In fact, as early as two years ago, Xu Beihong gave a speech on "Methods of Improving Chinese Painting", and Liu Haisu also published "Points Necessary in Painting Studies" to criticize Chinese painting. In the face of this situation, Chen Hengke published a number of articles to refute such a statement, he first wrote an article entitled "Chinese Painting is Progressive", in which he made his point clear: "I often hear some people say that Chinese painting is regressive and does not progress, so I think it is not the case, and I want to say some evidence to complete my opinion. He then published an article entitled "The Transformation of Chinese Paintings" in the Oriental Magazine, Vol. 18, No. 17, in which he once again reiterated this idea:
Now some people say that Western painting is progressive, and Chinese painting is not progressive, but I say that Chinese painting is progressive. From the Han Dynasty to the Six Dynasties, the speed of progress has been as mentioned above; from the Six Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there are also progresses that can be seen; but from the Song Dynasty to the modern era, there has been little progress to speak of. However, we cannot say that Chinese painting is not progressive by taking the pause of the Song Dynasty for hundreds of years to the present; for example, if someone has walked many roads and gained a foothold in the middle, we cannot say that he cannot walk by taking his temporary stop. Can't Anzhi Chinese painting improve again in the near future? That's why I say that Chinese painting is progressive; but whether Chinese painting is progressive or not at present is still difficult to answer realistically.
Chen Shizeng", "Ink Pen Landscape"
For the importance of Chen Hengke's article, Chen Chiyu gave such a high evaluation in the article: "Around 1920, it can be said that the theory of progress of Chinese painting was the central issue of Chen Shi's research and thinking on painting, and he clearly put forward the concept of progress of Chinese painting in view of the regression theory of Chinese painting, which undoubtedly gave a shot of strength to the Chinese painting art circle in the debate between the old and the new at that time, in order to correct the audio-visual and boost the morale of Chinese painting painters." In addition, Chen Shizeng also explained the progress of Chinese painting with facts from the history of the development of Chinese painting, the changes in figure painting, the achievements of landscape painting and flower painting in the Qing Dynasty, and revealed some objective laws of the development of Chinese painting, thus also enlightening the future development direction of Chinese painting. ”
In response to Chen Duxiu's antipathy to the "Four Kings" school of painting, in 1920, Chen Hengke published an article entitled "The School of Landscape and Water in the Qing Dynasty" in the "Journal of Philology", in which he talked about the achievements and influences of the "Four Kings" in painting: "The paintings of the First and Fourth Kings are bold and majestic, with a long history, and a generation of sincere models. Second, at that time, the calligraphers of speech and calligraphy were all Songxue and Xiangguang, and the poets of Speech led to worship Mei Estate, Yuyang, Muzhai and Bamboo, and the paintings of the Four Kings could be connected with the trend of contact, which could know the relationship between literature and art, and the wind would also make it so. The so-called emperor before Ruofu advocated from above, and the disciples called on the bottom, so that they were calm and obedient, and those who were below him were also subordinate. ”
The words of Chen Sanli's tomb were seen on the signboard
Chen Hengke published an article entitled "The Value of Literati Painting" in the second issue of the Magazine of Pictorial Studies, published in January 1921, which was mainly to refute the denigration of Chinese literati painting by Kang Youwei and others: "Is it true and evil that Fu Literati painting is only based on the ugly and absurd absurdity!" Looking at the paintings of ancient and modern literati, how rigorous the pattern is, how precise the craftsman is, how cautious the next stroke is, how subtle the argument is, how deep and mellow the learning is, how careless and impetuous and arrogant people can look forward to it! ...... alack! Like neat and evil absurdity, like gorgeous and evil simple, like soft and beautiful and evil skinny, like meticulous and evil simple, like thick and evil elegant, this ordinary human feelings also. The beauty of art is determined only by appearance! ”
