Zheng Banqiao of Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics

Zheng Banqiao has made great artistic achievements among the Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou, and his poems, paintings and books all have very distinctive artistic styles. He looks at bamboo, thinks about bamboo, and likes to draw bamboo. He not only paints bamboo well, but also has a strong humanitarian spirit. "My official Zhai is lying listening to Xiao, and it is suspected that it is the voice of people's sufferings; Some small officials in Caozhou County always care about their feelings. " Zheng Banqiao's poem "Listening to Bamboo Pictures in Yazhai" is well known. People say to be a magistrate for three years, 100 thousand snowflakes and silver. Zheng Banqiao has been a magistrate in Shandong for more than three years. When he resigned and went home, all his possessions were only three donkeys, one carrying him, one carrying extremely young children and the other carrying books. Zheng Banqiao was very clever and a wise man, but he left behind an eternal masterpiece, Rare Puzzlement. Zheng Banqiao, with his humanitarian spirit of loving the people and serving the people, has a seal engraved with "Kangxi Scholar, Yongzheng Juren, Qianlong Jinshi", which is the track of his official career. In the early years of Qianlong, he was sent to Shandong as a magistrate soon after he was admitted to the Jinshi. The first three years were just a small county town with dozens of families under its jurisdiction. These dozens of families work day after day. At sunset, Zheng Banqiao has almost nothing to do. Every day besides drinking and eating dog meat is painting. Three years later, Zheng Banqiao was promoted and transferred to Wei County as a county grandfather, which is now Weifang, Shandong Province. As a scholar, he did a good thing that he was in danger of being beheaded soon after taking office. At that time, there was a drought in Shandong, and Wei County was bare and hungry. The only way to get people out of danger is to open a warehouse to release grain, but it is not easy to open a warehouse to release grain. Treasury grain and seven small officials have no right to use it. However, if the approval documents were submitted, people would have starved to death. Zheng Banqiao decisively decided to open the warehouse to release grain, and the county annals evaluated the matter in three words-live ten thousand people. Zheng Banqiao was not killed, but he was given a big demerit. This is a highlight of Zheng Banqiao's humanitarian spirit, which can also be felt in his paintings and poems. Listening to Bamboo Pictures in Yazhai is Zheng Banqiao's masterpiece. The tall and straight bamboo poles and swaying bamboo leaves are always worried about people's poems, which makes people deeply moved. There are many paintings full of strong humanitarian spirit and positive spirit, such as Bamboo Map, which depicts a short bamboo with only one pole growing out of the drawing paper. The poem is: "What's so strange about a painter? I don't know how to lift the sky with one shot. " If you stand along the eaves, what about the clouds? "Even the smartest people are stupid and rarely confused. There is a stubborn stone in Zheng Banqiao's "Bamboo Stone Map", and the bottom of the stone passes through a bunch of bamboo. The poem said: "I insist that the green hills are not relaxed, and the roots are in the chaotic cliffs. It is still difficult to turn around, and the wind is east, west, north and south. "Another" Wind and Rain Bamboo Map "is more combative. The poem reads:" Last night, the autumn wind crossed Xiaoxiang, and I touched the stone and went crazy in the forest. Only bamboo branches are not afraid, but they can fight a thousand games. "At this time, Zheng Banqiao is hard-edged, a bit like a fighter. In his later years, especially after his resignation, Zheng Banqiao's works lost their edge and their styles changed greatly. At this time, he drew a "Ink Bamboo Map" with a quiet picture. In addition to the leisurely rural scenery, this poem also has an obvious and rare color of confusion-"Outside the fog, Mo Wen's road to life is difficult. Write with a few thin bamboos and make fishing rods on the autumn wind lake. Where did the philosophy of "rare confusion" come from? In his later years, Zheng Banqiao was still the magistrate of Wei County. When he was out for an outing, he met a secluded hut. He was greeted by an old man with blond hair and blue eyes and a childish face. They had a good chat. Zheng Banqiao asked the old man your name and replied, "Stupid old man". Zheng Banqiao wrote four characters of "Rare Confusion", and then stamped the proud seal of "Kangxi Scholar, Yongzheng Juren, Qianlong Jinshi". The puzzled old man then landed on the seal of "after having obtained the provincial examination first, the university examination second and the palace examination third", and Zheng Banqiao was in awe. It turns out that the confused old man has gone out to live in seclusion here. Soon, Zheng Banqiao also resigned and went home. From then on, he lived in seclusion in Yangzhou, painting bamboo and fishing. He is no longer sharp-edged and often confused. Valuable fakes are rampant. China literati disdained money and avoided it, but Zheng Banqiao regarded his calligraphy and painting as a commodity. He keeps pace with the times and is avant-garde. He is the first person in history to clearly mark his paintings and calligraphy. " Six taels for big ones, four taels for middle ones, one or two couplets for banners, and five yuan for fans. "Now that Zheng Banqiao's works have appreciated by one thousand times, it's hard to hold money. The personal style of Zheng Banqiao's works is very prominent, and there are many endless stories about him, so his works are of high value. In 2008 alone, the auction price of seven Zheng Banqiao lots in China exceeded/kloc-0.00 million yuan. They are Zhu Lan Hanhai Autumn Shooting Double Pine Map (6.944 million yuan), Jiuge Autumn Shooting Seven Sages Map (5.376 million yuan), Huachen Autumn Shooting Bamboo Stone Map (4.48 million yuan), Beijing Poly Spring Shooting Atlas (6.5438+0.758 million yuan) and Huachen Spring Shooting Bamboo Slips. However, with the passage of time, today's Banqiao calligraphy and painting fakes are rampant. When appraising, we should pay attention to Zheng Banqiao's calligraphy and painting "thin, hard and steep". If there are any shortcomings, there is no doubt that he can draw anything, but only bamboo has achieved great success. Bamboo in his ink bamboo paintings is often less in early years, more in middle age and less in old age. Moreover, his early and middle-aged works have a strong humanitarian spirit, which makes people work hard. In his later years, he has lost his edge and entered a rare state of confusion. In terms of calligraphy, his traditional skills are profound, and his Six-and-a-Half Book is a family of its own. Its size, length, orthogonality, Fiona Fang, fatness and density are all related to nature, and fakes can only be similar in shape but not in spirit. Yangzhou, Zheng Banqiao