Gong Fagen
The word "Shou" is a single-character noun, but it has a broad and profound meaning. It symbolizes the longevity of people, the eternal stability of the country, and the long-lasting existence of things. The word "Shou" means peace and beauty, which caters to human expectations. Hope and best wishes. The word "longevity" expresses people's expectations, blessings and yearnings. The use of the complimentary meaning of the word "Shou" to attract good fortune and hope for a long life and good health has become a social custom agreed by ancestors of the Chinese nation for generations.
Longevity. Longevity culture is an important part of Chinese traditional culture, and there are extremely incisive discussions in classical documents such as "The Book of Songs" and "Laozi". After thousands of years of development, longevity culture has become more perfect. People of all ethnic groups in our country have developed colorful birthday celebration customs. For example, sixty years old is called the first birthday, eighty years old is called the middle birthday, and one hundred years old is called the senior birthday. Another example is that seventy-seven years is called happy longevity, eighty-eight is called rice longevity, and ninety-nine is called white longevity. Among the three stars of happiness, prosperity and longevity, there is the old longevity star; in the idiom, there is Shoubi Nanshan; in daily language, there is health and longevity. According to legend, the longest-lived person is Peng Zu; among the birthday items, there are longevity noodles, longevity cakes, longevity peaches, longevity couplets, etc. In the funeral culture, there are longevity caves, longevity trees, shrouds, etc. After the reform and opening up, people's lives and living environment have been completely improved, and many centenarians and longevity towns have emerged.
About the writer:
Gong Fagen, born in Beijing in 1949, is a member of the Chinese Calligraphers Association, a director of the Chinese Gerontology Society, a senior academician of the Chinese Academy of Buddhist Calligraphy and Painting, and a senior researcher of traditional Chinese longevity culture. President of the Beijing Changshou Painting and Calligraphy Academy, art consultant to the China-US Culture and Arts Council, honorary president of the American International Academy of Art, and visiting professor at the School of Art of Xiamen University. Gong Fagen joined the army in the late 1960s. His calligraphy works have participated in many Chinese calligraphy and painting art exhibitions and competitions at the military, local, municipal and ministerial levels. Many of his works have been exhibited in Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and the former Soviet Union. and collected by international friends; he was specially invited by the families of Mao Zedong and Zhu De to create calligraphy works "to commemorate the 100th and 110th anniversaries of Mao Zedong's birth" and "to commemorate the 120th anniversary of Marshal Zhu De's birth", and has been permanently collected by their families. In June 2007, relevant experts and scholars in the field of Chinese calligraphy and painting gathered in Beijing and held the "Gong Fagen Wanshou Calligraphy Seminar" in the Forbidden City, the temple of history and culture. Officers and soldiers of the People's Republic of China and the National Flag Guard lined up to display this painting The "Hua Xia Longevity Scroll", which can be called a masterpiece in the history of Chinese calligraphy and painting art, is so spectacular that it has been unanimously praised by experts and scholars from all walks of life as well as journalists from various media attending the meeting, calling it "unprecedented and hard to come by." .