The story of a modern painter

Zhang Daqian's family originally lived in Panyu, Guangdong, and moved to Neijiang, Sichuan in the 22nd year of Qing Emperor Kangxi. His father was born in poverty, and his mother, Mrs Tseng, had ten men and one woman. Brothers are all single names, eldest brother Xing, second brother Ze (a good son), third brother Xin, fourth brother Tan, fifth brother, sixth brother and seventh brother have long died. He is eight years old. His ninth brother is Duan and his tenth brother is Duan. He was born on 1 April, 8981day.

19 16, Zhang Daqian went to Chongqing Qiujing Middle School to study. On my way back to Neijiang during the summer vacation, I was tied up by bandits and became a master of black pens. Being taken to a place called "1000 pounds", the bandits had a rest and looked at the details of the prisoners. Zhang Daqian realized that the bandits took them as meat tickets and asked them to write home for blackmail. When it was Zhang Daqian's turn to write a letter, a bandit named Qiu saw his handwriting and exclaimed, "This precious handwriting is so beautiful. I think it's better to keep him as a master of black pen! " "

Although he often refuses, it is not for him to decide life and death. The next day, bandits are going to rob Fenggaopu. A bandit named Qiu sent two brothers to send Zhang Daqian to Huilong wellhead in a sedan chair. Along the way, bandits standing guard on the roadside actually raised their hands to their sedan chairs. He doesn't know whether he should be proud. When he arrived at Longjingkou, the bandit leader gave him a pair of ivory seals and a melon hat with a red knot, and dressed him up as a tout. However, two days after he settled in Longjingkou, the government troops were about to attack. The bandits quickly moved their positions and handed him over to another bandit leader, Lao Kang.

On one occasion, Zhang Daqian was forced to rob Lao Kang, and he stood by. Someone warned him, "You should take something, too, or you will be guilty.". Friends in the underworld cannot go back empty-handed. " He looked around, and there were many books, so he took an English version of Poetics in his study. Another bandit immediately scolded him: "What's there to rob? How to grab a book? Losing is a big taboo. " Forced him to change something else, he had to hang four photos of forbearance on the wall and take them away with English poetics.

It is really useful to "rob" English poetics into a bandit hole. Zhang Daqian learned to write poetry, and since then. Among the inmates, it is a rare miracle that an abused old Jinshi taught him to be calm and steady.

Later, Lao Kang secretly contacted the officials and people, accepted the invitation, and went to Songshui to accept the adaptation. Lao Kang was adapted as the company commander, whose real name was restored to Zhao, and Zhang Daqian became the company commander's secretary. After more than a month, the local army came to beat Zhao Lianchang and the whole company was wiped out. Only after Zhang Daqian was arrested did he know that although local troops recruited bandits at that time, they never really trusted bandits, and whenever there was an opportunity and arrangement, they would encircle them. Fortunately, shortly after Zhang Daqian was arrested, his fourth brother came to the rescue and ended the kidnapping for a whole hundred days.

After his adventure, Zhang Daqian wanted to learn painting from his second brother in Shanghai, but his parents didn't agree. He had to go to Kyoto, Japan to study dyeing and weaving on 19 19. He stayed in Japan for four years and was angry with himself on his birthday. Because of his anger, he hired an interpreter and refused to speak a word of Japanese. Zhang Daqian said that two countries in the world have the least language talent, one is Japan and the other is India. Their English pronunciation is poor. He couldn't help saying to a Japanese, Japanese English is really poor, that day.

I said, "You don't know? The tongue of the conquered is soft. Of course, if you want to serve people, you must first learn to speak well. " "If you don't learn well, you will be mean to others!" Often made a fire, "good! I just don't learn Japanese. I paid the Japanese to wait on me. " So he spent hundreds of dollars and hired a Japanese who grew up in Tianjin as an interpreter.

Zhang Daqian returned to Shanghai after studying dyeing and weaving in Japan for four years. Mainly to pay tribute to his fiancee and cousin Xie Shunhua, who is three months older than him. It is said that Xie Shunhua is beautiful and delicate, virtuous and gentle, and Zhang Daqian is a childhood friend. Seeing that they hit it off so well, Mrs. Zhang got engaged at the age of ten. Xie Shunhua has always been considerate of Zhang Daqian, especially after his engagement. One day, Mr. Zhang Shanzi, a classmate of my second brother, asked Zhang Daqian to recite. Zhang Daqian thought he was naughty and didn't recite.

