Chen Shizeng (second from left) poses with the Chinese Art Association
Chen Shizeng (second from left) poses with cultural figures in Beijing
Chen Shizeng's (1876-1923) stepmother died on the 29th day of the sixth lunar month in 1923 at the Sanyuan Villa in Nanjing, and he was so grief-stricken that he could hardly extricate himself, so his painter Chen Banding (1876-1970) created a "Huaitang Siqin Tu" ("Huaitang" is Chen Shi Zengzhai's name) to commemorate the pain of his "thinking of relatives". Chen Banding inscribed on the painting: "Huai Tang Si Qin Tu, The Beginning of the Nine Autumn Serious Illnesses, Write This Under the Lamp, Aged Year." "The painting of Master Chen once sat on a mountain stone, dressed in a robe, with a thin face, a gaunt face, thoughtful, an ancient pine standing in front, the trunk of the tree vigorous and the branches slanted out, the pine needles bloomed, and the vitality was evident in the ancient rhyme. Because Master Chen's stepmother was particularly fond of him among his sons, he often used his friendship as an example for his brothers, and Master Chen also regarded him as his mother. Therefore, his mother died of illness, and Chen Shizeng's state of mind can naturally be imagined. Less than two months later, Chen Shizeng also suffered from occasional typhoid fever and mistakenly took medicine, and died in his Nanjing apartment on the seventh day of August.
Chen Banding is not known for his figure paintings, but the image of Chen Shi zeng he paints can be described as a god and a god, and he has his mournful and compassionate thoughts. The significance of this painting is not only to record the state of Chen Shi zeng for a while, but also to be the most representative node in the "Two Chen" exchange, and it is a symbol of the friendship between the two painters.
The existing literature shows that the time of the "two Chens" is not long. The two first betrothed in 1917. In that year, Chen Banding was hired by the National Peking School of Fine Arts as a professor of Chinese painting, while Chen Shizeng worked as an editor and reviewer at the Ministry of Education. After the two met, they discussed the establishment of a calligraphy and painting research room at Peking University. Although they were later unsuccessful due to insufficient funding, the two became close friends ever since. Around the same time, Qi Baishi also knew Chen Banding through Chen Shi and became acquainted with him. Qi Baishi wrote in 1922 in the "Miscellaneous Records of Nongshu":
Chen Banding, a native of Shanyin, was also acquainted with in the first four or five years. Yu wei inscription hand cirrus cloud: half Ding lived in Yanjing for eight years, the old man, the teacher was outside, there were not many people who knew, and the cover painting was extremely high. Yu knew his name and smelled it in Shi Zeng. One day in the calligraphy and painting aid will be able to see his paintings, rejoicing. When you see them, you are like old knowledge. It was a night of talking, very much.
According to this, Chen Banding knew very well in his early years, and Chen Shi was one of his confidants.
"Er Chen" participated in art societies, calligraphy and painting collections, and cooperative paintings, interpreting the common art patterns of his colleagues who were active in the Beijing painting world at that time. In 1920, the Chinese Painting Research Association was established in Beijing, and Chen Shizeng and Chen Banding were also initiators with Xiao Qianzhong, He Luzhi, Xu Yansun, Xu Zonghao, Wu Jingting and others. The purpose of the seminar is to "study ancient methods and learn new knowledge", and there are one or two regular gatherings every month, mostly in the Jincheng Apartment or Beihai Park in Dongsi Qianliang Hutong. The kings sat together and discussed the painting, and the collection waved. In the autumn of 1922, Chen Shi organized and planned the commemoration of the 885th anniversary of Su Dongpo's birth, and invited allies in the painting world, including Chen Banding, such as Wang Mengbai, Zhou Yang'an, Tang Dingzhi, Qi Baishi, Xiao Junxian, Xiao Qianzhong, Pu Xinxi, Yao Mangfu, Luo Yanfeng, Ling Zhizhi, Yang Lingyuan, Jin Gongbei, Sun Shuzhao, And Jiang Nanping, to participate, play the piano and poetry, cooperate in painting, and the grandeur of the pole altar. Because the gathering place was at Mr. Luo Yanfeng, the owner of Luo Garden, the gathering was later called "Luo Yuan Ya Ji", which was far away from the "West Garden Ya Ji" advocated by Su Shi in that year.
