Wild cranes have no grain, the sky is wide
——Speech at the anniversary memorial meeting of Mr. Cheng Fengzi
Dong Wei
My mood at this time can be described by the four words of "intersection of sorrow and joy": "Sad" is that Teacher Cheng has left us forever, and I will never see him again; "happy" is that although Teacher Cheng is gone, everyone has not forgotten him, and recently many people are missing him in various ways, and his art has been recognized by more and more people.
I don't spend much time with Teacher Cheng, but I have a special affection for Teacher Cheng. More than ten days before Teacher Cheng died, I went to see him, and he said that his illness was getting better, and when he was well, he asked me to drink the good wine he hid, and when he didn't drink, he watched me drink. Unexpectedly, this turned out to be a last wish. On the morning of Teacher Cheng's death, after I learned the news, the tears "brushed" down, and then I talked with friends, talked about it at a party, remembered it, and couldn't help but shed tears a few more times. On the night of Teacher Cheng's memorial service, when I drove home, I was still depressed and distracted, and I had a collision with a large truck...
Su Dongpo once said: "The ancients discussed books and their lives; they were not their own people, although work was not expensive." "A work of art is the materialization of the human spirit, and the level of the work is ultimately determined by people. Before discussing the art of teacher Cheng, I will talk about himself. Teacher Cheng is a very bold and sincere person, in 15 years I invited Teacher Cheng to give a lecture at Shangyi College, he made a calligraphy and painting printing demonstration on the spot, and all the works were left to the college. After class, I gave him the teaching fee, and he waved his hand and decisively declined.
Mr. Cheng Fengzi Lectures and Demonstrations at Shangyi College(2015.6.27)
Another time, I took more than ten students of the academy to visit his Gaobeidian studio, and he gave each of the students a new record of his, and also wrote the word "Jinliang" for the Shangyi Academy on the spot. Originally, we had planned to invite Teacher Cheng to dinner on the evening, but he refused to say anything and insisted on doing the east. When ordering, he pointed to the menu and said to the waiter, "One for each of the things on this list." This matter was later known to many friends and became everyone's beautiful talk.
Teachers and students of Shangyi College visit Mr. Cheng Fengzi(2016.12.20)
Teacher Cheng is straightforward and jealous, and when we chat together, when we talk about bad people and things in the calligraphy world or society, he often scolds directly. What he admires most is his maverick, not dependent on the powerful, not dependent on institutions and platforms. In today's social environment, the system of only the top and not the bottom determines that if a person wants to get ahead and live a better life, it is inevitable that he needs to rely on the platform and climb the magnate, and the waist plate is not easy to straighten up. However, Teacher Cheng has been like a wild crane idle in the clouds for many years, coming and going alone, not relying on any magnates, institutions, and even the circle of art rarely intervenes, but "the wild crane has no beams and the world is wide" - although he is an independent artist, although he eats and sleeps in the open and is struggling, Teacher Cheng has also lost a lot of restraints and gained great spiritual freedom. I think the reason why he has achieved such a high level of artistic achievement is inseparable from this.
Let me talk about my understanding of Mr. Cheng's art. The most prominent thing about Mr. Cheng is that he is good at calligraphy and painting, and has achieved a high level of achievement, which is very prominent among contemporary middle-aged artists. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, due to Xu Beihong's advocacy, Chinese art education adopted a one-sided Western model, resulting in a serious lack of tradition of integrating calligraphy and painting and printing, and many people in contemporary times are good at painting but not good at books, good at books and not good at painting, and there are very few people who are good at calligraphy and painting and printing like Teacher Cheng. It is said that many years ago, someone asked Teacher Zeng Xiang: "I see that Wang Yong writes generally and paints generally?" Teacher Zeng replied very cleverly: "I also think it is average, but can you find a calligraphy and painting print in contemporary times that is more than Teacher Wang's?" After listening to it, the man thought about it seriously, and there really wasn't—this highlighted the value and status of Teacher Wang Yong. The same is true of Teacher Cheng, among contemporary middle-aged artists, you can't find out that calligraphy and painting are better than him in three aspects.
Chasing the wind | Cheng Fengzi's calligraphy work "Jinliang" creation video
Chasing the wind | Cheng Fengzi's Chinese painting "One Stream Yan Throat Temple Bell" creation video
Chasing the wind | Cheng Fengzi seal engraving work "Shangyi Academy" creation video
Many people are discussing which is the first item of Teacher Cheng's calligraphy and painting printing? I think that no matter which is the first, his calligraphy is undoubtedly the core, and his calligraphy nourishes and supports his paintings and prints, and plays a mainstay role. There are also people who do not understand and dislike Teacher Cheng's paintings, but I think his paintings are really written, extremely written, and each line can stand up and be intriguing. Chinese brush and ink is the core, Teacher Cheng alone on this pen and ink kung fu, many contemporary painters who lack calligraphy skills, especially those who started with pencil drawing sketches, how many people can do it? In addition, Teacher Cheng has a distinct personality in both books, paintings and printing, which is different from the ancients and obviously different from today's people, and the three have achieved a high degree of unity between calligraphy, painting and printing. This is an important sign of whether an artist is mature and successful, and at the same time, it also has the conditions to open a gang and become a representative figure of the times.
Out of admiration and recognition of Mr. Cheng's art, ten years ago, when I was in charge of the Teaching Department of the China Book Court, I strongly invited Mr. Cheng to give a lecture, and later I went to the Peking University Famous Artists Studio and the Calligraphy and Seal Engraving Institute of the Renmin University Jijiao Academy to teach, including after the establishment of Shangyi College, I invited Mr. Cheng many times. In 2013, I also invited him to open a studio in the Peking University class, which should have opened the curtain on his independent class and apprenticeship. Teacher Cheng can sing, but he is not good at speaking, and often gets stuck in a few words on the podium, so I asked him to do more demonstrations. I think that even if he doesn't say a word, it is necessary to let the trainees feel his style on the spot.