Xie Shunhua, who is in the opposite room, is worried that Zhang Shanzi will hit Zhang Daqian and write the words on the palm of his left hand. Give Zhang Daqian a hint. However, after a while, it was discovered by Zhang Shanzi, and there were witnesses everywhere. Zhang Daqian and Xie Shunhua got the ruler together. Zhang Shanzi hit her because: "You cheated on my brother before you got married. Can he be a good person in the future? " At the age of twenty, Xie Shunhua died of dried blood and tuberculosis.

The pure love of becoming a "wild" monk once gave Zhang Daqian a heavy blow. When he returned to Shanghai, he was determined to become a monk. He first went to the Zen Temple in Songjiang, and his master Yilin named him Daqian. According to Buddhist scriptures, he eats a meal during the day and stays under a tree for one night. At that time, the most famous Buddhist was the idle old mage of Guanzong Temple in Ningbo. Zhang Daqian specially visited and talked with the old mage for many days. However, when it was time to burn the ring, Zhang Daqian hesitated. Zhang Daqian argued with the old mage: "Buddhism did not burn precepts, and it was not popular when it was introduced into China from India. This model was created by Liang Wudi. It turns out that after Liang Wudi believed in Buddhism, he pardoned the condemned prisoners in the world and forgave them. He was afraid that they would commit another crime, so he came up with the idea of burning scars to stop the prisoners. I think I believe in Buddhism, but I'm not a prisoner. Why should I burn commandments? Not burning precepts does not violate the truth of Sakyamuni. " The old monk said, "Since we are in China, we must abide by the rules of Buddhism in China. For example, believers are like wild horses, burning annual rings like halters, and wild horses with halters are tamed into good ponies. " Zhang Daqian asked, "Is there a good horse that doesn't need a halter? Don't you want it? " The old mage smiled without a word. The debate lasted all night without result. The next day, a tonsure ceremony will be held. Zhang Daqian was unwilling and went to Lingyin Temple in West Lake.

After two months in Lingyin Temple, Zhang Daqian thought: Monks can't do it, especially poor monks who have no money. At the same time, if you don't burn precepts, you will always be considered a wild monk. He wrote to his friends in Shanghai and told them about his pain. A friend wrote back and suggested that he live in a temple near Shanghai. He can often chat with friends about books and paintings. He also said that he had found two temples and made an appointment to meet at the North Station of Shanghai Railway Station and accompany him to the temples. A friend "betrayed" him, and Zhang Daqian got off at the North Station as scheduled. He was looking for a friend when his second brother caught him and shouted, "I finally caught you!" See where else you can go! " It turned out that his friend "betrayed" him and telegraphed his second brother Zhang Shanzi to pick him up from Sichuan, which happened to be one hundred days.

I have been disciplining Chang, scolded him, and immediately took him back to Sichuan and got married under the command of my mother and brother. That year, Zhang Daqian was twenty-two years old and married Zeng. After marriage, Zhang Daqian decided to study painting and return to Shanghai. He first worshipped Zeng as a teacher and studied calligraphy. Later, he worshipped Li Ruiqing and studied calligraphy. The personality and teaching of the two teachers had a great influence on Zhang Daqian before he was thirty. However, at the age of twenty-five, Zhang Daqian became famous in Shanghai. At that time, there were a large number of scholars in Shanghai, the most famous of which was the autumn English meeting convened by Mr. Zhao Banpi, a native of Hubei. The purpose of "Autumn English Club" is to enjoy chrysanthemums and eat crabs, spend a lot of money on the spot and draw poems. Zhang Daqian participated in it for the first time, and it was his little brother. When he was in Gia, he painted, recited poems and wrote inscriptions, which made everyone sit up and take notice of him. While imitating Shi Tao to fool collectors, another thing that Zhang Daqian is famous for is that he imitated Shi Tao, forged paintings and fooled collectors and connoisseurs at that time.

