Theexhibitiondisplayedover120paintingsbyJiangPing.byHanWanchengIntheearly1940s,ZhangDaqian(1899-1983),oneofthemostfamoustraditionalpaintersinmodernChina,spentnearlythreeyearscopyingmuralspreservedintheBuddhistgrottoesinDunhuang,inChina’snorthwesternprovinceofGansu.In1944,heheldanexhibitioninChengdu,capitalofSichuanProvince,todisplaywhathecopied.Amongthevisitorswasa10-year-oldboy,whostillhasabrochurefromtheexhibition.
TheboywasJiangPing,whowasbornintoafamilyofcalligraphersandpainters.Hisfather,JiangFanzhong,wasafriendofZhangDaqian.Threeyearslaterin1947,JiangPingbecameZhang’syoungeststudent.
Overthepastsevendecades,JiangPinghascontinuouslyabsorbedZhang’spaintingtechniqueswhileexploringhisownstyle,eventuallyreachingthestatusofapaintingmasterofSichuan.InMay2018,84-year-oldJiangPingheldasoloexhibitionatthe“ChinaTreasures”artgalleryinBeijingHotel,displayingover120paintingshefinishedoverthepast20years.
OnappreciatingtraditionalChineseart,Jiangtoldvisitors:“TraditionalChinesepaintingislikeembroidery—bothneedtobecarefullyexaminedtofindtheirhiddenmeaning.”
SilentMountains,GlassyPonds
TraditionalChinesepaintingispopularlyreferredtoas“ink-washDanqing.”Infact,“Danqing”referstoheavycolorssuchascinnabarandturquoiseusedinartcreation.Therefore,thename“ink-washDanqing”notonlyincludesreferencestotwodifferentcoloringstyles,butalsorepresentstwomajorgenresoftraditionalChineseart:ink-washingpaintingandrealisticheavy-colorpainting.
ZhangDaqianwasdubbedthe“EasternBrush”bymanyinWesternartcircles.Manyofhisworksintegraterealisticandfreehandstyles.JiangPinginheritedthisstrategyandisparticularlyproficientinrealisticpainting.HisexhibitioninMaydisplayedbothink-washandheavy-colorpaintingsinvolvingsubjectslikeflowers,birds,landscapes,animalsandinsects,fusinghumorwithsolemnity.
Incontrasttofreehandpaintingfeaturingroughandsimplelineswithfocusonsettingthemood,realisticpaintingrequiresdrawingdetailswithexquisite,meticulousstrokessimilartoclassicalWesternoilpainting.
PerhapsthisiswhyJiangPinglikenedtraditionalChinesepaintingtoembroidery:bothrequirepainstakingmeticulousness.“Realisticpaintingistime-consuming,andeachpieceofworkcouldtakemorethanamonthtocomplete,”hesaid.
Moreover,traditionalChinesepaintingisoftenaccompaniedbycalligraphy,poetryandseals,whichenrichtheartisticvalueofthepainting.JiangPingbelievesthat“poetryismusictopainting,andpaintingisdancetopoetry.”Heoftenselectsapoembeforebeginningapaintingandlikestowritemeaningfulversesthateulogizevirtuesandgoodcharacteronhispaintings.AccordingtoLiYansheng,aformerresearcheratthePalaceMuseum,JiangPinginheritsZhangDaqian’sstylethatretainsthecorevalueoftraditionalChinesescholarlypainting.
CicadasintheMoonlightdepictsfivelifelikecicadasflyingorperchingonwillowsbathedinthemoonlight,creatinganelegant,poeticambienceinlinewiththeverseonthepainting.
“JiangCicada”and“JiangFan”
JiangPing’spaintingsdepictawidearrayofsubjectsincludingflowers,birds,fishandinsects.Heissonotedforhiscicadapaintingsthathewasnicknamed“JiangCicada.”Apaintingdepictingcicadasinthemoonlightwasparticularlypopularattheexhibition.Inthepainting,fivelifelikecicadasflyingorperchingonwillowsbathedinthemoonlightcreateapoeticambiance.
IntraditionalChineseculture,thecicadasymbolizesnobilityandmoralintegrity,soit’sapopularsubjectformanypaintingmasters.
