In that post, Fan Zeng remembered his deceased wife Nan Li before informing the public that he was about to officially marry Ms. Xu Meng.
"My beloved wife Nan Li has been dead for nearly three years, initially due to grief and loneliness, and due to a slight cerebral infarction, her artistic career is difficult. Ms. Xu Meng's meticulous care made me fully recover physically and mentally. Xu Meng does not cherish for himself and encourages me to make everlasting arts, and contribute to China's excellent cultural traditions. ”
His so-called "Yilin Story" did not appear, and in the message, blessings and doubts appeared at the same time.
Nan Li and Fan Zeng
Before marrying his current wife, Fan had been married 3 times, which can be described as a peach blossom.
The first wife Lin Xiu is Fan Zeng's first love, graduated from Nankai University, and is also a calligrapher, and the two can be regarded as childhood sweethearts.
Fan once opened his mind late in love, and only met his first girlfriend at the age of 23, and he was in love to death, including illusory ideals and excessive enthusiasm.
Fan Zeng attached great importance to this relationship, but the two of them were very young at that time, and they didn't know the complexity of marriage.
The romance and sweetness are gone, and only the trivialities of firewood, rice, oil and salt remain. After the two got married, there were more and more problems, and what was waiting for Fan Zeng and Lin Xiu was never a storm.
The dispute between the husband and wife intensified, and the past was full of chicken feathers and embarrassment.
In the end, after less than 5 years of falling in love, the marriage ended hastily and went their separate ways.
Fan Zeng said: "My first love took 5 years, and I found nothing, and after the most precious fuel was burned out, I was left with the ashes of pain. ”
When Fan Zeng was immersed in the pain of falling out of love, a girl named Bian Baohua arrived as scheduled, and she and Fan Zeng were both classmates of the Chinese Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and had common interests and hobbies.
Before this, Fan Zeng, who was naturally arrogant, looked down on anyone, and also called the mediocre-looking Bian Baohua the "radish and white potato" of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and was very cold to her.
Fate is wonderful, it was this inconspicuous-looking female classmate who gave Fan Zeng the greatest comfort when he was most confused, and he did not dislike him for being poor at that time.
Fan Zeng, who was at a low point, was not only moved, but also had different feelings for Bian Baohua.
In the winter of 1971, the two quickly came together, and the 33-year-old Fan Zeng couldn't wait to enter the besieged city of marriage.
Bian Baohua and Fan Zeng
After marriage, the two gave birth to a daughter.
Under the care and encouragement of Bian Baohua, Fan Zeng quickly came out of the haze and began to create, but under the seemingly happy appearance, there were many crises.
At that time, Fan Zeng was not yet famous, and the family of three had a hard time, living in a warehouse full of discarded furniture next to the Forbidden City in Beijing.
Su Zunde's family is good, and he often sends money and clothes to Fan Zeng's family, and also invites Fan Zeng to his house for dinner. Fan Zeng referred to Xu Zunde as a brother.
It was at that dinner that Fan Zeng saw Su Zunde's wife Zhang Guiyun for the first time, with bright eyes and bright teeth, and a pair of big watery eyes that were very affectionate, and he couldn't help himself.
"The first time I saw Nanli, those clear eyes were the destination of all my life, and it was the best place for my violent personality to rest, just like a refreshing spring in the desert of life, like a lightning bolt in the night sky, which changed my life."
Nanli
At that time, Fan Zeng's wife Bian Baohua never abandoned him and did her best to support this poor family, but she didn't know that her husband had already empathized.
Fan Zeng felt that he had met true love, and in his eyes, his brother Xu Zunde's wife Zhang Guiyun was like spring plums blooming with snow, and autumn was covered with frost.
During this period, Fan wrote more than 200 love letters to Zhang Guiyun to express his admiration, but Zhang Guiyun did not resist and accepted his pursuit, and the two started a long career of "extramarital affairs".
Nan Li and Fan Zeng
At that time, Xu Zunde was an actor and needed to perform in other places frequently, which happened to give Fan Zeng the opportunity to have a tryst with Zhang Guiyun.
This love that has not seen the sun has lasted for 10 years.
It wasn't until 1988 that Su Zunde learned that he had been betrayed by his friends and wife, and he was furious: "I brought everything on myself, I brought the wolf into the house." ”
Soon, Xu Zunde divorced Zhang Guiyun, but Fan Zeng's wife Bian Baohua refused to divorce, and she couldn't bear to watch her marriage that she had worked so hard for many years end.
In 1990, in order to force Bian Baohua to divorce him, Fan Zeng brought Zhang Guiyun to Paris, France, and showed his love to the world at his art exhibition: "I am willing to go to the end of the world with Nan Li, who has been in love for 20 years." ”
Fan Zeng with Nan Li
seems to be chic and romantic, but in fact it is unkind.
