Traditional bamboo in Chinese painting

Bamboo and stone painting, clear Zheng Banqiao, paper and ink, length 217.4cm, width120.6cm, now in Shanghai Museum.

Appreciation of famous paintings

"Bamboo Stone Map" is a courtyard bamboo painted by Zheng Xie, a painter in Qing Dynasty, at the age of 62. It stands on a thin stone wall, mainly outlined by the center. Hook the long and hard folds with a pen to the hard and sharp stones, which is varied and full of charm. There are two or three bamboos in front of the stone, which are beautifully pulled, and they are called and answered. They are written in a simple painting method "redundancy, cutting and keeping thin", which is a typical style of Zheng Banqiao. The whole picture, simple and lively, bamboo clear Shi Xiu, magnificent, fengshen scattered, there is a feeling of standing proudly and standing out from the crowd. Zheng Banqiao's bamboo paintings are based on "simplicity and thinness". In this painting, the abrupt rocks are outlined by simple strokes, and the whole hard and thin rocks are slightly wrinkled by a small axe, making them appear uneven. Although the bamboo pole is thin but not weak, the bamboo leaves are few and lush, and there is no lack of lush and sturdy. One pole of bamboo is indomitable, and other bamboos are intertwined, and the reality, shade, height and distance echo each other, giving birth to a kind of pride in fun.

The calligraphy on the painting is straightforward, and the inscription reads: "In the past, Dongpo lay people made ancient wood and bamboo stones, but if they used dead trees without bamboo, they would be colorless, and the rest made bamboo stones without dead trees." The original intention is to draw bamboo, so bamboo is the main one, supplemented by stones. Today, stone is bigger than bamboo, and it is also special. Don't stick to the ancient law, don't be stubborn, live ... "He clearly expressed his creative thoughts: First of all, painting should not fall into the previous model, and it is necessary to follow the ancient times and eat the ancient times, advocating" learning its meaning without learning its traces "and" painting a gourd with the charm of Song and Yuan Dynasties "; Secondly, creation can't abide by the old laws, so don't be afraid of going out of line and pursue new expression techniques; Moreover, the creation is not superstitious about the ancient law, not opinionated, and has achieved a "living" word. In short, "Where there is a will, write first, and there are rules. Where there is a will, there is an extra-legal opportunity. "Draw clouds alone." From "bamboo in the eye" to "bamboo in the chest" and then to "bamboo in the hand", it is a process of processing, refining, summarizing and upgrading from life image to artistic image. "Make up your mind before writing" is a rule that must be followed. Only by using flexible methods can we shape the artistic image of a dynamic person.

Bamboo and stone map of Zheng Banqiao

In this "Bamboo Stone Map", Zheng Banqiao painted bamboo tall and thin, tall and straight, straight into the sky. Each leaf has a different expression, dull as water, vividly showing the texture of bamboo, and the slender and quiet beauty of bamboo sets off another style of stone. In composition, the relationship between bamboo and stone and the words used in poetry are very harmonious, and the calligraphy in his later years is more unique, elegant and vigorous. Jin Nong, the leader of the Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou, once lamented that compared with their paintings, the bamboo he painted was not as elegant as Banqiao.

A collection of interesting paintings.

Zheng Banqiao was praised by later generations as an all-round painter of "poetry, calligraphy and painting", among which there are three truths, with special emphasis on expressing true temperament, true spirit and true interest.

