Lu Xun once said: "Without breaking through all traditional ideas and techniques, there will be no real new literature and art in China." ”
In the history of Chinese art, artists have gone forward and fought for Chinese art with all their might.
Because they were too innovative and avant-garde, these artists were called "art traitors" at the time and were not accepted by the world.
But it is precisely because of these "art traitors" that China's literary and artistic undertakings have flourished.
In the 1920s, a struggle over the nude model was raging, and Mr. Liu Haisu went up against the current.
He led the students to declare war on the feudal and religious forces of the society, stood on the cusp of the times, feared the warlords, and made outstanding contributions to the development of the history of modern art education in China.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="3" >1, sail against the current, resist the pressure to introduce nude models</h1>
In 1912, the second year of the Xinhai Revolution to overthrow the feudal rule of the Qing Dynasty, Liu Haisu and several painters founded the Shanghai Academy of Graphic Arts (i.e. Shanghai Meizhuan), aiming to develop the traditional art of the East and learn the artistic implications of the West.
At that time, the world was closed, and people could not understand Liu Haisu, thinking that art was just a small skill of carving insects, and it was not worth running a school.
Some people laughed and said, "Painting and painting must also run a school!" ”
Liu Haisu is not afraid of difficulties and irony, and is bent on running art schools in China.
In 1914, Liu Haisu decided to study Western art and introduced a mannequin sketching class on campus. In the eyes of the people who had not yet shed their feudal consciousness at that time, this was extremely rebellious and offensive.
The Nude Model Sketching Course is fraught with obstacles, the first of which is to find a qualified model.
Liu Haisu found a 15-year-old child named "Monk", who became the first human model in Shanghai Meizhan.
However, after studying children's sketching for a long time, the students felt more and more dissatisfied, and they wanted to draw adults.
Adult models are extremely difficult to find, because the superstition at that time believed that being painted by others would damage the vitality: "If you paint the soul, you will die!" ”
After several twists and turns, Liu Haisu found a male school worker to act as a mannequin.
But this school worker can only accept half-naked at most, and has never been able to accept full nudity, which he considers to be an insult to his personality.
But how can art sketching be without nude models?
In order to meet the learning needs of students, Liu Haisu spent a huge amount of money to recruit nude models, and the high treatment attracted many people who applied, and more than two dozen people interviewed one after another, but they all fled after entering the studio.
Liu Haisu negotiated the terms with the last person to interview, and proposed that if he escaped from the battle, he would be punished. The man confidently said he would never run away.
But as soon as he entered the studio, he said, "I'd rather be punished!" Naked in front of so many people, I really can't do it! ”
Liu Haisu Xiaozhi persuaded this person with affection and reason:
"Everyone has a body, and we wear clothes to protect the body, not to prevent others from seeing our body. The job of a mannequin is still very good, please think about it carefully, don't be afraid of embarrassment! ”
Comforted by Liu Haisu, this person became the first nude model in the studio, so that students could study and learn the lines and colors of the human body.
The students of Shanghai Art College officially began the study of human body sketching.
In 1917, the Shanghai Art College held a performance exhibition in which students' human body sketches were also displayed.
When visitors saw these drawings, they were very surprised and shocked and said they could not accept them.
Yang Baimin, principal of Shanghai Chengdong Girls' School, even scolded for this: "Liu Haisu is an art traitor!" It's the hairy thief of education! The blatant display of these nude paintings is simply too offensive! ”
To this end, Yang Baimin also wrote an article entitled "The Exhibition of The Madness of Heart Disease and Corrupt Weathering", strongly attacking Liu Haisu and trying to use the pressure of public opinion to force Shanghai Meizhan to ban the use of nude models.
Yang Baimin's voice became the prelude to the nude model storm.
For a time, Liu Haisu became the target of everyone, and people even called him a "Wen Demon".
In this regard, Liu Haisu did not care, he wrote an article in response to Yang Baimin:
"Art traitors are great entertainers who keep fighting, keep creating, revolutionizing traditional art! Art traitor is the creation of new human life, and society needs art traitor! ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="5" >2, nude model storm resurged, Liu Haisu and the opposition played a "war of words"</h1>
Liu Haisu ignored public opinion in society and thought about developing the cause of Chinese art.