Mr. Cheng Fengzi Lectures and Demonstrations at the Advanced Seminar of Peking University Famous Artists Studio (2013)
Because Teacher Cheng is not good at talking, he doesn't talk much about art, even if he talks about it very briefly together, but he can get to the point and not be bothered. I am still very impressed by a few words of his: one is that during a lecture at the Chinese Book Court, he talked about the important experience of his own creation, and the five words were "unevenly distributed". This sentence seems simple but not simple, "uneven distribution" is to not do the right situation, there are contrasts, there are changes. Wang Xizhi emphasized that "the upper and lower levels are neat and the front and back are flat, and if they are operators, they are not books", and Qi Baishi said that "vertical and horizontal distortion is noble and naïve", and "uneven distribution" is vivid, vivid, and natural. Contemporary people have seen and written neat characters since childhood, even if they have learned calligraphy for many years, it is often easy to average at the first shot, and it is not easy to achieve "uneven distribution", and the grasp of "degree" is just right, which is not easy. Another sentence is that when we were on the phone, we forgot what we were talking about at that time, and he said: "High vision, shot is extraordinary." This should be his long-term experience in the art, and it should also be his way to success. Another time was in a lecture at Peking University's famous class, he said that when he went to school, many of the classmates around him were very smart and envied him, but now they are unknown and do not know what they are doing. The reason why I have today's achievements is mainly the result of my long-term persistence. I was very surprised after listening to it, because before I talked to my friends about Teacher Cheng, I thought he was a genius. Listening to his words made me realize even more that even if I have talent, hard work and persistence are still indispensable.
Time matters, I will talk so much. Although more and more people have recognized Mr. Cheng's art, the understanding of the height and value of his art is still not enough, and the space for excavation and development is very large! I would like to work with all of you here. Thank you!
Editor, ShangYi College
Cheng Fengzi (1962-2019)
Famous artist, a master of contemporary poetry, calligraphy and painting. Anhui Ruyin people, born in the xiqu family, weak crown to learn art, left their hometown in their youth, pursued artistic dreams, footprints in the south and north of the river, mountains and rivers in the chest, its wild and bold, involved in art for more than fifty years, casting its unique artistic personality and style, achieving Pei Ran, the leader of the art world, outstanding everyone.
His calligraphy traces back to the source, inherits the fire, draws on the meaning of Su Shi, Shen Zengzhi, Xu Shengweng Pu Humble Wuhua, gets the secret Dunhuang paper, folk calligraphy style a natural weather, Chinese painting is a natural weather, especially Shi Tao, Gong Qinggao, Responsible, Huang Binhong, Shi Ju, Huang Yonghou work hard the most diligently, seal carving from the ancient pottery, Jin Wen Qi Yi Xuan fantasy changes, spontaneous nature, love vocal art, for opera performance artists, singer Mr. Liu Shiming's disciples, to achieve upper-level singing skills, passed on as a good story in the art world.
Woohoo! Its arrogance swallows mountains and rivers, and its ambition is famous and brilliant.
Before his death, he was an expert member of the calligraphy and painting appraisal team of the Cultural Relics Appraisal Center of the Beijing National Museum, a director of the Beijing Printing Society, a tutor of the Cheng Fengzi Studio of Peking University, a tutor of the Cheng Fengzi Studio of the Art College of Chinese Min University, an honorary chairman of the Fuyang Calligraphers Association, a director of the Calligraphy and Painting Branch of the Association of Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, an editorial board member of the Painter, a member of the Art Committee of the China Ceramic Printing Art Research Center of Beijing Institute of Technology, and a member of the Art Committee of the Beijing Culture and Art Foundation's 2018 annual funding project "Printing Pottery Fire - High-level Talent Training in Ceramic Printing Art" Project Special Tutor.
He has successively published and distributed "Cheng Fengzi Seal Engraving Collection", "Sexual Spirit Wind Bone - Cheng Fengzi", "Chinese Calligraphy and Painting" (Cheng Fengzi Album), "Collection of Chinese Famous Painters (Freehand Landscape) Cheng Fengzi", "Contemporary Yipin Ten Houses - Cheng Fengzi", "Contemporary Calligraphy Ten Houses - Cheng Fengzi", "Famous Qican - Cheng Fengzi Play Calligraphy and Painting Printing" and so on. His works are collected by the National Art Museum of China and collectors at home and abroad. CCTV, Hunan Satellite TV, Shandong Satellite TV, Global Tourism, Calligraphy and Painting Digital Channel and Inner Mongolia Satellite TV have made special reports.
China Records Shenzhen Company has published two sets of records for it, "Asking Tea in the Mountains - Liu Shi Ming Cheng Fengzi Teacher and Student Song Collection" and "Qingshan Youyo - Cheng Fengzi Song Collection".
【MakoTo】
Producer/Zhu Weimin
Planner / Lu Zizhen
Membership
He Renfu / Wu Xinhua / Song Baoyin / Li Jianning / Shi Hongzhen
Zhou Wenfeng/Han Shaoxuan/Tide Zi/Wei Zheng/Ma Zhanwei
Chen Fanyuan/Liang Dong/Lu Yang/Xing Weidong/Yang Tao
Hu Hong/Xu Jie/Yang Xu/Wen Na/Lei Yan
Lu Junbin /Ju Chuanxun