At that time, Chen Banding, the most famous painter and collector in the north, had a strong appreciation of famous paintings, a rich collection and was proud of the north. On one occasion, Chen Banding claimed that a new collection of Shi Tao's paintings was considered a wonderful masterpiece, so he specially invited famous artists from Yilin to enjoy it at home. When Zhang Daqian heard about it, although he was not invited, he wanted to see Shi Tao's album, so he came uninvited. Chen Banding took out his precious photo album and was about to proudly show it when Zhang Daqian suddenly said, "This is the photo album! Don't look, I know. " Chen Banding asked, "What do you know?" Chang immediately replied in a clear voice, what is the picture on the first page and what is the second page, including the inscription and seal, are all together. Chen Banding check one by one, there is no mistake, again surprised again gas. Some people think that Zhang Daqian has always had this album of Shi Tao. Unexpectedly, Zhang Daqian said, "I drew it!" "

Everyone was in uproar and even more embarrassed. They often knew that they had offended everyone present and ran away. Later, Zhang Daqian once traded an imitation stone for a real yellow stone. With a few square kang paintings, he cheated literary friends at a banquet in Luo Zhenyu, and even Zhang Xueliang lost a lot of money. Forgetting things, I visited famous mountains and rivers. Besides profound painting skills, Mr. Daqian's works also have the characteristics of similarity rather than similarity, giving people a feeling of "forgetting things and forgetting myself". What is the secret? "Maybe I will travel more!" He thought, "Experience nature with your heart and absorb its spirit."

People in the art world say that among the famous mountains, Mr. Daqian prefers Huangshan. He doesn't quite agree: "In fact, there are many famous mountains in our country, each with its own considerable points. It is not necessarily right to say that I prefer Huangshan, but it can be said that I developed Huangshan in our generation. " Mr. Daqian particularly emphasized the tone of the word "development": "In 28, 3 1 36 years, I visited Huangshan three times. When I first went, it was not only a grassy path, but also a road to go. I took a dozen workers there. It's true that there are roads in the mountains and bridges in the water, which is convenient for people who visit Huangshan in the future. " The characteristics of Huangshan Mountain are all in the word "odd". After Mr. Daqian entered it, he savored the atmosphere of mountains and rivers, experienced the state of matter, observed the state of matter and mastered it. When he has hills and valleys in his chest, he can naturally draw vivid pictures.

194 1 year, Mr. Daqian traveled eight thousand miles to Dunhuang. On the day when Mr Daqian arrived at the Thousand Buddha Cave, before dawn, he couldn't wait to visit the cave with a lamp. This style is amazing! I don't know how many times bigger than he thought. The original plan was to visit there for three months. The first day, I probably saw some holes. He said to his wife and sons and nephews, "I'm afraid half a year is not enough." According to textual research, the origin of the Thousand Buddha Cave was excavated by a musician in the second year of Jian Yuan of Qin Fujian. Since then, from the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty, each generation has excavated caves of different sizes.

About 1500 or 600 years ago, Dunhuang was the main traffic artery between east and west. Inside the Mogao Grottoes, buildings and temples are stacked, attracting countless monks, believers, artists, craftsmen who dig holes and so on. For more than 800 years from the Northern Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty, he engaged in murals and statues, making the Thousand Buddha Cave a sacred place for ancestors to dedicate their hearts. When observing the Thousand Buddha Cave, Mr. Daqian found that the Thousand Buddha Cave was sitting on the cliffs in the west and east, and there was sunshine in the morning. In addition, the climate is dry and there is no moisture, so the contents of the cave can last for hundreds of years without being damaged. However, between more than 300 caves, the path collapsed, so Mr. Daqian had to explore the cave, watch the paintings and build roads to clear the way. "To tell you the truth, I went to Dunhuang with great ambition at first, but after visiting the Thousand Buddha Cave, I saw that every cave was a vivid mural from top to bottom. I was surprised and really felt small. " In the early days of Dunhuang, Mr Daqian's most important job was to number more than 300 caves. The purpose of his numbering, on the one hand, is of course to facilitate the search of works, on the other hand, it is also an index for future generations to visit or inspect. There are 309 holes in the No.1 hole compiled by Mr. Daqian.

This part of the work took five months. Mr Daqian temporarily returned to Lanzhou for two months in order to supplement food and painting tools. Before re-entering Dunhuang, he invited a Lama to Taji Temple in Qinghai. According to the regulations, lamas are not allowed to leave Qinghai. Mr Daqian hired Angji, Sanzhi, Ge Lang, Xiaowu and Du Jielin with a salary of 50 silver dollars in January. Their job is to sew canvas: "When we sew, there will always be pinholes, especially after the canvas is stretched, the pinholes are thicker, but the monks can sew it seamlessly."