In July 1920, Shanghai Meizhuan hired a nude female model from Russia, a move that not only promoted the development of Chinese art, but also made Liu Haisu bear more infamy.
In 1924, a student named Rao Guiju of the Shanghai Meichuan Academy held a solo exhibition in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, and put together several sketches of the human body. The Jiangxi Police Department ordered him to close the exhibition and said in a dignified manner:
"Nude Painting School lures poor women and coerces them to be naked for students to photograph. The school is patient, the model is bitter and shy, and it is offensive! ”
Rao Guiju sent an emergency telegram to Liu Haisu, seeking Liu Haisu's help.
Liu Haisu immediately wrote letters to the then Minister of Education, Huang Gao, and the Jiangxi Overseer Cai Chengxun, in which he cited examples of studying mannequins in art schools in Western countries, proved the importance of mannequin painting to fine arts, and asked them to intervene in the ban of the Jiangxi Police Department.
With huang's intervention, Rao Guiju's painting exhibition was continued.
Unexpectedly, at this time, some people in Shanghai Beach took the opportunity of the painting exhibition to take nude photos of the women in the Qinglou Building, and wantonly sold them to accumulate wealth, calling it "model art".
Those who attacked Liu Haisu blamed all these sins on Liu Haisu, and satirized Liu Haisu: "These are the exploits of the art traitor Liu Haisu!" ”
In this regard, Jiang Huaisu, a member of the Shanghai Municipal Council, wrote to the authorities, demanding that models be strictly banned and That Liu Haisu be severely punished.
He wrote in his letter: "Now for the original source of the plan, if you want to maintain the weathering of Shanghai Port, you must first prohibit nude obscene paintings: if you want to ban obscene paintings, you must first ban the Shanghai Beauty College Model Section, which is magnificent to the public;
If you want to ban the model, you must severely punish Liu Haisu, the principal of the Shanghai Beauty College, who is the culprit! Nude painting corrupts customs, and the people regard nude painting as harmful, more than the flood beast! ”
After Liu Haisu saw Jiang Huaisu's letter, he scolded Jiang Huaisu for talking nonsense and confusingly hearing about it.
He wrote back, saying that Jiang Huaisu sat in the well and looked at the sky, and knew nothing about art, so he would have such a misunderstanding of nude models:
"The little one who knows the sky is not small, the small one that Jiang Jun sees, there are prostitutes in his eyes, there are no prostitutes in his heart, Jiang Jun does not examine himself, he is innocent, and he is ugly!"
Shortly after the letter was written, Liu Haisu received another "letter of persuasion" from Zhu Baosan, who was then the president of the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce and concurrently chairman of the Zhengguo Society, the largest comprador in Shanghai, and who not only colluded with the warlords and bullies of the feudal forces in China, but also had ties with foreign imperialist forces, and was a figure who had failed in it.
In his letter, Zhu Baosan threatened Liu Haisu with the help of imperialist and feudal forces: "Successively, the Huayang Official's Office has strictly forbidden the painting of obscene spring albums, and whether it is violated or not is under the foot, but the company has made a statement to correct it, and please see it at any time to determine the steps to be carried out." ”
In this regard, Liu Haisu firmly said: The contemptible people's ambition to advocate art and learning cannot be seized! Although I went to the soup to fight the fire, I despised people without words!
Criticism articles such as Zhu Baosan and Jiang Huaisu abounded at that time, and liu Haisu, after struggling with these feudal ideas for a period of time, once again ignored them, thinking that this storm would be the same as the last time, and in a few months it would be calm.
Who knows, a bigger storm about nude models is coming.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="7" >3, warlords intervened, and the storm of nude models became more and more turbulent</h1>
In the early morning of April 15, 1926, Liu Haisu took his students to sketch by the West Lake.
Suddenly, several students waved the newspaper in their hands and ran breathlessly to Liu Haisu and told him:
"Sir, it's not good! Warlords banned models! They also want to close the Shanghai Meizhan! ”
The newspaper was printed with a striking headline that read, "Shanghai County Governor Wei Daofeng Strictly Prohibits Nude Paintings."