In 1993, Bian Baohua, who was tortured in his heart, agreed to divorce Fan Zeng and start a new life, but his daughter broke off the father-daughter relationship with Fan Zeng because she hated her father's cheating.
On November 13 of the same year, Fan Zeng and Nan Li got married in Paris, and "sister-in-law Zhang Guiyun" became "beloved wife Nan Li".
Nan Li is the new name that Fan Zeng gave to Zhang Guiyun.
Nan Li and Fan Zeng
Fan Zeng has a 24-word self-comment: "Obsessed with painting, able to write; Occasionally, it is a rhetorical chapter, quite expressive; Good reading history, a little through the changes of the past and the present. ”
I have to say that Fan Zeng is indeed talented.
In 1938, Fan Zeng was born in a scholarly family in Nantong, Jiangsu, and counted up to 12 generations, all of whom were poets, painters, and writers.
Fan Zeng's childhood, in the War of Resistance Against Japan, he fled with his parents everywhere, settled in the countryside of northern Jiangsu, spent his infant life in exile, and he still can't forget the atmosphere of war.
When he was 4 years old, in the children's intelligence competition, Fan Zeng read "The Story of Yueyang Tower" and "Mulan Ci", showing his literary talent and winning the first place in the special prize.
At the age of 13, Fan Zeng joined the Nantong Art Association and became one of the "Nantong Three Little Painters", showing his edge in the local area.
In 1955, Fan Zeng was admitted to the history department of Nankai University, and he showed an amazing memory, and the books he read could never be forgotten, and he recited them three times. Some wisdom has begun to sprout in his heart.
He studied ancient books, studied the history of Japan, Korea, and India, and studied under Lei Haizong, Zheng Tianting, and Ngo Dinh Ying...... These scholars exposed him to different schools of thought and laid a solid foundation in history.
Two years later, at the age of 19, Fan Zeng transferred to the newly established art history department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and before leaving Nankai, his teacher, Wu Tingying, told him: "China may have one less good historian and one more excellent painter." ”
Fan Zeng's life has opened a new chapter.
His copy of Yan Liben's "Emperors of the Past Dynasties" was very popular, and after studying in the Department of Art History for half a year, he transferred to the Department of Chinese Painting, where he was taught by artists such as Jiang Zhaohe, Li Keran, and Li Kuchan.
Fan Zeng when he was young
Under the guidance of the top painters of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Fan Zeng's painting talent was completely stimulated, he learned to use the bone brush, and his paintings could be conveyed in form, and Master Li Kuchan almost unreservedly gave Fan Zeng the knowledge of painting.
In 1962, Fan Zeng graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and met Huang Yongyu's cousin Shen Congwen through his friend Huang Yongyu.
Shen Congwen has a very important position in Huang Yongyu's life. For more than 30 years, they have lived in the same city and have more contacts and conversations.
From 1946, Huang Yongyu began to correspond with Shen Congwen, and by the end of the 60s of the 20th century, he had accumulated nearly 200 letters.
Two intellectuals who came out of Hunan Phoenix, they are relatives and confidants, and they have established a deep connection between intellectual and spiritual, Fan Zeng knew the relationship between Huang Yongyu and Shen Congwen, so he was quite enthusiastic.
Shen Congwen and Huang Yongyu when they were young
In order to get a job as an illustrator at the Chinese History Museum, Fan Zeng often wrote letters to Shen Congwen and called him to ask for warmth, and regarded himself as an apprentice with a respectful attitude.
One day, before dawn, the door of Shen Congwen's house was knocked on by Fan Zeng: "I dreamed that Mr. Shen was sick last night, I didn't worry, so I came from Tianjin overnight to visit." ”
This move moved the simple Shen Congwen very much.
At that time, Ye Qianyu, the head of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, looked down on Fan Zeng, felt that he was too deep in the city and valued fame and fortune too much, and planned to recommend other students.
Fan Zeng became Shen Congwen's assistant as he wished, drawing illustrations for "Research on Ancient Chinese Costumes".
At that time, Fan Zeng was a fledgling, with no money and no connections, so for Fan Zeng's job transfer, Shen Congwen ran around, doing his best to recommend this apprentice to others and help him.
With the help of Shen Congwen, Fan Zeng gradually integrated into the literati circle in Beijing.
Fan Zeng (left) when he was young
Fan Zeng's attainments in Chinese painting are extraordinary, and in the 70s of the 20th century, he became famous with a "Portrait of Han Feizi", opening the artistic style of "poetry as the soul and books as the bones".
