of Huang Binhong's art to save the country is to save China's traditional culture. In today's words, it is national self-confidence and cultural self-confidence! Carry forward traditional Chinese culture!
Looking back on decades of exchanges, chewing on the big characters of "art to save the country" on the lintel of Gao Jian's father's book, Huang Binhong's exclamation of "pity and pity" still roared in his ears. How could this be the "cornerstone" of their forty-year friendship?!
Wang Zhongxiu's failure and Hong Zaixin's and Wei Xiangqi's misdirection
Undoubtedly, Wang Zhongxiu is an authoritative scholar of Huang Binhong's research, but he has failed in the study of the relationship between Huang Binhong and Gao Jianfu. The reason for this is that only referring to Huang Binhong's "Review of the Problem of Improving Chinese Painting", "Sword Father, Qifeng Kunji, before the beginning of the People's Republic, recruited the Shanghai "Truth Pictorial", with humble works attached to it" and "Eighty Self-Narration" "When the North and the South discussed peace, Guangdong Gao Jianfu and Qifeng Erjun ran the "Truth Pictorial", about Yu was written and illustrated", but ignored or blocked the statement that Hu Zhichen published in the "Pacific News" on June 1, 1912 , "Binhong, Awakening Chi, Guantian, and Qifeng Zhuzi compiled a "Truth Pictorial". The latter does not have the name of Gao Jianfu, and at the same time ignores the existence of Gao Guantian - not only did Gao Guantian's historical painting for Cao Pangen become the title of Gao Jianfu's father, but the "Gao Jun Brothers" mentioned in Cai Zhefu's two letters were also interpreted as Gao Jianfu and Gao Qifeng - this can not be said to have made a low-level and fatal mistake. Second, probably because Huang Binhong had a "pity and pity" sigh for Gao Jianhong, Wang Zhongxiu also saluted Gao Jianhong by "empathy", so he could not look at Huang Binhong in an all-round way. For example, Huang Binhong's letter to Song Ruobao has "The way to be a man, let you live, fight to die, fight to ambush and kill... When this day of political competition cannot but be self-preservation, that is, the so-called causes and effects of the Buddhists. Current events are dangerous and getting worse by the day. I am already the most useless and self-willing to give in, and I can't ask anyone, "Yun yun, according to this character, how can Huang Binhong argue with people?" Not to mention "manipulating"?!
Because Most of Huang Binhong's friends are Cantonese, Hong Zaixin wrote several articles related to Guangdong cultural people, and he consciously made the study of Guangdong art history "greatly improve the overall picture"; and Wei Xiangqi's so-called "diversified research methods" and "multidimensional academic thinking" in order to "satisfy the curiosity of readers", combined with "the history of political and social change", "the history of ideas", "the history of politics", "the history of politics", "the concept of political culture", "the sociology of art", "the political discourse system", with "a pluralistic academic historical vision", "nationality", National cultural visions "come to "investigate" the Chinese Painting Society, etc., IMHO, are all suspected of arrogance.
Zhang Guyan, "On the Origin of the Change of Chinese Painting"
Of course, another important reason for this situation is that the real art database has not yet been established. Otherwise, we can easily know that Zhang Guyan's article "On the Origin of the Change of Chinese Painting" was published 9 months earlier than Huang Binhong's "Talk on Painting Science", so Wei Xiangqi's article on the Chinese Painting Association was a "variant", "transplantation" and "appropriation" of Huang Binhong's related articles; Hong Zaixin's so-called "Painting Method Contrary to History" published in Shanghai's "New Art" on May 25, 1948 was Huang Binhong's judgment that "continues to remotely control the controversy that affects the Guangdong painting world". It will also be because it is easy to search for Lu Danlin's article, which was actually published in the Hong Kong "National Daily" on December 9, 1939, without falling falsehood; for example, Hong Zaixin said that "the case of Huang Binhong-Zhang Hong's interaction involves the topic of chinese painting at home and abroad, showing the concept of putting the people first, and through the museum system, making it exert a lasting influence", according to which "Huang Binhong decided to donate all his personal documents, cultural relics collection and artistic creation to the Zhejiang Provincial Museum before his death... After that, Cantonese friend Zhang Hong also donated his Yixing sand pot collection to the Hong Kong Chinese University Heritage Museum", but before Zhang Guyan's death, the Hong Kong Chinese University Heritage Museum had not yet been established! And so on, it's amazing!
The original edition of "Painting Law Contrary to History" was first published in the Hong Kong "National Daily" on December 9, 1939.
"Painting Law Contrary to History", published in Shanghai's "New Art" on May 25, 1948.
Academic research must speak according to historical materials, and crazy speculation + chaotic logical reasoning + devious words and sentences will surely lead academic research astray, which is extremely vigilant and vigilant.
(The original title of this article was "Several Questions on Huang Binhong's Research", the main pictures were provided by the author, and some of the pictures are surging news materials.) ）
Editor-in-Charge: Lu Sijia
Proofreader: Liu Wei