Mao Zedong was very happy after receiving the lotus picture presented by Zhang Daqian, and asked He Xiangning to thank and greet Zhang Daqian. It is said that Mao Zedong appreciated this lotus picture very much and hung it in his study. Later, due to various reasons, although the lotus pictures were often hung, they were kept in their own homes. After Mao Zedong's death, this painting is still hidden in Mao Zedong's former residence in Zhongnanhai.
Zhang Daqian was once called a decathlon painter, and he was best at painting landscapes, figures, flowers and birds, animals and so on. So what prompted him to choose to paint a lotus flower for Mao Zedong? This is mainly related to the following factors: In the eyes of China literati, lotus has always been known as "gentleman flower" and "holy flower". Second, Zhang Daqian believes in religion and calls himself a "great Buddhist". In Buddhism, lotus is honored as "Buddha flower", "treasure flower", "auspicious flower" and "pure land flower". As a disciple of Buddhism in China, Zhang Daqian presented Mao Zedong with the most representative lotus flower in Buddhism, which showed the highest etiquette and respect of "a great Buddhist". Third, painting lotus flowers is Zhang Daqian's specialty, which is praised as "the stunt in painting" by the painting world. Therefore, Zhang Daqian chose to paint lotus flowers.
Most of Zhang Daqian's flower paintings are lotus flowers. Among other reasons, he likes painting lotus flowers. He believes that Chinese painting focuses on pen and ink, and painting lotus is the basic skill of using pen and ink. Others believe that painting lotus is closely related to calligraphy. Therefore, Zhang Daqian's lotus paintings are not only available every year, but also constantly bring forth new ideas. Form a famous lotus flower at home and abroad.
Jin Ping Mei, which he wrote at the age of 35, was bought by the French government. In this regard, Xu Beihong once said: Zhang Daqian's lotus flowers add color to China people's faces. Zhang Daqian's decades of artistic career, through continuous exploration and efforts, makes Daqianhe have a special position in the history of China fine arts. Especially after splash-ink painting in his later years, the painted lotus not only surpassed the attributes of flowers, but also extended the scope of literati flowers to another situation. He loves not only painting lotus flowers, but also planting them. By living with the lotus flower day and night, he captures the characteristics and instantaneous dynamics of the lotus flower for a long time with keen observation and highly democratic generalization, and then refines and exaggerates it with his own aesthetic sense and artistic interest, making it meaningful and full of vitality!