This matter is inseparable from Jiang Huaisu, who did not give up after the failure of the "pen battle" between Jiang Huaisu and Liu Haisu, and encouraged Wei Daofeng to come forward to oppose Liu Haisu and nude models.
Liu Haisu did not flinch, and he chose to write directly to Sun Chuanfang, the then governor of Shanghai, asking the warlord commander to come forward and accuse Wei Daofeng of nonsense.
When Sun Chuanfang received Liu Haisu's letter, he was preparing to leave from Shanghai to Hangzhou to review the army, and Wei Daofeng happened to be by his side.
Sun Chuanfang smoked a cigar and had the following conversation with Wei Daofeng:
"What is a model?" "It's the girl with her ass exposed!" "What kind of person is Liu Haisu?"
"He's a man who cheats money through models!"
In order to let Sun Chuanfang punish Liu Haisu, Wei Daofeng also said:
"Marshal! I can't do the work in Shanghai anymore! Please be clever! I have just taken over for two weeks and am rectifying the weathering, but Liu Haisu has stood up so brazenly and honestly to insult and insult me, which must be severely punished! ”
Sun Chuanfang then sent a letter back to Liu Haisu, trying to persuade Liu Haisu to give up the subject of nude modeling, Sun Chuanfang thought that as the commander-in-chief of the five provinces, Liu Haisu would definitely give himself a face.
Unexpectedly, Sun Chuanfang underestimated Liu Haisu's insistence on art.
Liu Haisu wrote back to Sun Chuanfang: "The change of the academic system is not a corner; the rise and fall of scholarship is not determined by one person. ”
After Sun Chuanfang received the reply, he was ashamed and angry, believing that Liu Haisu did not know how to lift up and did not put himself in his eyes, so he immediately ordered liu Haisu to be arrested and the Shanghai Meizhuan to be closed!
Wei Daofeng was very happy after receiving the order, believing that he had a great revenge, so he urged the French consulate every day to arrest Liu Haisu.
Liu Haisu met with mr. Naqi, the consul general at the time, and hoped that Naqi would understand the importance of nude models to art.
Nachi said, "I will never forbid you, you see a marble statue on my desk."
I invited you to come because I wanted to tell you two things, one is that Sun Chuanfang is urging me to arrest you every day, and I am also very embarrassed, I hope you stay in school and don't go out, so that I can ensure your safety.
The second is that you can continue to use your model, but don't let outsiders visit it, so as not to cause trouble again. ”
Liu Haisu understood the situation at that time and promised Mr. Naqi.
Under the cover of the consulate, the storm between Liu Haisu and Sun Chuanfang gradually subsided. However, Wei Daofeng did not lose his temper.
In order to find fault, Wei Daofeng took Liu Haisu to court on the grounds that Liu Haisu slandered and insulted him and damaged his reputation.
In order to calm the people, the court sentenced Liu Haisu to a fine of 50 yuan, and the ten-year model storm came to an end.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="12" >4, advanced intellectuals support Liu Haisu, Liu Haisu is not fighting alone</h1>
In this struggle against warlords and feudal forces, Liu Haisu was supported by a large number of advanced intellectuals.
This was a struggle against feudalism and old rites, a struggle to safeguard democracy and science, and a victory for the May Fourth Movement on the front of art.
Liu Haisu's spirit of "measuring the lice of the sea with the millet of the sea; exchanging the spark of the stars for the light of the rising sun" has aroused the resonance of people of insight.
Cai Yuanpei, Lu Xun and other literary heroes have written articles in support of Liu Haisu. Since this time occurred in the context of the "New Culture Movement" and had anti-feudal significance at that time, Lu Xun gave a warm evaluation of Liu Haisu in the Weekly Review.
As Mr. Lu Xun said, "Literature and art are the lamp of the national spirit and the lamp that guides the national spirit forward."
Nowadays, our literary and artistic undertakings are in full bloom and thriving, and they cannot do without the deviant efforts of these "art traitors"!