From elegance and folk custom, we can see the life art of Chinese people.

The exhibition "Elegance and Artistic Interest-Life, Wisdom and Art of Chinese" is being exhibited in the Art Museum of Beijing Academy of Painting. More than 110 classic paintings and calligraphy works are selected from the fine works collected by the Academy. From the perspectives of elegance and folklore, the painting art is used to tell the quiet and transcendent life that the literati yearn for and the flavor and interest in the lives of the folk people. The Spring Festival in Jihai is approaching, and there is also a popular "Year Culture" in the exhibition hall, such as a picture of "Year of the Year" painted by Qi Baishi, a great master, on the occasion of the Spring Festival, to celebrate the farewell of the old year and the welcome of the new year.

Qi Baishi

Year of the DPRK In 1950, it was collected by Beijing Painting Academy.

Chinese aesthetic presentation of "taste both refined and popular"

Qi Baishi, Wu Jingting, Hu Peiheng, Xu Yansun and Wu Guangyu cooperated."Chang Chun Xiu Mao" (Partial) Collected by Beijing Painting Academy

In Chinese’s aesthetic standards, there is a word called "taste both refined and popular". "Elegance" is the ultimate pursuit of ancient China literati. It is not only reflected in the daily speech and behavior of ancient literati, but also runs through their daily life. It can be said that "elegance" is the core of the aesthetic taste of elite cultural classes. High mountains and flowing water, playing the piano, is a kind of elegance; It is a kind of elegance to gather all the sages, fight for wine and recite poems; It is also a kind of elegance to look at the clouds and play with ink. For thousands of years, China literati have been enriching the connotation of elegance.

"Vulgarity" is the flavor and interest of China folk culture. Hard-working and simple Chinese summed up a lot of wisdom and philosophy about life in his work and life. China’s folk culture is more lively and interesting than the elegant things that literati care about. Auspicious patterns with the expectation of a better life, the strong New Year flavor embellished with lanterns and firecrackers, and the Chinese zodiac animals composed of real animals or unreal animals … all these are full of China flavor.

The exhibition not only introduces the elegant things that China literati are keen on, such as reading, playing the piano, watching paintings and collecting elegance; Four gentlemen in the flowers who express their aspirations through things-plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum; Natural philosophy with emotion and landscape. At the same time, it also introduces the traditional customs of ordinary people, such as attaching importance to loyalty, filial piety, propriety and righteousness, believing in religious beliefs, praying for good luck and longevity, and expecting a full house for future generations, as well as opera songs and dances with China cultural characteristics and the chronology of the zodiac. You can come here, watch "Chang Chun Xiu", and appreciate the grand occasion of Beijing painting circles in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. Or taste the Mei Lanzhuju of Wu Changshuo, Chen Shiceng and Qi Baishi, and watch the literati play with ink and express their aspirations through things. You can also read and explain the characters and think about China’s unique religious culture; Or enjoy "Shoutao" and "Hundred philosophers", and consider that the painter’s painting implies auspiciousness and ingenuity.

Auspicious and festive, sharing a happy year together

Pray for the Spring Festival

Every time I bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, Chinese always uses the customs handed down from the older generation to ward off disasters and evil spirits and welcome the new. Every household writes blessings, cuts out window grilles, puts up New Year pictures, hangs lanterns, firecrackers and red lanterns, and the streets and alleys are filled with joy and joy of the Spring Festival. However, with the increasing proportion of science and information technology in our lives, people have begun to forget some customs in traditional culture. To this end, the exhibition leads the audience to recall the taste of the "Year" especially when the Spring Festival comes. Tell the origin of the word "Fu", the style of paper-cutting, the rubbing of New Year pictures and the message of stationery. The audience can come here to cut a window flower and stick it on the window to watch the spring flowers bloom; Write a blessing and stick it in front of the door, asking Fulu to get home safely; Send a letter, a short message, and send a New Year greeting; Print a New Year picture, which is more than enough every year, and pray for a bumper harvest. During the exhibition, the Beijing Academy of Painting held a "blessing" activity for the appreciation of the support of the audience from all walks of life over the years. From New Year’s Eve to the fifth day of junior high school, visitors to the Art Museum of Beijing Academy of Painting have the opportunity to get a famous "Fu" to celebrate the New Year.

The exhibition will last until February 28, 2019.

Appreciation of exhibition works

Chou Ying (model)The Picture of Peach and Plum Garden in Spring Banquet was collected by Beijing Painting Academy in Ming Dynasty.