Zheng Banqiao's painting achievement is extremely high, especially good at painting bamboo and stone, with thick branches and leaves, thin and isolated, with superhuman style. He has the theory of painting bamboo "there is nothing he can do in his chest", and he has no teacher's inheritance. More of it comes from the sunshine and moon shadow on the paper window and powder wall, and he takes the method directly. He claimed: "There is nothing for me to learn from where I draw bamboo, and there are more middle ears than paper windows, powder walls, sunshine and moon shadows." In response to Su Dongpo's statement that he had a careful plan, Zheng Banqiao emphasized that he should have a careful plan. These two theories seem contradictory, but they are similar in essence. At the same time, they emphasize the high combination of conception and skill. Their creative experience is fully revealed in a painting: "Jiangting is clear in autumn, and bamboo is seen in the morning. Smoke, sun shadows and dew are floating among the dense leaves, and their chests are full of vitality and picturesque. In fact, the bamboo in the chest is not the bamboo in the eye. Therefore, grinding ink and spreading paper, writing in disguise, the bamboo in the hand is not the bamboo in the chest. " Bamboo in his works pays attention to the combination of thinness and frugality, which is often the embodiment of his own thoughts and character. It is said that once a big family invited Zheng Banqiao to paint bamboo. After drinking, he spilled ink on the wall and threw a pen without drawing. At night, the wind and rain washed away the ink on the wall. The next morning, it turned out to be a vivid ink bamboo. Several sparrows thought they had come to the bamboo forest and knocked unconscious under the wall. You can't believe all the legends, but you can imagine the creativity of Zheng Banqiao's paintings.

Zheng Banqiao's "Tour of Lan Tu"

The orchids he painted highlighted the wildness in the mountains, and the pen was elegant and fragrant, and he often used poems to vent his grievances and resentment, such as "I don't want to provoke bees and butterflies", which reflected his lofty attitude. He also painted broken pots of orchids and cliff orchids, which are metaphors of the experience that his ambition could not be put into practice.

His calligraphy is a combination of Huang Tingjian and Su Dongpo, a mixture of seal script and calligraphy, and a mixture of Zhu Lan's strokes. It is irregular in size, unconventional, majestic and graceful, and is called "Six Books and a Half".

For thousands of years, China literati were ashamed to talk about money, and most of them thought it was vulgar. However, Zheng Banqiao had a unique view on elegance and vulgarity, and thought there was nothing to be ashamed of. Zheng Banqiao, a 30-year-old teacher, found it difficult to make a living, so she went to Yangzhou to make a living by selling paintings and became a professional painter for 10 years. Even during his later tenure as a county magistrate, he thought that "not entering the official career, selling paintings earned several times more", so he thought about his retreat and wanted to make a living by selling paintings with friends named Li. Sure enough, he was a professional painter from his resignation to his death, selling paintings for 20 years. "Declare Museum Series"? In the sequel, people came to Zheng Banqiao's door with gold and silver to ask for paintings. The outside of the hall is always covered with guests' shoes. The guests waited silently in the back room for the release of the painting. Many people buy paintings, including princes, literati, poets, old monks in the mountains, and scholars in Huang Guan. Buyers are mostly salt merchants, Huizhou merchants, everyone and other wealthy businessmen. Zheng Banqiao promoted calligraphy and painting works as commodities, with a large range of six taels, a medium range of four taels and a small range of two taels. Notes and couplets. Fan, fight for five dollars, clearly mark the price, discuss the price according to the quality, and publicly show his identity as a professional painter.

When it comes to Zheng Banqiao, the topic of "Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou" will definitely be mentioned. Among the Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou, Zheng Banqiao is a representative figure, and Zheng Banqiao was named "History of Calligraphy and Painting" when Longdong literature was published.

Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou

"Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou" refers to some professional painters who lived in Yangzhou from the middle period of Kangxi to the middle period of Qianlong in Qing Dynasty. Although they are named "Eight Eccentrics", they don't really refer to any eight painters, but art historians have collected various historical books and listed them as as as many as 65,438+05 painters. In addition, there are Jin Nong, Huang Shen, Gao Xiang, Li, Bian Shoumin, Gao, Wang, Bian Shoumin, Li Yuan, Chen Chuan, Min Zhen and Luo Pin. And among the 15 people, only Gao Xiang is a real Yangzhou person. Luo Pin moved from Anhui to Yangzhou, while others were far apart for various reasons. Therefore, it is a rare progressive phenomenon that a group like this can come together and be classified as a painting school. In ancient China, it attached great importance to local culture and portal. First of all, they are all active in Yangzhou. Yangzhou Binhai has the advantage of salt industry, and salt merchants became the richest businessmen in China during Yongzheng and Qianlong periods, which promoted the economic and cultural development of Yangzhou.