If you want to discuss the intrinsic value of literati painting, you first need to define what is literati painting, Chen Hengke wrote in the text: "What is literati painting? That is to say, the painting has the nature of a literati, contains the interest of a literati, and does not study the artistic work in the painting, and must see the feelings of many literati outside the painting. The so-called literati paintings. ...... As everyone knows, painting is a thing, a sexual spirit, a thinker, and an activist. Non-mechanical also, non-simple also. Otherwise, it is like a camera, the same, the clouds of people, why is it expensive to be evil? What is the importance of art evil? The artist is the artist, that is, in the pottery to write the spirit, to express the personality and its feelings. And the literati have a beautiful personality and feel the noble people. His daily cultivation, his character is very much above the mediocre, so he is also in art, and the lyricists he publishes can be fascinating, leisurely and subtle thoughts, and get rid of all dusty thoughts! ”
At the entrance of the Jiuxi Scenic Area
But why is the world prejudiced against literati painting? Chen Hengke believes that it is because the artistic cultivation of the subject is not enough: "The so-called literati paintings of the world, thinking that the art is not very elaborate, the shape is incorrect, losing the rules of the painter, smearing arbitrarily, taking the ugly as the ability, taking the absurd as the beauty; experts regard it as wild fox Zen, the customs are not laughing, and the literati painting cannot be seen and appreciated by others." And those who are stumbling forward and backward, moving rope ink, colorful and beautiful, scratching their heads and making postures, are superior. Although, yangchun white snow, high and widowed, literati painting is not seen to appreciate the customs, just can see the high ear of its style. ”
It can be seen that Chen Hengke believes that literati painting has its special value, and the literati painting in the eyes of the world is not actually a literati painting in the true sense. At that time, some people also proposed that the real literati painting was too high and low to be accepted by the general public, and in order to popularize painting, literati painting should be demoted. In response to this kind of remark, Chen Hengke proposed that the popularization of literati painting should not be degraded but should be upgraded, and only in this way can people's aesthetic taste be improved:
Or, in other words, the literati paintings are too deep and mysterious, making it difficult for the world to understand. Why not be a little humble and expect to popularize Yahweh? This is just as the chinese language is to be changed to the vernacular, and the strong child who can speak learns to cry the baby. In order to popularize the paintings of the literati, it is first necessary to cultivate the concepts of the world in their ideological character, to attract them to the high, in order to get close to the interests of the literati, then the paintings of the literati can understand themselves and enjoy themselves. If you do not seek its roots and end up at the end, the literati painting will eventually flow to the way of the craftsman, and the characteristics of the literati painting will be swept away! If in terms of customary application, there are no paintings of craftsmen, so why should they be degraded by literati?
Roadside trails
Some people interpret this passage as Chen Hengke's conservatism in the concept of painting, but in fact, what he said was only aimed at the social trend of thinking that generally denied Chinese painting at that time, and did not mean that he opposed Western painting. On the contrary, Chen Hengke also talked about the value of Western painting, saying in the article "The Value of Literati Painting": "Western painting can be described as extremely similar. Since the 19th century, the study of light and color has been carried out in scientific terms, and their experience in objects and images has been subtle. Recently, the Impressionists, on the other hand, have done the opposite, not focusing on the object and being subjective. The transformation of Cubist, Futuristic, Expressive, and Lianyi performances also shows that the shape is not enough to exhaust the length of art, and it cannot but be sought. ”