Fan Zeng's "Portrait of Han Feizi".
His famous paintings such as Xunzi and Lao Tzu have both form and spirit, and he will be full of talent and emotion, buried between the silent painting paper and the beating figures.
Fan Zeng is very good at painting and making money, in 2010, he painted a "Lao Tzu Out of the Customs", which was sold for a high price of 4.14 million.
Fan Zeng "Lao Tzu Out of the Customs"
In the following years, Fan Zeng painted several identical "Lao Tzu Exit Maps", with slight changes, and the final auction price was as high as 16.5 million.
This incident has aroused discussion between the painter circle and the majority of netizens, and some people say that Fan Zeng is treating artistic creation as an assembly line operation.
Fan Zeng's series of "Lao Tzu's Exit from the Customs"
Despite this, Fan Zeng's paintings are still highly sought after, and his works continue to set new records at auction and auction prices, with a public auction turnover of more than 2.3 billion yuan.
Yang Zhenning admires Fan Zeng very much, and once praised him in a lecture:
"Fan Zeng, he has no problem, he is a contemporary master, a contemporary great calligrapher, a contemporary great painter, and in my layman's opinion, he is not only contemporary, but also hundreds of years, there is no one as big as him."
Yang Zhenning and Fan have been friends for many years, and later married their own wives.
Back then, 82-year-old Yang Zhenning and 28-year-old Weng Fan got married, and there were constant controversies in the outside world, and Fan Zeng has always complained about it:
"I think the love between Mr. Yang and Weng Fan is very pure. If Weng Fan hadn't loved Mr. Yang so much, he wouldn't have been so healthy at the age of 95. Mr. Yang's life was in danger several times, and Weng Fan immediately contacted the hospital for rescue, and I respect her very much. ”
From left to right: Weng Fan, Yang Zhenning, Fan Zeng
Despite the controversy, Fan was serious about charity and paying taxes.
In 2003, when he learned of the SARS outbreak in Tianjin, Fan Zeng donated 500,000 yuan in cash as soon as possible, and inscribed "Defeat SARS, it is the responsibility of the husband".
In the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, Fan Zeng donated 10 million yuan for disaster relief.
During this period, his wife Nan Li encouraged and supported Fan Zeng's artistic creation, and was also enthusiastic about charity, all the calligraphy and painting works donated by her husband, she was happy to donate, including 200 paintings painted by Nan Li accompanied Fan Zeng to donate to Nankai University to build the Oriental Art Building.
In the past 30 years of marriage, Fan Zeng and Nan Li have gone through many important moments in their lives together, and there have been no extraneous branches emotionally, and the two have gone from being over half a hundred years old to being old.
On November 9, 2021, Nan Li passed away in Beijing, and 83-year-old Fan posted an obituary on social platforms.
This obituary attracted ridicule, and some netizens said: "I can't see the slightest true feelings, and by praising Nanli's charity and public welfare, I am exalting myself between the lines." It's easy to talk about the nostalgia for the deceased from money, it's all clichés. ”
He was once sad and lonely, and he was riddled with illness, which made his art career difficult, "Ms. Xu Meng's meticulous care made me fully recover physically and mentally."
Grief may only be temporary, but loneliness must have tormented Fan Zeng for a long time.
Fan Zeng and Xu Meng
On April 15, Fan Zeng and Xu Meng invited friends to toast their union with a well-prepared family banquet, which was a response to public opinion from the outside world.
Fan Zeng and Xu Meng
Xu Meng is very meticulous and intimate to Fan Zeng.
When Fan Zeng wanted to sign the porcelain, Xu Meng immediately turned the bottle to a blank space so that Fan Zeng could write smoothly.
In the latest family photos, almost every one is Fan Zeng sitting on a chair, and the delicately dressed Xu Meng standing aside, perhaps because he is too old to stand for a long time, or maybe because of his family status.
Fan Zeng and Xu Meng
However, if a person drinks water, he knows whether he is warm or cold.
Qianfu pointed out that he died without a problem, not to mention, this is Fan Zeng's family affair. An old man over 80 years old insists on getting up at 5 o'clock every day to read a book for two hours, and has been continuously creating paintings and walking on the road of charity.
Human beings are inherently complex and cannot be looked at closely, and it is cruel to look closely.
Text: Queen of the North. Source: Most People (ID: iiirenwu).
Image source: Internet, Fan Zeng's official website, Douban
Some references:
1. The Complete Works of Shen Congwen, Vol. 18-27, Beiyue Literature and Art Publishing House, December 2002
2. "Xu Jilin: Does Shen Congwen's tears have anything to do with Fan Zeng? 》