But in ancient China, there were always different occupations, and the social status of businessmen was always very low. In order to improve the status of themselves and their families, wealthy businessmen not only let future generations study as officials, but also help local cultural and artistic undertakings and organize an elegant collection of literati in their own homes. The Eight Eccentrics are not ordinary painters, most of them are learned and refined, and although some of these painters used to be officials, they all finally embarked on the road of professional painters, so their threshold is not as high as that of scholars who don't sell paintings. Therefore, salt merchants have established a very close relationship with outstanding professional painters represented by the Eight Eccentrics. For example, many of the Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou lived in the homes of these merchants before they settled in Yangzhou. In addition to their relationship with salt merchants, their painting styles are different from the mainstream styles at that time, paying attention to personal feelings, expressing individuality and being unique. It also expands the subject matter, showing the lower life neglected by scholars in the past, such as Huang Shen's fishermen and wives. Their paintings were "avant-garde" in the eyes of people at that time and some Qing people behind them, and there were different opinions.

"Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics" are a group of intellectuals with a sense of justice. They all know the corruption of officialdom and the extortion of wealthy businessmen. Facing the difference between the rich and the poor in real life, combined with their own experiences, they have a strong dissatisfaction with the society, a deep sympathy for the suffering people, and an angry voice on their behalf. However, because they were educated by feudal culture, and the Qing Dynasty was in its heyday, their feelings and dissatisfaction could not break through the barriers of feudal thought. Officials among them made great efforts to make the people live and work in peace and contentment and maintain feudal order; Those who have no intention of officialdom are completely honest people, do not agree with customs and flaunt their lofty ideals.

Part of the map of bamboo and stone in Zheng Banqiao

And they can't get rid of the economic dependence on landlords, officials and businessmen, so they are often in extreme pain of ideological contradictions and have to compromise to survive outside cynicism. Zheng Banqiao is the most representative figure among the Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou, leaving many comments. He can be said to be a thinker among the Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou. His life experiences ranged from officials to civilians, from literati to businessmen, from literati to professional painters, and finally formed a painting style that was alienated from orthodox art, unconventional and unconventional, and occupied an important position in the history of China fine arts. The unique style and outstanding achievements of Zheng Banqiao's calligraphy and painting had a great influence at that time, and his followers were numerous, so he was called "Banqiao School". Many famous artists in later generations also learned his methods, absorbed his innovative spirit, and created new styles in succession, such as modern "Shanghai School" and modern Qi Baishi.

Zheng Banqiao was born in a declining scholarly family, and his father was born in a county. After his family came down, he lived as an apprentice and lived a poor life. Zheng Banqiao is an only child. Unfortunately, he lost his mother at the age of three and was raised by a wet nurse. Fisher is his grandmother's maid-in-waiting, grateful to his master, leaving her husband and children to find trouble in the Zheng family. Every morning, she takes the thin Banqiao to the market as a vendor, preferring to be hungry and buy Koitabashi a sesame seed cake first. Later, although her son became an eight-product official and let her go back to enjoy herself, she still stayed in Zheng Jialai to suffer. Zheng Banqiao wrote a poem specially for wet nurses, telling the story of a friend in need. The poem reads: "It is better to have a wet nurse all your life with a cake in your hand." Hao, her stepmother, is clever and considerate, but she is weak and can't help starving and freezing. She died in Banqiao at the age of fourteen, which was also a great blow to underage children.

Part of the map of bamboo and stone in Zheng Banqiao

He studied with his father since childhood, and wrote lyrics when he was 0/6 years old. Later, because of his wife and children and his father's advanced age, he set up a private school in Jiangcun (also known as Xicun) in Zhou Zhen to make a living and worked as a teacher for three or four years. In the tenth year of Yongzheng (1752), Zheng Banqiao went to Nanjing to take the provincial examination and won the prize. In the first year of Qianlong (1736), he went to the capital to take the exam, won the Jinshi, and specially wrote the map of okra stalagmites to congratulate himself. Zheng Banqiao summarized himself as "a scholar in Kangxi, a juren in Yongzheng and a scholar in Qianlong".

