Zhu Xinjian, the representative of New Literati Painting, is the most controversial figure in the current art world. Those who love his paintings are fascinated and unable to extricate themselves; those who do not like his paintings are regarded as "waste paper" and are also called "hooligan paintings" and cannot enter the hall of elegance. This view can be traced back to the 1985 National "New Wave" Art Exhibition. According to Zhu Xinjian's own introduction, the exhibition sent six figure paintings "Beauty Pictures", three of which were dressed and three were exposed. It was still in the early days of reform and opening up, and the curators were really worried. I deliberately hung my "Beauty Picture" on the back of the side door of the second exhibition hall to make it look less ostentatious.
According to Zhu Xinjian's recollections: On the day of the opening ceremony, celebrities and celebrities in the art world came. Ye Qianyu, then vice chairman of the China Artists Association, walked up to Zhu Xinjian's "Beauty Picture" on crutches, picked up the crutches and pointed at this painting, which was the "dross" of art, so how could it be sent to this exhibition? Zhou Sicong, the youngest vice chairman of the Artists Association, who was standing on the sidelines, was still vigorously arguing: This kind of painting should be an "innovative" work of the moment. Ye Qianyu turned around and glared at Zhou Sicong angrily, which was regarded as a criticism and response.
When I asked Zhu Xinjian, as an old-timer in the Chinese art world, I don't understand your paintings! Zhu Xinjian replied indifferently: Actually, Ye Lao's paintings are very good, and the nude women he painted when he was young are very vivid and expressive, and I really learned a lot from his paintings. It may be out of jealousy, painting a woman so coquettishly and emotionally, maybe it was Ye Lao's dream when he was young, but decades later, he practiced it for a future life. It caused a big discussion on whether it was "dross" or "innovation", and it also laid the groundwork for Zhu Xinjian's fame for a while. This is what people often say about "bad things" becoming "good things", when the time comes, no one can stop the opportunity when it comes. I also asked Zhu Xinjian curiously: It was the 85-year new trend that made you, and it was Ye Lao's criticism that turned you back. Zhu Xinjian smiled faintly: There is no "85 Thought", there will be "95 Thought", as long as you draw well enough, it will always come out.
Zhu Xinjian is very popular with women, which is recognized in the industry. When he was a professor in Nanyi, he was surrounded by many beautiful women, which caused a lot of criticism, which also became the object of "hunting" by old professors. It is said that as long as she is a beautiful girl and has coffee with Zhu Xinjian once, she will follow Tuan Tuan. Once, in an interview, I threw out such a naïve question: As a man, how can you have such great ability and ability. Zhu Xinjian smiled and replied: Actually, I have studied people's psychology. In the sixties and seventies, girls valued family status, carrying a military satchel and wearing liberation shoes, and they followed the back of their butts. I was born in a revolutionary family, and I wore a military satchel on my back, not liberation shoes, but polished military leather shoes, and the girl didn't stare at you desperately. In the eighties, the military satchel that carried the most was useless, I couldn't figure it out, and later I found out that girls in that era loved "talent". If you are learned, they will revolve around you. At that time, I desperately memorized Tang poems and Song Ci. Some people can memorize 300 songs, and my 3,000 melons are ripe, and I memorize them like a stream. Look at what it will be like at this time. But in the 90s, the most memorized Tang poems and Song poems did not work, and at that time girls began to pursue fashion and love vanity. I would paint hard to earn money, take girls to high-end brand stores, take this and that like to take them all, spend the money I earned, and continue to paint the next day to earn money. In fact, the ability and mystery are all in this.
Because of me, Zhu Xinjian often comes to Yixing, the capital of Tao. During the day, I would accompany him to sketch, and at night he would have fun by himself. Generally, when Zhu Xinjian comes to Yixing, I will arrange to stay at the Yixing International Hotel, which is not far from the "Eight Faces to Fengtang" that I host. Once, after dinner, he offered to withdraw cash from the bank's ATM. I was a little puzzled, and asked with doubts: What are you doing with the money after all the arrangements have been made for food, lodging, and transportation? Zhu Xinjian replied with a haha: You arranged for your accommodation, you entertained you, and even bought me clothes. I don't feel like spending money at all, so what's the point, I have to pay for the "chic" things at night. That self-service withdrawal of 8,000 yuan, and muttering in his mouth, the bank really hated it, and his money could not be withdrawn casually.