At the same time, there were as many as 78 donkey carts with him in Dunhuang. The second time I went to Dunhuang, I began to suffer again. Mr Daqian said: "Many people don't understand that it is quite difficult to copy Dunhuang murals." As far as tools are concerned, paper silk is not dozens of feet big, and it is all sewn by monks. The largest mural, 12.6 feet, is stitched, nailed to a wooden frame, coated with rubber powder for three times, ground with a big stone for seven times, and then written after the canvas is smooth.

When copying, Mr. Daqian's principle is to be completely meticulous and never participate in his own meaning. Every mural, he has to write the color scale, and everything is realistic. When painting, you should hire a carpenter to build a frame and stand and copy, because the space of the Thousand Buddha Cave is too small.

Most of the Thousand-Buddha Cave has insufficient light. Mr. Daqian should hold a candle in one hand and a brush in the other, and also adapt to local conditions. Sometimes he stands on a ladder, sometimes he squats and sometimes he lies on the ground. Although it is winter, he will soon be sweating, panting and dizzy after sketching. Painting is so hard, most days I go into the cave to work in the early morning, come out at dusk, and sometimes I have to work at night.

Mr. Daqian explained: "The murals are mottled and rotten, and you still need to hold the lamp for a long time to see the lines. I mainly work hard on observation and speculation, and often dozens of observations and studies can be written. In order not to waste materials, when copying, first draw the first draft according to the original glass, and then paste the first draft on the canvas. In the strong sunlight, draw shadows with charcoal strokes first, and then use ink hooks. After the draft is finalized, color it. I made the main parts of the Buddha statues and figures myself, and the rest of the pavilions were not very important parts, but were painted by disciples, nephews and lamas, and each painting was marked with the names of collaborators. Therefore, the procedure of each painting is more complicated, and it can be completed in two months, and the small one takes ten days. " In this way, 276 paintings were painted, using thousands of kilograms of pigments such as stone, bluestone and green. After two years and seven months in Dunhuang, Mr Daqian confirmed: "It used to be said that China culture was mostly influenced by the West. After studying Dunhuang murals, I think this statement is not credible! The figures painted in Dunhuang murals can study the costume system of Sui and Tang Dynasties, and make up for the deficiency of the history books of Tang, Song and Five Dynasties. I think the value of historical research is more important than artistic appreciation. As for artistic value, we can do this. Dunhuang murals are masterpieces of oriental medieval art. Dunhuang murals represent the development history of our China art from the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty for nearly one thousand years. In other words, it can also be said to be the highest peak of Buddhist civilization. Our Dunhuang murals are about a thousand years earlier than the European Renaissance, and modern discoveries are quite complete, which can also be said to be a miracle of human culture. "

1944 1 month, Mr. Daqian held a copy exhibition of Dunhuang murals in Chengdu, Sichuan, which was a sensation. Shen Zeng, a friend and calligrapher of Mr Daqian, praised him in a poem: "After three years, I believe everything, and Wan Li will come back with frost. Who can manage coix seed beads and write Dunhuang with an inkstone? "

195 1 year, Mr. Daqian moved his family to South America.

In Argentina, Mr Daqian lives in the scenic Mendoza, and his house is called "Nyan House".

Nyan House lived for a year and then moved to Brazil for the right of abode. He bought a piece of land and built "Bade Garden" according to his own ideal and from the artistic point of view of painting. Speaking of the naming of "Bade Garden", most people intuitively think that Mr. Daqian takes four dimensions and eight virtues. In fact, he has another purpose: "Because my garden was originally a farm where others planted persimmons, there are more than 1,000 persimmons, so I named it after persimmons. We used to say:' Persimmon has seven virtues', that is to say, persimmon has seven benefits. Later, I learned that persimmon leaves can be cured by soaking in water. According to "Persimmon has seven virtues", the Tang Dynasty wrote Youyang Za. Persimmon has seven virtues: longevity, abundant sunshine, no bird's nest, four insects, half-playing with five frost leaves, six guests and seven fat leaves. After Bade Garden was properly arranged, Mr. Daqian began to hold exhibitions in various countries to introduce Chinese paintings to western scholars. When he exhibited the temporary works of Dunhuang frescoes in Paris, he met Picasso, a western painting master. Mr Daqian, who took the initiative to deal with Picasso, said, "Because I don't know foreign languages, I have to ask my friends in Paris for help. They all seem reluctant. Of course, I also know that Picasso is very famous and hard to see. The first thing I want to do is to find our China painter Zhao Wuji, who is very famous in France. Zhao Wuji has always been very kind to me. He always addresses me as a teacher. Only when he asked this question did he answer me. He thought it necessary to hit a snag. He also said that westerners should make an appointment in advance when meeting guests. Picasso's arrogant shelf, of course, he is a master of western painting. Friends say that you can also represent the masters of oriental painting. If you visit him, he doesn't see you and touches a nail. Wouldn't it be self-defeating if the reporter knew and published it in the newspaper? It's not just you who are ashamed. Isn't it embarrassing for all artists from the East? "Cough! I'm a little angry. Better to rely on yourself than to go to others for help. I'll find him myself. I don't understand this language. I will use an interpreter who listens to my command. After the decision, my wife and I left Paris for Cannes, accompanied by an interpreter named Zhao. I read in the newspaper that Picasso hosted the opening exhibition of a pottery rally in a small town near Cannes on July 28, and Picasso's castle-like villa was in Nice near Cannes.