In the spring of the seventh year of Qianlong (1742), Zheng Banqiao was appointed as the county magistrate of Fanxian County. Five years later, he was transferred to wei county for seven years, serving as 12 county magistrate. According to historical records, when he was a magistrate of Fan and Wei County, he had many benefits, no unjust, false and wrong cases, and no mistreatment of the people, so he won the support of the people. He is a clean official and has made great achievements. Zheng Banqiao once wrote a poem: "Yazhai lies and listens little, and it is suspected that it is the voice of the people's sufferings. Some small officials in Caozhou County always care about their feelings. "

Fan County is located on the north bank of the Yellow River with a population of 100,000, but there are only 40 or 50 families in the county, which is not as big as a village. On his first day in office, Zheng Banqiao made a strange move: people made many holes in the wall of the county government. Others don't understand him, he said it was the bad habits and vulgarity of the former county magistrate.

Part of the map of bamboo and stone in Zheng Banqiao

Five years later, Zheng Banqiao was transferred to the county magistrate of wei county. In order to be close to the people, every time he goes out to patrol, he doesn't need to "avoid" and "be quiet" signs, and he is not allowed to make a way. Sometimes he even wears plain clothes and sandals to visit the poor and ask questions. When I went out at night, I heard the sound of reading in a thatched cottage. A look turned out to be a poor young man named Han Mengzhou studying hard, so Zheng Banqiao took out his own money to support him. Later, Han Mengzhou took part in the imperial examination and won the Jinshi.

Various bronzes have been unearthed in Wei county, and ancient ritual vessels and musical instruments are paid more attention to in the collection activities. Emperor Qianlong once promulgated ten kinds of ritual vessels before the Zhou Dynasty and placed them in Dacheng Hall of Confucius Temple, which promoted the pursuit and admiration of ancient ritual vessels in collection activities. However, Zheng Banqiao, the magistrate of Weixian County, has a special liking for bronze mirrors, and specially purchased local bronze mirrors. Jin Deying is a top scholar in the same subject in Zheng Banqiao, so it is natural to visit her classmates who have gone through the storm when passing Wei County. At this time, both of them have become white-haired old people. As soon as they met, they naturally felt a lot. When Jin Deying learned that his classmate was falsely accused of helping the victims, he obviously felt that he revealed a generous, sad and sublimated infinite charm in his feelings.

It's a long night, and the two old friends who met in wei county have finally arrived at the moment of parting. Zheng Banqiao carefully selected five bronze mirrors from his collection of 100 and presented them to Jin Deying, and wrote a poem: "Flowers on the earth erode the dragon's que, and autumn waters clear the sea and the moon is gone. It is expected that your heart is so bright, and Yutang is hanging high and cold. " Classmates and friends are also on the official road. It is inevitable that there is a big plaque with a "mirror hanging high" on the top of your head, and the mirror in your heart is more important. Giving a mirror as a poem is to invite an old friend to "take copper as a mirror and dress well;" Taking history as a mirror, we can know the rise and fall. "I often look back at myself and be an honest official who knows the high hall and solves people's worries." Jin Deying responded with a long poem, saying: "There is no reason for taking things for granted, and bold views are possible." . By warning the bald head's heart to make the bell ring and stop, other sentences are self-evident, indicating that they are United with Zheng Banqiao. Zheng Banqiao's bronze mirror collection had profound meaning at first: he was an important friend, and he wanted to learn from the mirror. This kind of consciousness represents the literati's lofty self-kindness, cleaning up filth and filth, representing the literati's clean hands and concern for the world, and also embodies his life style of "a piece of ice in a jade pot".