Here, Chen Hengke talked about some modernists in Western painting who also do not pay attention to similarity, so he believes that "the form is lacking, and the spiritually beautiful is still a literati painting", because "the literati painting does not seek the shape, it is the progress of painting." For such a comparison, Zhou Mu commented in the article "The Aesthetic Thought and Modern Significance of the Hushe Theorist Chen Shizeng": "In the history of Chinese art, Chen Shizeng may have been the first theorist and aesthetician to examine traditional Chinese painting from a Western modern perspective. ”
I've been to this area
How should we understand the similarities and differences between Chinese and Western paintings? Chen Hengke said in the article "The Recent Situation of the European Painting World": "The East and West painting circles, far away from each other, can not be Xuanxuan. The system is different, the method is different, and it is necessary to evoke the sense of beauty and cultivate the noble spirit. Chen Hengke believes that Chinese and Western paintings are independent of each other, and it is impossible to compare who is superior and who is inferior, but in terms of aesthetic accomplishment, there is no difference between the two. In fact, Chen Hengke can also see the advantages and disadvantages of the "Four Kings", and the criticism of the "Four Kings" in later generations is that some painters have only learned the shortcomings and failed to inherit their advantages. Yu Jianhua quoted Chen in "Chen ShiZeng": "The painting of the Four Kings is not bad, but the benefits are not easy to learn, but it is easy to learn faults." Wang Painting is only soft, but it hides the hard in the soft, the so-called 'hundred steels into soft fingers'. Posterity only saw its beauty and softness, and they did not have any pen power, and fell into the sweet and ripe evil path, and they were hopeless! ”
Road name
On the whole, Chen Hengke believes that Chinese painting has drawbacks, so it is necessary to improve it rather than completely deny it, and its improvement method is to take the strengths of the ancients, but also to learn from the strengths of Western painting, he said in "Opinions on the Drawing Department for Ordinary Professors":
He is an artist, so he represents the characteristics of the citizens of various countries, and his importance can be known. However, in the method of research, it is advisable to take the paintings of our own country as the main body, give up our own shortness, and take the strengths of others. For example, China's landscape paintings, the light is far and near, more than the Western people's demand, here it is advisable to take the Western method to remedy it. Landscapes and rainscapes, the specialty of China's painting, should be conservative in its method, and more with deep research, so that it can be perfected in an excellent state. He is like the tree method, the cloud method, and not as accurate as the Western painting, so it is necessary to pay more attention to the observation.
Walk to the second bridge
For the eclectic concept of painting, Chen Hengke did not stay only in the theoretical aspect, he also made a combination of Chinese and Western creations. Yao Hua said in "Speaking at the Memorial Service of Mr. Shi Zeng": "As for the weight of the pen used, the harmony of colors, and the outline of the landscape, those who do not know think that they imitate Qingxiang, but in fact, they have consulted a lot of Western painting methods." In short, Shi Zeng's paintings are profoundly learned, used in calligraphy, and used Western painting methods to find them everywhere in his works. ”
For this kind of painting method of Combining Chinese and Western Styles, it should be his painting "Beijing Genre Painting", which can still see the remaining traces of pencil drafting on the screen, and this way will never appear in traditional Chinese painting. Why did Chen Hengke paint such a folk painting? In the book "Chen Shi Zeng and "Beijing Customs"", Liu Xilin recorded the words written by Wang Xue of Nanzhou at the end of the album "Beijing Customs Paintings":
Beijing used to be the imperial capital, and the crown of the canon is now in the past, but the folk customs have not changed, and there is still enough money to survive. The master has been able to bend his feelings, convey the gods and block, and make people feel like Chun Ming, the ears and eyes are in a trance, there is really a sense of Chang'an chess, and the master has painted the makeup scene of the time, the ya has morale, and the fashionable comics can be seen in unison. Gaiqi's book is thick and thick, and the pen is simple and intentional. Shi Yi Weng did not have to concentrate on the former also. Although this yanjing style is a small scene, it can be used as a folk map view.
