Li Shutong's watercolor painting "Numajin Landscape", collected by Tianjin Museum
Manuscript of the First Collection of Nursing Paintings, Zhejiang Provincial Museum
"Outside the long pavilion, beside the ancient road, the grass is green and the sky..." Mention Li Shutong, many people will think of this classic song "Farewell". Li Shutong is a generalist and prodigy in modern Chinese history, he is good at calligraphy, gong poetry, Tong Danqing, Da Yin Rhythm, Jingjinshi, good at performing arts, and was the first to introduce Western oil painting, piano, drama, etc. into China. In 1918, Li Shutong became a monk in Hangzhou, with the legal name Hongyi. He practiced asceticism and the study of the Vinaya, and became the zhongxing ancestor of the modern Nanshan Vinaya.
2020 marks the 140th anniversary of Li Shutong's birth, and 2021 marks the 100th anniversary of Master Hongyi's visit to Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. A few days ago, the Propaganda Department of Wenzhou Municipal Party Committee, the United Front Work Department of Wenzhou Municipal Party Committee, and the Wenzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Film and Tourism jointly held a series of exhibitions on "Bitian Fangcao", showing Li Shutong's literary and artistic achievements and legendary life, and telling his deep love affair with Wenzhou.
The exhibition "Bitian Fangcao - Li Shutong and Wenzhou" and the "Bitian Fangcao - Special Exhibition of Nursing Paintings" opened at wenzhou museum on December 27, 2020. The exhibition brings together 257 cultural relics collected by Wenzhou Museum, Zhejiang Provincial Museum, Tianjin Museum, Xiling Printing Society, Pinghu Li Shutong Memorial Hall, Cixi Hongyi Calligraphy and Painting Institute and other collection units and private collectors on Li Shutong, covering calligraphy, letters, seals, watercolor paintings, ancient books, inscriptions, paintings and other categories.
The exhibition "Bitian Fangcao - Li Shutong and Wenzhou" is divided into three parts: the first part, "Floating Life like a Dream", carefully sorts out Li Shu's experience in the same life, reflecting his important deeds and achievements at various stages. The second part, "Yongjia's Past", focuses on his love affair with Wenzhou. The third part, "The Full Moon of Tenshin", focuses on Hiroichi's calligraphy. In the form of a special topic, the "Special Exhibition of Nursing Life Painting Collection" introduces the representative work "Nursing Life Painting Collection" compiled by Li Shutong, Li Yuanjing and Feng Zikai.
Li Shutong was the first person to introduce Western painting to China and was a pioneer of Watercolor painting in China. In the exhibition hall, a postcard of a watercolor painting with a blue-green hue is particularly eye-catching. The "Numazu Scenery" on this postcard is a watercolor sketch made by Li Shutong in Japan at the age of 25 at the time, and it is also an earlier Western watercolor sketch in the Chinese art world. Li Shutong sent it as a postcard to Xu Yaoting, a close accountant at his home in Tianjin. The back of the postcard introduces the landscape in italics.
Li Shutong was also a pioneer in the dissemination of Western music to China and one of the founders of modern Chinese drama. In 1907, the drama "Black Slave Wu Tianlu" created by Li Shutong, Zeng Xiaogu and others was staged in Tokyo, Japan, announcing the birth of modern Chinese drama. In the exhibition hall, there is a program list (imitation) of "Black Slave Calling Heavenly Record", and it can be seen from the program list that Li Shutong (signed as Shi Feng) not only plays Mrs. Emiliu, but also makes a cameo as a lame drunkard and serves as the director of the drama settist.
After Li Shutong was ordained at the age of 39, he spent half of his time in Wenzhou, which he called his "second hometown." During his 12 years in Laiwen, Master Hongyi not only completed the "Four-Point Law Bhikkhu Ordination Table" and the "Collection of Protective Paintings", but also left many letters and anecdotes. Among the exhibits, there is a letter "1922 Lunar Calendar January Hongyi To Guo Qiyuan Letter", which indicates Hongyi's determination to practice in retreat: "In the next few years, I will still not talk to my friends, and I will first do my own work as the first thing to pay attention to." ”
During his stay in Wenzhou, Master Hongyi created Hongti calligraphy, using the Buddhist meditation method to break the traditional Yuanqi theory and use dynamic momentum aesthetics as the ontological basis of calligraphy, opening up a new path of calligraphy aesthetics. The "Hongyi KaiShu Excerpt Huayan Jing Sentence Axis" exhibited this time was written in his later years, and the glyphs gradually changed from plump to thin, the charm changed from simple to clean, the sharp and hidden, and the tranquility was faint.
Wenzhou citizen Zheng Wei took his 15-year-old son to visit the exhibition. He said excitedly: "Every exhibit is precious, with rich cultural connotations and moving stories. Visiting the exhibition is like reading the cultural development process of Wenzhou and even China, which benefits a lot. ”
On the opening day of the exhibition, a live broadcast sharing meeting was also held, which vividly demonstrated Li Shutong's artistic talent and personality charm through on-site explanations by curators, expert interviews, poetry recitations, and music interpretations. In conjunction with the exhibition, a special lecture was held to tell the story of Li Shutong's artistic activities and contributions to modern Chinese art during his study in Japan.
It is reported that the "Li Shutong and Wenzhou" exhibition lasted for 3 months, and the "Special Exhibition of Nursing Paintings" lasted for 1 month. The third special exhibition of this series of exhibitions, "Bitian Fangcao - Li Shutong's Teacher and Friend Hanmo Exhibition", will be launched on January 26, 2021 at Wenzhou Yanyuan Art Museum. The exhibition will exhibit more than 50 calligraphy works related to Li Shutong, letters, intuo, rubbings, Yantai, Republic of China publications, etc., including works by Cai Yuanpei, Huang Yanpei, Xu Beihong, Pan Tianshou and other famous artists, and will be on display until April 30.
(The pictures in this article are provided by Wenzhou Museum)