Part of the map of bamboo and stone in Zheng Banqiao

Zheng Banqiao carved a seal that read: "I can't wait to fill the global hunger debt". In the face of great disaster, he resolutely decided to open an official warehouse to lend food to the people for emergency, and his subordinates advised him to be cautious, because if he opened an official warehouse without reporting for approval, he would be punished. Zheng Banqiao said: By the time it is approved, the people will have starved to death, and I will bear this responsibility alone! He also ordered rich households to take turns to provide porridge for the hungry and take the lead in donating their wages. His decisiveness saved many people. If there is a disaster in autumn, the people can't pay back the grain. Zheng Banqiao simply let people burn the bonds, and the people are very grateful that he is an honest official who loves the people like a son.

Zheng Banqiao is an official who doesn't talk about ostentation and extravagance, which brings him trouble. Because he often goes to the countryside to observe the people's feelings, his superiors often can't find him when they visit, and it is inevitable to ask questions. In the 17th year of Qianlong, a once-in-a-century drought occurred in wei county. Yao Yaozong, an imperial envoy, turned a blind eye to this and asked Zheng Banqiao for calligraphy and painting instead. Zheng Banqiao satirized this ghost painting, and Yao Yaozong was very angry and tore it up. The family advised: since the emperor didn't ask and the imperial envoys ignored him, you should pretend to be confused! Zheng Banqiao said angrily, I can't pretend to be confused. Zheng Banqiao's application for relief angered his boss and he was fired as a result. Zheng Banqiao only hired three donkeys, one riding by himself, one letting people ride in front to lead the way, and the other carrying all his paintings and calligraphy to Yangzhou to sell paintings for a living. Before he left, he presented a painting to the people of Wei County as a souvenir, and wrote an inscription poem: "Don't be an official and throw a black veil, your sleeves are cold." Write a thin bamboo and use it as a fishing rod on the autumn wind river. "Zheng Banqiao as a county magistrate for twelve years, but he is so clean. The people who saw him off were very moved and reluctant to part.

Zheng Banqiao resigned and went home "with a bright moon and a cool breeze". He only brought a yellow dog and a pot of orchids. One night, he was tossing and turning, and a thief happened to visit him. He thought: if you shout loudly, you can't handle it yourself in case the thief starts, but you don't want to pretend to sleep and let him steal. After a little thought, he turned over and whispered, "It's raining, the night is heavy, and the gentleman on the beam enters our door." At this time, the thief was at the bedside and was shocked to hear the sound. He also heard: "There is thousands of books in the belly and no gold or silver at the bedside." The thief turned to go out and heard it say, "Don't be surprised when you go out." The thief thought, since there is a bad dog, why not climb over the wall? He was about to climb the wall when he heard "Don't damage the orchid pot when climbing the wall." The thief saw a pot of orchids on the wall at a glance, so he carefully avoided it. As soon as his feet touched the ground, a word came from the room: "It's cold before you wear clothes, so take advantage of the dark moon to catch the giant."

Part of the map of bamboo and stone in Zheng Banqiao

Zheng Banqiao's 52-year-old son, a standard old son, is of great significance in the feudal patriarchal society that values children. At that time, Zheng Banqiao was a county magistrate in Wei County, and his family were in their hometown, thousands of miles apart. He was very concerned about his son, so he wrote home and told his younger brother how to cultivate his nephew. He must "love him in his own way", so as to cultivate his kind and sincere character in play, and not to cultivate him into a mean and impatient generation. Zheng Banqiao pays attention to details and suggests to his younger brother that if his son is eating candy, he must share his own candy with everyone. They were born to his parents and deserve to be loved. There is no distinction between master and servant. Never let his son bully the servant's children. In the social ideology at that time, Zheng Banqiao was an official after all, and his son was naturally superior to the servant's children. Zheng Banqiao is actually cultivating children's sense of equality. He thinks that "being a scholar and an official" is not as good as "being a good man with understanding". If you understand that everyone is equal, you will be a person who treats others equally. Such people will gradually increase and there will be a good environment for treating others equally. Measuring advantages will no longer stay on the single basis of wealth status, mutual recognition and mutual respect.