Chen Banding, "Huai Tang Si Qin Tu", 1923
In the existing works or documents, it can also be roughly seen that the "Erchen" is based on the common artistic pursuit of Han Mo karma. In the autumn of 1921, the "Er Chen" cooperated in "Wild Jutu", and Chen Shi once inscribed:
Wild chrysanthemums are bushes, and mountain smoke is everywhere. The staff quinoa followed the Fa Xi and smiled at Jinya. Ban Ding painted chrysanthemums for Jingchang, because the foot became a small scene. Xin Youqiu, Shi Zeng took notes and inscribed twenty characters.
Zhu WenFangyin "Decay" and Baiwen Fangyin "Now the Hermit". The picture shows Chen Banding painting two clusters of wild chrysanthemums, written by flower blue and pale yellow, staggered, and Chen Shi once painted mountain stones and canes. The painting style and the artistic conception complement each other and are integrated. In the same year, Chen Shi once inscribed banana Yanyun:
Give this stone for a long time. Last year, it began to be written by Weng Ming, half-carved, Xie Yang Tuo, but Chen Sichang. Xie Yang left this genus record. The ancients hid as many as hundreds of stones. Those who have received only a few of them are proud of this special skill. Why should the old stone pit be a pit!
It can be seen that Chen Banding once carved a stone inscription for him, and also yilin Yashi. In 1922, "Er Chen" and Zhujia co-painted "Flower Rolls", by Chen Shizeng painted orchids and peonies, Chen Banding painted plums, Ling Zhizhi painted bamboo, Yao Mang's father painted chrysanthemums, Jincheng painted morning glory, Wang Yun painted Lao Laihong, Jiangnan Ping painted hydrangeas and lotuses, and Qi Baishi painted wisteria and grapes. In Chen Shi Zeng's poem, there is still a poem "Jing'an Dao Brother Qianzhong, Mang Father, Dingzhi, and Banding Four Juns Painting Landscapes, Heng Ke's Last Time to Supplement the Distant Mountains, Short Sentences with Drama Titles, to Bo Yicang":
Each has its own heart, silent and white. Jagged clouds rise, solemn seven treasures. Lu Feng left his face, Yan Yongping Mountain King. Haruka added an inch of pen, and felt that the mink was long.
It can be seen that "Er Chen" and Xiao Qianzhong, Yao Mang's father, Tang Dingzhi and so on have cooperated with Shanshui. In the exhibition of the annual painting meeting held by the Hushe Painting Society, there is a "Three Friends Map" cooperated by Chen Shizeng, Chen Banding and Qi Baishi, Chen Shi once wrote ink bamboo, Chen Banding painted Huang Ju, and Qi Baishi wrote a purple old and young man plant. [1] In a piece of Chen Shi Zeng's "Landscape Map" (collected by the Palace Museum) that imitated Kang's pen on the mountain, Chen Shi once inscribed:
Kang's paintings of the mountains are rare in the world, and last year he had a small volume of yumu, and his pen and ink were dashing, and he was still Huang Zijiu. Occasionally, I don't feel that there are one or two similarities, but I am afraid that the half-ding old man has broken it. Zuo Liangren brother Zheng, Heng Ke.
Plutonium white round seal "decay" and white text square seal "barely walking". It can be seen in the title that Chen Shi's understanding of painting theory is very similar to Chen Banding, so there is a fear of being "broken" by him. In Yao Mang's father's poem, there is also a poem "Tudong Yishi Zeng, Ban Ding, Mengbai Painting Vegetable Shoot Chicken Genus Title":
Chunshe is tired of old food every year, and the plate is full of flavor and ability. There is a remnant and a begging room, and there is no jingmao to bud.
It can be seen that "Er Chen" once cooperated with Wang Yun (Mengbai) in "Vegetable Shoot Chicken Map".