JiangPingbegantodrawcicadasinthe1980s.Aftercarefulresearchofcicadapaintingsfrompastdynasties,heconcludedthatfewofthoseworksdevotedmuchdetailtotheinsect’swingsandsomeevenincorrectlydepicteditsbodystructure.Accuratelyrepresentingthecicada’sbodystructureandvividlydepictingitsthin,transparentwingsbecameJiang’smission.Overthenextseveralyears,hecollectedcicadasfromthewilderness,madespecimensandstudiedtheirbodiescarefully.“JustlikeQiBaishi’sdepictionsofshrimp,Iapplythethickeststrokebeforetheinkdries,”Jiangrevealed.“ThisishowIclearlydepicttheveinsontheirwings.”
AccordingtoseniorChinesecollectorLiBaojia,JiangPing’scicadasdifferfromthoseofhisteacherZhangDaqian.“Jiang’scicadapaintingsaremoremeaningfulandconveyprofoundtraditionalChineseculture.”
Alongwithcicadas,JiangPing’sworkonfansisalsooutstanding.Manyofhispaintedfansareondisplayattheexhibitionaswell.Chinesefanculturehasalonghistory.Asearlyasthe18thcentury,ChinesefanswereintroducedtoEuropeviatheSilkRoadandgainedpopularitywiththeupperclassoftheWest.Aftercenturiesofevolution,fanpaintingandcalligraphyhavebecomeiconsofclassicalChineseculture.
Jianghadalreadybecomepassionateaboutfanpaintingandcalligraphybyayoungage.Sofar,hehascreatedmorethan1,000piecesofoneortheother.Heintegratedandabsorbedhighlightsofotherartiststoformadistinctivefanpaintingstyleafterfurtherexploringtheaestheticandvisualeffectsofcolorbrushwork.Heoncepublishedacollectionoffanpaintings,forwhichfamousChineseartcriticLiuChuanmingwroteinthepreface:“Paintingonfans,especiallyfoldingfans,requiresnotonlyfollowingthecurvesofthefantofillthespacebutalsorealistictechniquestodrawtheemptiness.JiangPingperformsexceptionallywellinbothregards,sohisfanpaintingsareimbuedwithanarchaictouchandpreserveorthodoxstylesoftraditionalfanpainting.”
Bondwith“ChinaTreasures”ArtGallery
Thehostofthe2018exhibition,the“ChinaTreasures”artgalleryinBeijingHotel,islocatedadjacenttoTian’anmenSquare,thePalaceMuseumandWangfujingPedestrianStreet.LiJing,founderofthegallery,formerlyworkedwithcivilaviationcompaniesandmediaorganizationswhichleftherwithrichexperienceinmanagementandinvestment.ShehasbeencommittedtotheprotectionandinheritanceoftraditionalChinesecultureformanyyears.In2008,shefoundedtheartgallerytopromoteandcollectpreciousartcreatedbystate-classmastersthatareconsidered“nationaltreasures.”
LiJingwasimpressedwhenshefirstsawJiangPing’swork.“Manyseniorartistsspendalloftheirtimepaintingratherthanpromotingtheirart,”sheexplained.“Buttheirworksareveryimpressive.WhatkindsofChinesestoriesareworthhearing?Ipreferstoriesfromseniorartistswhohaveinheritedtraditionalculture.”
Alongwithtraditionalcalligraphyandpaintings,theartgalleryhasalsocollectedmorethan100piecesofcloisonnéandcarvedlacquerware.BothcraftswerepartofthefirstgroupofChineseintangibleculturalheritage.ManyartandcraftsmastershaveestablishedcooperativerelationswiththeartgalleryincludingcontemporaryChinesecarvedlacquerwaremasterManJianminandcloisonnémasterXiongSongtao.
DuringJiangPing’spaintingexhibition,theartgalleryorganizedseveraleventsthemedaroundtraditionalChineseculturetoaccenttraditionalChinesepaintingwithperformancesofguqin(atraditionalseven-stringedpluckedinstrument)andteaceremonies.OnJune9,2018,DjoomartOtorbaev,formerprimeministerofKyrgyzstan,visitedtheartgalleyandshowedgreatinterestintraditionalChinesecalligraphy,paintingandroyaltreasures.HepointedouthowspecialChinesecultureisandhowmuchofitcannotbefoundinanyothercountry.HealsoexpectsmoreexcellentChineseculturalachievementstobeginbeingexported.The“ChinaTreasures”artgalleryinBeijingHotel,foundedin2008,iscommittedtopromotingandcollectingpreciousartworkscreatedbystate-classmastersthatareconsidered“nationaltreasures.”byChengGong