The stream is muddy
From this, it can be seen that Chen Hengke's depiction of these customs and patterns is a sense of existence, and the naturalism he learned when he studied in Japan also greatly helped his painting structure. Ling Wenyuan said in "At the Memorial Service of Mr. Shi Zeng": "Mr. Li thought that the twentieth century scholars who studied painting, the life and structure of non-prophetic objects, were not enough to talk about painting, so Mr. Shi specialized in naturalism. Because the scope of the painting belongs to the three minerals, plants and animals, since he specializes in naturalism, the biological structure of minerals, plants and moving contents is all in the chest, so it can be used in one fell swoop. His paintings were created, not inherited, and were entirely produced in his literature and thoughts. ”
From the above, it can be seen that Chen Hengke has a high degree of creativity in painting skills, especially in painting theory, as Chen Chiyu said, he died prematurely, otherwise, he could create more achievements. Regarding his death, the first issue of "Southern Cultural Relics" in 2001 published an article signed by Jingfu entitled "A Wandering in the White Tomb and Qingshan Mountains - The Tomb of Chen Sanli and Chen Hengke in Hangzhou Jiuxi", which briefly stated: "Lady Yu was unable to recover in June 1923. Heng Ke rushed back from Beijing to Jinling to serve the sick, and during the period of mourning, he overworked and contracted typhoid fever, and died in more than a month, at the age of forty and eight. Less than two months later, the Chen family lost two important members, and the old man was sad and miserable, and was escorted by his family to Hangzhou Mingsheng Lake for recuperation. Lady Yu and Heng Ke coffins first settled at the Jingci Temple in West Lake, and three years later chose the place to be buried at the Archway Mountain of jiuxi and eighteen streams (in the cemetery reserved for the old man of Sanyuan). The old man of Sanyuan wrote the link: "Once in one life and one death, the angels are in tears for a long time; He Ju He scatters, and vows to protect the lake and mountain with the same cave." Chen Hengke's death caused great repercussions in society, and Liang Qichao said in the eulogy of Chen Hengke's memorial service:
No matter what kind of art, it is not all imitated. There is really immortal value, all in the individual's own creative genius. This kind of genius is not only artistic, but is expressed by the personality of the individual, has a noble and beautiful personality, and has eternal value. Try to see the past artists in our country, all who can become famous, pass it on forever, there is no personal rich and beautiful emotions, and then express their personality and feelings with art. Regardless of the people in the past, there are now such geniuses, or many, in terms of those who know, Chen Shi was once the first person in the modern art world.
Cheerful
It can be seen from this that Chen Hengke was praised by the people of the times in his art, and for his painting achievements and theoretical achievements, Liang Qichao said: "Regardless of the landscapes, flowers and grass figures, they can write his personality, as well as poetry carving, in various aspects, many beautiful talents that are difficult to gather, Shi Zeng can integrate them." And the performance of his works has his spirit, sincere emotions, strong meaning and wisdom, and majestic courage. And his outlook on life is also very accessible. In today's turbid society, although there is no sign of resistance on the surface, it is not willing to go with the flow and please people, and in its works, it can be observed everywhere. And it is not a unique sword-rattling spirit, which is exactly the model of his noble and beautiful personality for our people. ”
The third bridge
On June 29, 2012, I went to the ancient tea garden in the Jiuxi Scenic Area of Hangzhou to look for the tombs of Chen Sanli and Chen Hengke, and after the search, it was later written in the "Book of Seeking Poems", which was because Chen Sanli was a representative figure of the Tongguang School in the late Qing Dynasty. Now when I write about the ruins of Chen Hengke, I don't want to use duplicate photos, so I decided to have a chance to visit again.
I saw the sign for Chen Sanli's tomb
From September 1 to September 5, 2018, Beijing Youth Daily organized a trip to Zhejiang's cultural relics, and we came to Hangzhou on the second day of this trip. In the afternoon of the same day, I and the others took a bus to the Jiuxi Scenic Area again and came to pay homage to Chen Hengke.
Quiet
Because the bus was too large, Master Fang said that it was impossible to drive into the scenic spot, so we got off at the parking lot of the scenic spot and saw the tourist route map next to it, which clearly painted the identification points of Chen Sanli and Chen Hengke's tombs. Although I came here six years ago, but that time it was quite tortuous, so I still couldn't find the right path, so I asked the police in the police booth next to me, and he told me to wait along this road and turn left after seeing the first bridge. But the police next to them said that they turned left on the second bridge, and their argument made everyone confused, but since they found out the general direction, they decided to go into the scenic spot and look for it.