Chen Shizeng , Cliff ZhaQing Map, 63cmx38cm color on paper, 1918
In the circle of friends of Chen Banding and Chen Shizeng, there is a key figure inseparable, that is, Wu Jing'an. Wu Jing'an (1886-1947), a disciple of Jiangsu Sultan (now Zhenjiang), worked in the banking industry, excelled in identification, rich in collecting, and also good at calligraphy and painting, was the husband of Jiang Cai (1901-1986), a common disciple of "Er Chen", and the brother of Wu Ku (1878-1961). Chen Shi once carved the three seals of "Han Zao", "Han Zai Gui" and "Jing An Offering", and Chen Banding also painted flowers and landscapes for him. Therefore, there is reason to believe that Wu Jing'an should be the joint patron of the art of "Er Chen". It is precisely because of this special relationship that the "two Chens" have become more intimate. The above-mentioned "Wild Jutu" cooperated by "Er Chen" and the cooperation landscape with Chen Banding, Xiao Qianzhong, Yao Mangfu, and Tang Dingzhi mentioned in Chen's poems were composed for Wu Jing'an. In 1923, Chen Banding,chen banding, Chen Shizeng, and Jin Cheng's "Shochiku Gaoshitu" was also composed at the request of Wu Jing'an for Zhou Zuomin's fortieth birthday. Yao Mang's father inscription:
On the seventh day of the spring of The Seventh Day of The Year of The Seventh Day, He drank a glass of wine from me. I want to take the new poem shou qi friends. At that time, it was painted by a half-ding hand, and the depressed Takamatsu was a rock monk. Ban Ding writes people like yellow fistula, humble in the song of Yananfu. The north building of the Huaitang is made up, and the bamboo and stone are swirling out of the hand. The painting has been shown to me to read, Tao Lingting Ke knows? Or collect medicine to refine white clouds, ask children's words such as out of the mouth. The painting is always clear and far-reaching, and the emperor is dissected from the first two. Where is life to ask for eternal life, can participate in this trick can be immortal. I whispered something like this, and asked you to call it a friend. Junzhi's friend was forty years old, and the discerning clan was Empress Jizong. Handle-and-handle planning is good at rafting, such as the other flow of springs I have. I once heard that Li Ji was full of capital, and I was ashamed of my thousands of gold to enjoy a broom. Huiren Gulai was always old, and Zhu Gongji lived scattered and did not keep. Then divide the poor and the poor, and listen to the descendants of the white head. Zhou Hou was like the ancients, and he was destined to be favored by heaven. Forty years of strong fangqiang, at first glance did not reach two or three leeks. Linggen Maoshu is wrong, just like Qingsong is durable. Give Jun geng a poem and meet the branches and shade of a hundred acres. Lian Hua diffuse long song, then attached the book to go, hurriedly did not add points, can not laugh, Yao Hua Mang father and remember.
Plutonium white text square seal "Yao Hua private seal". It can be seen from this that this painting was written by Chen Banding gaoshi, Xiao Qianzhong wrote song, Chen Shizeng and Jin Cheng made up the scene. After Yao Mang's father's inscription, there is still a Wu Shu inscription:
Crown cover Jinghua land, count the eyes, know the time Junjie, such as how many Jun can be? He once stepped on the top of Penglai Mountain, and the banknotes were all over the red and green characters. At one point, the Golden Gate game. Laughing at the whale body, shi gong, ping zhuan shu cooking. Suddenly forty, flathead. Shangyuan lights drunk all night. How many, West Park skirts, East China cars to ride. Gu I am really not worth a penny, ashamed to say that the article confidant. Beggar old, Danqing a piece of paper. Bamboo solution humble heart loose hugging knots, prove his year, rock gully will be in place. More deliberative, one by one. Tune the Golden Wisp. Forty years after the forty years of Brother Renren, Xi Jiadi's book came to live in poetry and painting, because Qixiao Qianzhong, Chen Banding, Chen Huaitang, and Jin Beilou cooperated in this painting. Brother Jing Yi held a chapter on the seven words and ancient style of Yao Mang's father's inscription, and the paper had a residual white, relying on the sound to make up for it. Mei Sun's brother Wu Yu worshiped, Shi Yan Hai Shangyuan.