When Zheng Banqiao was the magistrate of Wei County, his cousin sued his neighbor for a wall foundation of his ancestral home, asking him to inform Xinghua County to trust each other, so as to win the lawsuit. After reading the letter, Zheng Banqiao immediately wrote a poem back to the book: "A thousand miles of books are walls, why not let him be a few feet?" The Great Wall of Wan Li is still there today, but I haven't seen Qin Shihuang. "To say the least, you will naturally find inner peace.

Zheng Banqiao lived in poverty for the first 50 years and was demoted to an official when he obeyed. He was depressed. When his ambition failed to come true, he realized the value of "confusion" and put forward "rare confusion". It is said that the word "rarely confused" was written in Yunfeng Mountain, Laizhou, Shandong Province. One year, Zheng Banqiao made a special trip here to visit the Zheng Wengong Monument, and he couldn't leave. He had to spend the night in a cabin on the mountain. The shopkeeper is a refined old man who calls himself a "confused old man". He speaks elegantly, behaves appropriately, and talks with people very harmoniously. The old man has an inkstone the size of a square table, which is exquisite in stone and well carved. This is the best in the world, and Zheng Banqiao was deeply impressed by it.

The old man asked Zheng Banqiao to carve it on the back of the inkstone. Zheng Banqiao thought that the old man must have a history, so he inscribed the word "muddleheaded" and stamped it with the seal "Kangxi Scholar Yongzheng Juren Gan Long Jinshi". Because there are still many gaps on the inkstone, Zheng Banqiao thought that the old man should write an afterword, so the old man wrote: "Beautiful stones are rare, hard stones are even more rare, and it is more difficult to change from beautiful stones to hard stones. Beauty is in the middle, but stubbornness is outside, hiding the home of savages, not entering the treasure door. " The old man also used a square seal with the words "college entrance examination first, countryside second, palace third." When Banqiao saw that the old man was a retired noble and elegant gentleman, he was shocked. He felt that his shallowness and admiration still existed. Feeling the name of the confused old man, and seeing a gap on the back of the inkstone, Zheng Banqiao added: "It's hard to be smart, especially confused, and it's even harder to change from smart to confused. Let go, take a step back, feel at ease now, and report later. "

What exactly does "rare confusion" mean? Later generations think that the word "rarely confused" is philosophical, so they hang it at home in the form of horizontal couplets to warn the world. If we live in an era of social justice and transparent system, it is not uncommon for everyone to feel confused. Zheng Banqiao's "rare confusion" is a kind of self-encouragement, a kind of compromise, a despair of feudal society under the background of "prosperous times of kanggan", and also a kind of wisdom. The thought of inaction, seclusion and preserving our sanity revealed the helplessness of his time!

In fact, the meaning of "rarely confused" is varied and extremely rich, but not making it clear makes these four words more attractive. "Difficult to be confused" is a realm. People with lofty aspirations naturally disdain details, only focus on the general direction and become the mainstay; "Difficult to be confused" is an experience, and only those who have experienced many hardships can get the true meaning. "Difficult to be confused" is a qualification. People who are indifferent to fame and fortune, quiet and far-reaching, with rich and profound connotations, treat life with a normal heart and are calm and serene; Hard to be confused is a kind of wisdom. In a complex and changeable world, you can see through things, see through human nature, know the changes in the world, and handle things as easily as possible. "Difficult to confuse" is a kind of tolerance, which makes people extraordinary, open-minded and inclusive.

Biography of famous artists

Portrait of Zheng Banqiao

Zheng Xie (1693— 1765) was born in Xinghua, Jiangsu. He is good at painting orchids, bamboos, stones, pines, chrysanthemums, especially ink bamboo. He studied under the paintings of Xu Wei, Shi Tao and Badashanren, and was good at freehand brushwork in ink and wash. He advocated inheriting the tradition of "learning seven and staying three" and "exploring each other". China is a famous homesick, writer and artist in history, a representative painter of Yangzhou School in Qing Dynasty, and one of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou". Handed down from ancient times, the works include Zhu Shi Tu, Mei Zhu Tu, Zhu Mo Tu and Zhu Lan Shi Tu.

The article comes from painter Qiu Hanqiao and Sina Weibo.