From this upwards
There is a small stream on the right side of the nine creeks road, and because the weather is too hot, there are many people playing in the stream. The heat of the weather made the members of the group also have the idea of cooling down in the water, but at this time, it was getting late, and I was worried that I would not be able to take pictures when I found the Tomb of Chen, so I told everyone to come here to play in the water when I returned. However, according to the police, neither the first bridge nor the second bridge was seen at the chen tomb sign. The paper-borrowing lady among the group members navigated with her mobile phone, and she thought that she should turn left only when she reached the third bridge. During these years of searching, I have been on the navigation several occasions, so I lack trust in this convenient thing, but I insisted that her navigation was very accurate, so according to her words, I really found the sign of Chen Sanli's tomb.
Climb aboard the tea plantation
Labor in the sun
terrace
Introductory cards
There is a steep slope in the first half of the road, and climbing this slope is quite difficult for me today, but fortunately, several members of the regiment helped me carry the camera, some pushed and some pulled, and finally climbed up. What I saw in front of me was the familiar tea garden, and I felt that the area of this tea garden was more than a few hundred acres, and the view was very open. In the past two days, the weather in Zhejiang has been extremely hot, and there is no shade in the tea garden, walking in the tea garden under the sun, sweating along the way, but because the goal is in front, everyone still encourages themselves while moving forward.
Panorama of the Erchen Tomb
Tomb of Chen Hengke
Walking along the tea room path for about 200 meters, we came to the tombs of Chen Sanli and Chen Hengke on the hillside. The situation here is basically unchanged from six years ago, and the overall feeling is well protected. The team members came closer one by one to visit the two tombs, and Teacher Chen Guohua ordered me to tell you the story of these two masters. Although the terrain in this area is very open, there is no wind, and everyone is sweating here, so I have to say that I will talk about their stories when I get back to the hotel. Here I bowed to the two sages, and then followed the crowd down the mountain.
Next to the tree
Regarding the tombs of Chen Sanli and Chen Hengke, Chen Yinke wrote a poem called "You Sense" on the day of the death of the old man on the tenth day of the first month of August in the old calendar in 1951:
The green river is wide in all directions, and the annual remote festival wants to be desolate.
The empty smell of the white tomb is often wet, and it is not easy to bury the green mountain.
A generation of condensed names is heavy, and several Times Linggu Jie stele is completed.
Zhao Tuo was still self-conscious, and the tears of the orphans did not dry.
Independent
For Chen Yinke's feelings, Jing Fu made the following interpretation in his text: "The whole poem loops back to the first sad and miserable sound, and Mr. Jiang Tianshu calls it 'the work of pain'. In its fourth sentence, "Do you mean that Qingshan is buried without peace", mr. Jiang said, "Judge the poetry, suspect that Hangzhou has ordered the relocation of the funeral". It is said that at that time, in order to build a nursing home, a certain ministry took a fancy to the treasure land of Chen Tomb and restricted the relocation. Shocked and disturbed by the news, the sons of Sanyuan sent a letter to Mr. Li Yiping. Li Lao joined forces with influential celebrities in Beijing to demand a halt to the move. Later, after the approval of the upper authorities, a certain ministry was ordered to revoke the plan to occupy the cemetery, and approved that no buildings should be built within a certain distance of the Tomb. Later, the descendants of the Chen clan have repeatedly said that the ancestral tomb of Hangzhou, Lai Li Yiping, survived and was rebuilt in 1986. ”
Scene behind the tomb
It seems that it is not easy for Chen Sanli and Chen Hengke to be able to sleep here, but thanks to the protection of people of insight, I and others have a place to visit.