Ancient literati in China liked to invite friends to gather in their own gardens, enjoy painting and calligraphy, drink wine and enjoy the scenery, and burn incense and tea together. The old man in red in the work is the master of the courtyard. He holds a candlelight dinner with his family and friends. The white porcelain wine glasses and red lacquer holders placed on the table are typical drinking utensils for literati in the Ming Dynasty, while the scroll paintings put away show that the owner has just enjoyed painting and calligraphy with the guests. After the tea banquet, there are some ancient books, scrolls, stone appreciation, bronze ribbons and wine sets on the mahogany table, all of which show the elegance of the party.

Qi Baishi Reading Map Collected by Beijing Painting Academy

After the May 4th Movement in 1919, influenced by western culture, horizontally typeset books appeared in China. Before that, ancient books were arranged vertically from the right, so Chinese developed a top-down reading habit, pitching heaven and earth between raising his head and lowering his head.

Li ShanThree Friends in the Collection of Beijing Painting Academy in Qing Dynasty

Pine trees, full of vitality and evergreen, are born in adversity and grow together with bamboo and plum blossoms in the cold winter. Therefore, in the eyes of the ancient people in China, these three plants are symbols of high morals and integrity, and they are called "three friends who are old and cold". Scholars like to keep company with three friends who are old and cold, and put them into paintings, which reflects their pursuit of loneliness, luxury and out of touch.

Yu Feian"Up to the Blue Sky" was collected by Beijing Painting Academy in 1958.

Different from western still life, Chinese’s paintings like to show the vitality of nature. Birds, or fly high, or chirp; Butterflies, or dancing, or nostalgia for flowers. Yu Feian, a painter, is good at drawing flowers and birds. In order to observe birds’ demeanor and movements, he also keeps pigeons at home. The two pigeons in the painting, one with its head held high and the other looking back, are lifelike, like a couple. This is the painter’s observation of life, which can be regarded as a sketch, and the auspicious cloud pattern in the painting is a classic pattern in China’s traditional painting.

Qi Baishi"Double Mantis" Collected by Beijing Painting Academy

In ancient Chinese, the seasons were known by observing nature, thus guiding farming. After the cold winter, the insects burst out of the ground, indicating the coming of farming season. Therefore, Chinese is very fond of insects. If landscape is Chinese’s thinking about the macro world, then grass bugs are their exploration of the micro world. Qi Baishi, a painter, loves life, and even a tiny creature has become something he is willing to show. Moreover, the grass insects he described are so real that even entomologists are full of praise, and the handling of details is even more exquisite.

Qi BaishiThe picture of making a fortune was collected by Beijing Painting Academy in 1927.

The object in the painting is an abacus, an ancient computing tool in China, which started in the Song Dynasty and is still in use today. Before the calculator appeared, Chinese always used abacus for calculation and statistics. Whether it is an inn, restaurant, teahouse or drugstore, every family has an abacus to calculate the operating income of the day, month and year. As a result, the abacus gradually has another meaning-making a fortune. Qi Baishi, a painter, did not draw coins, but used an abacus to make a fortune. This is Chinese’s wisdom and implication.

Qi BaishiAlbum of the 12 Zodiac Animals was collected by Beijing Painting Academy in 1940.

Zodiac is a unique commemorative method in China. Guan Weishan commissioned Qi Baishi to create the Twelve Zodiacs, and asked for two or three pictures every year. It took four years to collect one set. Then they took over the ink margin and became friends. This set of Zodiac is not created in the order of the zodiac, among which So Thousand Miles was first created in 1940, while The Picture of the Peach Monkey was painted in 1944. The old man Baishi vividly shows the characteristics of various animals in his paintings, and also conveys his own life feelings and emotions.

Guan LiangDramatic Characters was collected by Beijing Painting Academy in 1953.

Guan Liang’s four works of dramatic figures are all the national quintessence of China’s art-Peking Opera. Peking Opera was born in the Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty, and evolved from Huizhou Opera. It entered the court at the beginning of its formation, so the aesthetic requirements for the stage image are higher. There is a complete program for repertoire creation, gongs and drums singing, costumes and masks. Different from western drama, the performing arts of Beijing opera pay attention to the combination of reality and reality. Without landscaping, a gesture can show pushing the door and entering; Without props, one action can show galloping. And this kind of expressive stage essentials is related to Chinese philosophy.

Qi Baishi"Kingfisher Prawn" Collected by Beijing Painting Academy

Elegant and Artistic —— Chinese’s Life, Wisdom and Art

Exhibition period: January 29-February 28, 2019

Venue: Exhibition Hall, Floor 1-4, Art Museum, Beijing Academy of Painting