"When I checked into a hotel in Cannes, the first thing I did was to ask my translator to call Picasso.

"In this way, after about an hour or two, the other party really called and said that Picasso knew about it and asked Mr. Zhang to meet at the venue." The next day, they came to the place where they met. "Picasso came, and there was a commotion in the crowd. It seems to be a fanaticism about his worship. Picasso was raised and cheered without ceremony. It's probably too messy to hold. Picasso was present and counted. It was crowded for a while. Picasso was squeezed not far from me. I think he must have seen me, but he didn't mean to say hello to me! " The translator who accompanied me was young and tall. When he saw that Picasso was going to be squeezed out again, on impulse, he immediately pushed through the crowd, grabbed Picasso and asked why we were here and ignored him. Picasso turned around and seemed to explain to him. This time his eyes greeted me. ""Probably his explanation was satisfactory. My translator came back with a smile, and Picasso was pushed away by the crowd again. The translator told me that there were too many people at the scene and it was too messy. Picasso said he couldn't talk to me. At noon the next day, he invited my husband and wife to his other village for lunch! " Mr Daqian was taken aback.

The next day, Zhang Daqian and his wife and translator visited Picasso's villa in California. First of all, I watched Bi's Chinese painting exercises. Then, Bi expressed his opinion. The first sentence he said surprised Mr Daqian.

Picasso said, "What I don't understand most is why you China people come to Paris to study art!"

Zhang Daqian said: "I thought there was a discrepancy in translation. Ask him to explain. Picasso said:' Don't say that there is no art in Paris, France, and there is no art in the whole west and white people!' "I have to apologize for your kindness, he stressed:' Really! When it comes to art in this world, first of all, you China people have art, followed by Japanese art. Of course, Japanese art originated in China, and black people in the third Africa have art. Besides, white people have no art at all! So what puzzles me most is why so many people from China and the East want to study art in Paris! "Later, they ate together, took photos and went to the garden. Bi sent Zhang Daqian a painting of a Spanish pastoral idol. Mr. Daqian later sent a painting of ink and bamboo that he was interested in, symbolizing that they and the gentleman were friends with bamboo.

Someone once praised Mr. Zhang Daqian as a genius, but he didn't agree: "I don't emphasize any genius, nor do I advocate any rigid homework." No matter what you study, the most important thing is interest. Some people say that it takes seven days in three minutes, and I agree that it takes three days in seven minutes. Self-effort is the most important, especially the foundation. "Mr. Daqian still has a word, it is a great pleasure to be a painter. He said: "when a painter paints, he is naturally a god and has the special ability to create everything." In painting, it rains when it rains, and the sun shines when it wants to shine; Nature is in my hands, not driven by everything! Where there is no mountain, there is a peak. If you delete rocks, you can add waterfalls and a Wang Yang boat with leaves. If you have a fairyland in your heart, you must draw it. This is what scientists call transforming nature, which is what our ancients called "pens make nature useless"!

Mr Daqian concluded: "In short, painters can create another world in painting. How to draw depends on the creation of his own ideas. Sometimes, painting must describe and express reality, but it can't care too much about reality. How to choose depends on the painter's ideas and efforts! " Fifty years ago, Xu Beihong said, "Zhang Daqian was the first in 500 years." It may be true to know a person by looking at his paintings.