I was born in the army, and my words and deeds have never been able to turn around, especially when Zhu Xinjian was looking for Le Chic at night, I was really confused, so I had to ask my friend Zhou Mengzhong's boss for consultation and help. It is said that he found "Mom Fan" that day and arranged three young girls for Zhu Xinjian. Early the next morning, the indecent wind reached my ears: "Mom Fan" asked the three girls, the man is so powerful, let the three of you accompany him. The three girls smiled bitterly and said: What's amazing, it's not a poor toss, it's a big fool. In fact, he didn't do anything, he asked us to take off our clothes, touch each other and pose in different positions, and at two or three o'clock in the morning, when he was tired of playing, he let us go back. It's really stupid, he said that if everyone is eight hundred, he threw one thousand soldiers.
After I accompanied Zhu Xinjian back to the hotel room after breakfast, I always wanted to ask what happened, but I was embarrassed. Zhu Xinjian looked casual. Flipping through his sketchbook: You see, many people think I'm playing hooligan, but I'm actually doing my homework seriously. I looked closely, and that night he drew hundreds of sketches, more than a dozen of each part of the woman. When I gradually dispelled my doubts and felt incredible, Zhu Xinjian said very humorously: Actually, last night was very cost-effective, and it would cost 2,000 yuan an hour to find a model in Nanjing. I haven't calculated this account yet, and from this point of view, Zhu Xinjian is still very economical.
Zhu Xinjian often comes to Yixing, and there is another reason, there is a girl in the picture. For this matter, the Beijing cultural planner was very jealous, and once sarcastically said: You kid still has such great ability and ability. Actually, I was wronged, and this errand had nothing to do with me. Once, Zhu Xinjian took the girl to the song hall to sing and dance, and I left after I sent it. Early the next morning, I went for a walk with Zhu Xinjian. I'm worried and worried, don't make a fuss. Zhu Xinjian's eyes widened, and he said bluntly: The matter of men and women, how big it is, it is your. I was bored with myself, so I had to subtract.
Another time, Zhu Xinjian came without saying hello. Tell me: If you want to leave Nanjing, you can leave your home, as long as you bring a brush and a seal. I carefully asked the reason, and he said that the "little money fan" nagged all day long, feeling too tired and not very "free". I don't do my own work, after all, you still have a daughter, and finding another one is not necessarily much better than a "little money fan". Zhu Xinjian saw that I didn't support him, so he went to Huzhou Lao Fei. I heard that I hid for more than a month. Later, the "little money fan" tried his best to find Zhu Xinjian's information in every possible way, rushed to Huzhou to admit his mistake, and the two reconciled and returned to their home in Nanjing.
Zhu Xinjian usually comes to Yixing to live for three to five days to a week, and spends most of his time meeting friends or sketching. When he is not happy or is in the mood for fun, if you let him draw, he will inevitably be scolded. He will say: When you are at home, you paint every day, and the "little money fan" does not let you be free, which is very annoying. Coming out and going around is just to have fun. When the "play" is about to go back, I will ask you to take out pen and ink, paper and inkstone, and draw two, which is the money for arranging accommodation, and draw two more, which is the money for entertaining me for dinner, and draw two more, which is the hard work and ......expense of you accompanying me for the past few days. In the end, he wrote all over the place, and said happily and confidently: I don't owe you a penny when I come to Yixing this time. Everyone smiled heartily, which can be regarded as an affirmation of Zhu Xinjian's life and work.
2007 was the craziest year for me to collect Zhu Xinjian's calligraphy and paintings, and I did not hesitate to raise funds to buy them at high interest, which once made me in debt. Zhu Xinjian once said humorously and half-jokingly: You are using all your belongings to play with my calligraphy and painting. In Yixing, not only did I buy with all my might, but I also introduced my friends around me to collect. Potter Tang Jianguo is one of the most prominent. A few years ago, I would often take Tang Jianguo to Zhu Xinjian's apartment in Nanjing. One day in August of that year, I went alone. When Zhu Xinjian saw that I was coming alone, he was surprised and asked: What about the beautiful man who grew old with you? I can only tell you the truth: That potter has "suffered a stroke" at a young age, and he will not come to visit you again in the future. Zhu Xinjian was surprised and helpless and said: If I have a stroke one day, food and clothing are of little use. You can only bring a beautiful woman and touch your hands. This was just a funny joke at the time, but it was true. Shortly after the beginning of 2008, Zhu Xinjian fell ill, and when he woke up after a coma, he had lost most of his body's functions. Fate tosses people like this, and since then, Zhu Xinjian has changed to writing and painting with his left hand, opening up another artistic world.
