China is the homeland of the dragon, and the Chinese nation is the descendant of the dragon. Legend has it that the dragon travels in the clouds and rains, and the people regard the dragon as auspicious, honorable, and celebratory. This is closely related to the small-scale peasant economic production mode in ancient Chinese society. After thousands of years of history and cultural evolution, the dragon is regarded as a symbol of the nation and the embodiment of the spirit.
The shape of "the head is like a horse, the horns are like a deer, the eyes are like a rabbit, the ears are like an ox, the neck is like a snake, the belly is like a mirage, the scales are like a fish, the claws are like an eagle, and the palms are like a tiger", which vividly shows that the dragon absorbs a variety of essences in spiritual culture and enters the zodiac with a more solemn role. Undoubtedly, it has a deeper cultural significance than other zodiac elements.
With the development of society, what we call "dragon" is no longer a symbol of imperial power, but a spiritual symbol closely related to the fate of the people. In addition to the expectation of "moisturizing all things" today, the dragon should take off with great enthusiasm, reflect its majestic ancient charm and the atmosphere of the times, and stimulate the creative vitality and cool heroism of the Chinese nation.
Perhaps it is under the influence of the spiritual connotation of this precious "dragon" that we have the good intention of exploring the culture of the zodiac. In addition to exploring the creative path of the zodiac print, an important goal of "Hundred Dragons Soaring" is to use this carrier to carry forward this immortal spirit that has been accumulated in the depths of the nation's heart for generations.
However, to create a large number of vivid and perceptible "dragon" images, there will be no more dragons to sketch except in the conventional program patterns in some ancient books.
To this end, we often went to the folk to visit, from the dragon lamp, dragon boat, ridge beast, paper-cutting and other images to understand the dragon god, and rarely went to the palace hall to imitate its shape.
Xu Shen of the Eastern Han Dynasty said: "The dragon, the long of the scaled insect, can be mysterious, can be thin and huge, can be short and long, the spring wind and ascend to the sky, the autumn wind and the abyss." "This is a dragon! Between the heavens and the earth, with the spring of growth, the sky is ascended, the clouds and rain are spread; with the autumn of the harvest, the head is submerged and the people are blessed.
Enlightened by the legend of the "Round Place", most of what we imagine is the image of a dragon in the middle of the universe, so the dragon seal is round. In addition to this rounded curve and the unified beauty of the dragon body line, the circle also gives the national excellent spirit of reunion, unity, perfection, agility and the feeling of dragonization and cultivation of all things, as well as the expectation of the two of us to "praise the rain in unison and sing the heart song together".
There is a folk saying, "The face of the dragon is sad, it will rise and fall when it appears, and the body of the dragon will be covered with armor, and its number will be immeasurable." This sentence not only expounds the image of the dragon, but also speaks of its soaring nature. In this kind of blessing of flying rain, we do not bother to portray the details, but strive to be simple and long. For example, the momentum of the flying dragon, the condensation of the tuanlong, the transpiration of the ascending dragon, the majesty of the dragon, the calmness of the crouching dragon, the bravery of the open dragon, the depth of the closed dragon... These vivid situations make Xiao Long highly artistic, romanticized and "humanized", thus injecting endless human feelings.
In the treatment of the stamp border, give the dragon a space to soar, between the closed and the open, so that the dragon can do its best. The fragmentation of the edge is the dappled time and space of the ancient dragon, and it also shows the optimistic treatment of the dragon and the open-mindedness of the open mind. The solemnity and stability of the edges echo the contrast between the light and swift movement of the dragon-shaped lines. Yang carving and yin carving each account for half, implying the harmony of heaven and earth, containing a variety of intentions, the yang carving background is empty, like a daytime dragon; the yin carving is hazy, like a dragon swimming in the fog, and the red background sets off the prosperous dragon. A variety of traditional knife techniques, flexible use, for Xiao Long's special shape, most of the circles are as desired, rigid and soft. Rather than trying to shape the dragon, we are seeking a symbolic language to express a hope that has long been eternal in our hearts.
In the whole creative process of the printing of "Hundred Dragons Soaring", we both gave full play to the advantages of calligraphy and painting, not only attacking theory, but also emphasizing practice, to integrate feelings and forge ahead with each other, and to send life to the stone. We have asked famous teachers for advice many times, identified historical materials, and evaluated excellent works. Through these efforts, I hope to obtain a high taste and deep connotation of art. Always adhere to the seriousness of the creative attitude, and maintain the principle of "taking the law from the top".
"Hundred Dragons Soaring" was released to throw bricks and jade, and we sincerely hope that experts and scholars will not hesitate to teach.
Author: Chen Guanying, Zhang Weiping
Editor: Wang Xiaojun