Zheng Xie (1693-1765), whose courtesy name was Kerou, was also known as Banqiao/Banqiao Taoist. A native of Xinghua, Jiangsu. Outstanding painter, calligrapher and writer. Born in the 32nd year of Emperor Kangxi's reign in the Qing Dynasty. His father, Zheng Li'an, was a private teacher in the county and taught hundreds of students. Zheng Xie studied with his father since he was a child. He loved reading history books and poetry collections. He was erudite and memorized, and could recite all the books he read. When he was young, he studied in Maojiawan, Zhenzhou. The scholars of Kangxi and Yongzheng went to Nanjing to pass the provincial examination in the year of Renzi (1732). In 1736, Bingchen, the first year of Qianlong's reign, went to Beijing to take the examination for the Ministry of Rites and passed the Jinshi examination. In 1742, the seventh year of Qianlong's reign, he was appointed magistrate of Fan County, Shandong Province. In 1746, the eleventh year of Qianlong's reign, he was transferred to the post of magistrate of Weixian County. Zheng Xie was an official and loved the people as his son. When he was the magistrate of Weixian County, it was a time of famine. Regardless of the obstruction of others, he opened a warehouse to loan grain, asked the people to write IOUs, and saved more than 10,000 people. He also carried out extensive construction, built pools, and recruited people. Hungry people work to eat. When autumn came and the harvest was poor, Zheng Xie burned the people's IOUs. The people of Weixian County were grateful for his kindness and built a shrine for him. Zheng Xie is very concerned about fairness in civil affairs, and there has been no unjust case in twelve years. In 1748, the 13th year of Qianlong's reign, Qianlong traveled to Shandong and granted Zheng Xie the title of "History of Calligraphy and Painting". Zheng Xie engraved a seal on his own: "Qianlong Dongfeng History of Calligraphy and Painting". Mr. Xu Beihong praised him as "one of the most outstanding figures in China in the past three hundred years."
Zheng Xie was an upright official. Later, he resigned from office due to old illness and lived in Yangzhou. He had nothing but a few volumes of books, so he made a living by selling paintings. He is one of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" and his poems, calligraphy and paintings are known as the "Three Wonders" by the world. His poets were Tao Yuanming and Lu Fangweng, and their bamboo paintings were like Su Dongpo's. Zheng Xie's calligraphy combines running script and cursive script to form a self-contained body. He calls himself "Six and a Half Calligraphy" and later known as "Banqiao" style.
His works include "Banqiao Poetry Notes", "Banqiao Ci Notes", "Banqiao Family Letters", "Banqiao Paintings", "Mr. Banqiao's Seal" and other self-engraved editions.
The meaning of this bamboo is basically similar to this bamboo.
Inscribed Bamboo
Zheng Xie
Two branches of bamboo shoot out of the sky, Several new bamboo leaves hang upside down.
We have the same roots and spirit, no matter how low or how high!
For forty years I have been painting bamboo branches, writing my thoughts at night during the day.
The redundant and complex parts have been trimmed away, leaving a lean body. When the painting is raw, it is when it is ripe.
Inscription on Bamboo
Zheng Xie
Let the green hills come out at one end, and the sparse branches and thin branches cannot be escaped.
Next year a hundred-foot-long dragon will appear, and I fear that the green mountains will be inferior.