Zhu Wenfang printed "Wu Yu" and "Shi Ku". In addition to Yao, Wu, and Plutonium Seals, there is still the White Text Square Seal of Jincheng "Jincheng Private Seal".
Chen Banding's "Camellia" and the Qi Gong inscription Rong Bao Zhai Zang
The nature of Chen Banding's friendship with Chen Shizeng and Qi Baishi also has some similarities. In April 1922, invited by the Japanese artists Ten Mu Araki (1872-1944) and Watanabe Chenmu, Chen Shizeng and Jincheng (1878-1926) went to Japan together, bringing works by Wu Changshuo, Wang Yun, Ling Wenyuan, Chen Banding, Qi Baishi, Chen Shizeng, Jincheng and others to participate in the second "Sino-Japanese Joint Painting Exhibition" held at the Prefectural Hall Craft Museum in Tokyo, Japan. The Qi Baishi works brought this time were sold out, and six of Chen Banding's ten works were sold, which received excellent social response. Chen Banding said in 1943 when chen Shizeng's "Cliffs and Cliffs" were clear:
Unlike the death of Jun Tongsheng, I am ashamed of the name of the graffiti wave; the pressure roll is still seen in the essence, and the turbulent flow of dangerous stones is uneven. Jun Yu returned from a journey to the east in the summer of Jiazi, was vilified by his peers, and became ill with drinking and hatred, but he could not afford it, and he is still particularly upset. Hoshihisa Ren Brother genus title, 癸未冬. Half-Ding Brother is sixty-eight.
"The Summer of Koshi" should be a misremember, so in 1924, Chen Shi zeng had long gone, so it should be called "The Summer of Nongzhi (1922)", which said that Chen Shi had traveled east to Japan, and it was for this exhibition to bring the works of various families to the exhibition. In the Beijing painting world at that time, where mountains were lined up and famous artists gathered, it was indeed a very difficult technical task to select whose works would be exhibited. Therefore, it is reasonable that he was "slandered" by his peers who were not selected. Chen Shi once brought the works of several important painters who were active in the Beijing-Shanghai area at that time, including Chen Banding, reflecting his and Jincheng's aesthetic tastes and value judgments. Therefore, this exhibition can indeed reflect the value orientation of the mainstream painting circle at that time represented by Chen Shizeng, and naturally reflects the admiration and praise of Chen Banding and others by Chen Shizeng.
Unfortunately, in the year of heaven, Master Chen returned to Daoshan when he was only forty-eight years old. The association between the two Tonggeng artists came to an abrupt end in 1923. Although the two have only been around for six years, they have an unusual significance in their artistic careers, especially in Chen Banding's. They jointly witnessed the development and prosperity of the Beijing painting scene in the early 20th century, and the artistic activities and artistic creations they jointly participated in were the epitome of the cultural ecology of the artists in this period. In terms of painting scholars, both had the experience of taking the Fa Wu Changshuo (缶老), and in terms of painting style, there were also similarities and similarities, showing the painting style of the mainstream painting world at that time, just as Qi Gong (1912-2005) said when he titled Chen Banding's "Camellia":
This half-Ding Weng middle-aged pen, Wu Miao's old mantle, is still vaguely at the end, Gai's early years of habits are deep, and his life of fist and fist does not forget the fire, and at the same time, all the families such as Mr. Chen Shizeng are in the same tone, which is respectable.
(Zhu Wanzhang/Research Librarian, National Museum of China)
Left: Chen Banding Qi Baishi 《Chrysanthemum Grass Insect Diagram》66cm×30cm Color on paper 1940 Rongbao Zhai collection
Right: Chen Banding Qi Baishi 《Hollyhock Dragonfly Diagram》 118cm×40cm Color on paper Rongbao Zhaizang
Left: Chen Banding Qi Baishi 《Wisteria Chicks》 118cm×40cm Color on paper, 1944 Rongbao Zhaizang
Right: Chen Banding Qi Baishi "Chrysanthemum Quail Diagram" 118cm×40cm Color on paper 1944 Rongbao Zhaizang