At the beginning of 2009, after more than a year of rehabilitation, Zhu Xinjian regained new artistic vitality. The painter Zou Linfeng wanted to go to Nanjing to visit Zhu Xinjian, so I contacted the "soldier nurse" (at that time, Zhu Xinjian found a male nurse, who had been a soldier, and his age was the same as Zhu Xinjian, so he was called "soldier nurse"), and the "soldier nurse" took advantage of the fact that the "little wealth fan" was not in the old house in Stone Town, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble and misunderstanding. Zou Linfeng brought his girlfriend from Liyang, who he had just met, and a boss in the grain and oil business in Guangzhou, plus his "little three". After arriving, the "soldier nurse" complained of suffering, and this is the world of men for the two of us. The "little money fan" came once a week, and left in less than half an hour to collect the paintings and money. At this moment, a kind of desolation arises spontaneously. At noon, we invited Zhu Xinjian and the "soldier nurses" to dine at the "People's Commune" restaurant in Nanjing. I helped Zhu Xinjian to cross the road, and a beautiful woman came in front of me, Zhu Xinjian desperately shook off my hand, and limped forward with his chest straight, at this time he still looked manly and tough. During the banquet, we deliberately arranged for two beauties to sit on the left and right of Zhu Xinjian, only to see Zhu Xinjian's eyes glowing, in fact, he didn't have the slightest intention to eat delicious food. If the right hand does not obey the call, the left hand that may move is not so honest, touching the left and the right, and looking at the face of all friends, without concealing and worrying. On the way back, the "little three" of the grain and oil business owner cried and chirped, as if he had been wronged. Zou Linfeng said bluntly: crying, crying, crying something, the "master" in your life can see and touch it, it is a blessing in your life. What are you pretending to be serious? That's how it passed. A few days later, Zou Linfeng's Liyang girlfriend went to Zhu Xinjian's apartment again, and in the case of everyone's unpreparedness, Zhu Xinjian led the girl into the studio, for about ten minutes, I and the "soldier nurse", as well as a group of friends who love painting, were nervous outside the door, worried about what accidents would happen. When Zhu Xinjian came out with a red face, he held a four-foot left stroke in his hand and happily gave it to the little beauty. Thank you very much, as evidenced by heaven and earth, it can be regarded as finally fulfilling Zhu Xinjian's long-cherished wish back then. Later, I heard that this left stroke was remembered by Li Mingshun, a comrade-in-arms who was at the scene at the time, and I don't know how he was kidnapped later.
The last time I went to Nanjing to visit Zhu Xinjian, it was about the beginning of 2010, in fact, Zhu Xinjian was in an extremely bad mood at that time, and I don't know why. Maybe it's caused by family and personal health! I remember that when I was about to leave, I asked casually: Who has the most affection for you in this world? As soon as he heard the word "feelings", he became angry, picked up a powerful left fist, and hit me "three times" in the chest, almost knocking me down, and I left Zhu Xinjian's house with regret. I heard that Zhu Xinjian divorced soon and remarried his second wife Chen Yan. Later, Zhu Xinjian moved to Beijing, and until his death, I never saw Zhu Xinjian, which became a lifelong regret for me.
At 2:23 a.m. on February 10, 2014, with the fall of a generation of merry and talented people. took away his talents and regrets, as well as his persistence and dreams. When the pendulum clock has passed slowly for ten years, those fragments and images of getting along with Zhu Xinjian are also deeply imprinted in the depths of my soul, and I want to truly record his own stories and what I have seen and heard, so as to feast on the people who deeply miss him.
(The first draft was published in Yixing Bamian Laifeng Hall on January 19, 2024, and revised on the evening of January 20)
Left Xiaoyang Right Zhu Xinjian
Xiaoyang, formerly known as Shi Xiaoliang, stage name Yiju Taoist, number folk potter. Born in Yixing, Taodu in 1963, he graduated from Rong in October 1981 and transferred to the army in December 2001. Create eight sides to come to the wind hall, open the "two kilns" literati pottery, self-proclaimed "hall master", "chief kiln master". The initial start of pottery, three words and two words to write, the environment from the heart of the pen, purely fun Tibetan antiquity. The "professor" is only a guest, and the "president" is from the private sector. Always cherish cultural dreams and maintain the original temperament...... He is currently a visiting professor and a member of the expert committee of Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Suzhou Vocational University, Jiangsu Institute of Technology, Jiaxing University, Nanjing Tourism Vocational College and other universities. His main works and compilations: "Zhong Changsheng Landscape Painting Appreciation" Xiaoyang with poems (Hebei Fine Arts Publishing House), "Ask the Rain Fan Painting Selection" with poems from Xiaoyang (Hebei Fine Arts Publishing House), "Eight Faces to the Wind Hall: The First Nomination Exhibition of Chinese Painters" (Henan Fine Arts Publishing House), "Zhu Xinjian Chinese Paintings: Eight Faces to the Wind Hall Collection", "Yixing Pottery and Literati Paintings" series (Hong Kong Art and Culture Publishing), "Dafeng Talks about Art" (Sichuan Fine Arts Publishing House), etc. He has successively held group exhibitions of his pot paintings in Beijing, Shanghai, Jinan and other places.