Qi Baishi's shrimp, Xu Beihong's horse. I can't draw, and I don't know how to draw, but I have seen shrimp and horses of two great painters in picture books, and I don't know much about their lives, especially the old man Qi Baishi.
I know that the paintings of the old man Baishi are natural, simple and childlike, and I didn't understand what was going on until I read the book "Old Man Baishi's Self-Report". This kind of painting can only be painted by the old man Baishi. Reading his words, I often smile.
Mr. Luo Jialun, the former president of Tsinghua University, commented: "This is a good autobiography with a good reason. It is unpretentious and full of the author's local flavor."
For example, the opening sentence "Our family is very poor!" It brought us to the sad and warm memories of the old man at once, without any obstacles in speech.
2.
The old man Baishi said that at that time, life was very poor, the whole family had a hard life, and his father was weak, all of which were supported by his thrifty mother. I studied for less than a year, but I stopped because I didn't have food. Plant taro in the field and stew it with cow dung at home. The old man Baishi said that every time he painted taro, he remembered the scene of that year and wrote a poem:
"A mountain of taro is cool in late autumn and a poor barn. It's too thin to be old. It smells from the cow dung stove. "
After the taro was planed, the wild vegetables pursed up, and later a poem about vegetables was drawn. The old man Baishi said that the sufferings of the poor families are only understood by the poor families, but not by the rich nobles.
At the age of four, Baishi learned to read with his grandfather. At the age of seven, he learned all 300 words that his grandfather knew. At the age of eight, he went to the Mongolian Museum opened by his grandfather to continue his studies. Three-character classics, hundreds of surnames and thousands of poems can all be memorized by heart. The old man Baishi said that reading at that time was to pick up the book, read it hard, recite it when it was ripe, and come out downstream when it was finished.
Besides reading and endorsing, there is also writing. Writing is homework. Finish writing a picture of big calligraphy and painting. Draw everything you have seen with your eyes, especially the flowers, birds, animals, insects and fish you see in the country. It is always unreliable to say that you have never seen the real tripterygium wilfordii without drawing tripterygium wilfordii.
Children from poor families have taken the initiative very early. The old man Baishi was too weak to work in the fields when he was a child. At the age of fifteen, his father asked him to learn carpentry from a great-uncle in his family, so as to support his family in the future. I studied rough carpentry, also called big tools, that is, making rough tables and chairs, plows, rakes for fields and so on.
Being looked down upon, I was not convinced, and I also learned a gadget from one of Zhou Zhimei's masters-carving flowers. Master Zhou was the first real teacher of the old man Baishi, and he said he would never forget him.
The big tools and small tools of carving are always looked down upon as carpenters and craftsmen. After studying under the teacher, Hu Qinyuan, Tan, Xiao and other familiar friends.
At that time, it was introduced by the teacher. The old man Baishi said that many people came to look for his portrait, which made more money than carving flowers and saved trouble. So he threw away tools such as axes, saws and drills and became a painter.
The old man Baishi recalled his work, reading, painting and learning from teachers in his poor days, as if telling other people's stories. It is obviously bitter, but it has the fragrance and bitterness of chewing vegetable roots.
When I was a sculptor, I was very happy to see a set of "mustard garden" in a client's house. I borrowed it when I had no money to buy it. After work in the evening, under the diesel lamp, I repeatedly checked one by one and made sixteen copies. Then I copied it over and over again several times. He said that this is how the basic skills of painting came from.
Many modern craftsmen can't settle down to do these basic skills, and too much material is not necessarily good. It is extremely rare to copy wholeheartedly.
3.
The old man Baishi lived for 97 years and was separated all his life. He has a cool temper, resigned to all kinds of situations and personnel, and lived the longest, watching his relatives and friends leave one by one. He didn't say leave, he just said they were dead. Birth, illness, death and illness are common things in the eyes of the elderly, just as natural as bloom's withering. But my heart is also sad and painful.
Teacher Hu Qinyuan passed away, and the old man Baishi said, how can you restrain your grief after parting?
Killed twice by his parents in a year, the old man Baishi said that he only felt alive and had little interest.
After the death of his original wife, the old man Baishi said that he had been together for more than 60 years. Although the Ganges has sand, it is hard to say that he is a poor couple. Once he died, his heart was broken.
In this long life, I got everything I wanted and lost everything I should have lost.
When Beiping fell during the Anti-Japanese War, the old man Baishi said that all the leaders of the enemy and puppet troops came to make friends and begged for calligraphy and painting to hoard and make a fortune. He was too lazy to talk nonsense and posted a big word at the gate: "Old man Baishi had a heart attack and stopped seeing guests."
Japanese military police rushed into the house, clamoring to find the old man, luring and intimidating him, and trying to kidnap him to sell paintings in Toyo. He sat on a cane chair and announced, "You want Qi Huang, you can take Qi Huang's head." (Qi Baishi, Huang,No. Baishi. )
He was advised to be wise and protect himself. The old man Baishi said that he was confused and died in his later years, and there was nothing to be afraid of. "Looking at the tears again and again under the lamp, China has no such mountains and rivers." So I stopped selling paintings, but continued to paint every day, and the paintings I drew were distributed to children for preservation.
During this period of seclusion, the old man Baishi was 80 years old and lived a miserable life in depression. How did the old man spend it? People today can't guess. When I read the text at the back, I remembered the previous account: "I carve, just like writing." Write, write without re-drawing, engraving, and never return it. The things in the world are expensive to enjoy, not to mention the elegance of seal cutting. Do it slowly, okay "
After reading this oral biography, I gradually enriched my impression of the old man Bai Shi. Before I mentioned "Qi Baishi", I saw an old man with a white beard, a gown and glasses. He is a great painter, calligrapher, seal engraver and poet, and a genius in poetry and painting.
Now I know that the old man Baishi is a child of a poor family. When he was a child, he was too weak to buy a pen and paper. In order to make a living, he paints portraits of others. He was laughed at by others because he was a carpenter, and his poor poetic skills were looked down upon. He doesn't know how to greet people in the field of snobbery, and no one cares about him. He has many memories of living with his parents, wife and children. These memories are warm, touching and interesting to read. The image of the great painter Qi Baishi came alive unconsciously.
4.
Now we are enjoying the paintings of the old man Baishi and reading his poems with clear words and profound meanings. What about those who laughed at him and looked down on him?
There are several paintings at the back of the book, including some classic techniques of the old man Baishi and his seal. The book is not thick, but it covers a long life, 97 years.
This book is written orally, shallow as a stream, deep as the sea, fresh and easy to read, in one go. Good writing, not playing with style, telling simple facts is really enjoyable to read.
In my opinion, if a person has never done anything in his life to win the applause of others, then it is enough to be diligent, principled and limited.
Grandpa Baishi said that things in the world are so enjoyable!