Folk voice of Qi Baishi's former residence

"There are three rooms with iron railings, and pens are as busy as farm tools.

The cows in Yantian don't rest, and they fall into the east room of Rizhao. "

The former residence became an island in the city.

This poem entitled "Self-mockery" was written by Qi Baishi, a famous painting master in China, in his "Baishi Painting Academy". An embarrassing situation of decadence.

After walking for more than an hour in a demolition site and a newly completed community in Xicheng District, I finally found NO. 13, a cross-car alley. In fact, this has become the last one in this hutong. The whole straddle alley has long been torn down. In the afterglow of the sunset, the former residence of Qi Baishi, which is famous at home and abroad, looks even more dilapidated, just like an island surrounded by new houses.

Qi Baishi said in his self-report, "In the winter of that year (1927), I bought a house on 15 (now 13)." From then on, until 1957 died, the old man Baishi lived here all the time, and most of the works handed down in his later years were completed in this humble old house.

During this period, in order to take care of the old man Baishi, the government once built a comfortable new house for him to live in Yuer Hutong in Dongcheng District. However, the old man has become accustomed to the days of "family happiness" in his home across the hutong. In the letter to the children, he wrote: "I want to move back to my old house in the cross-car alley." I have been used to life for decades. Children should be kind to the elderly. " As a result, he lived in the new house for only a few months and then moved back.

According to the descendants of Qi, in 1935, the old man Baishi surrounded the corridor in front of his north house with wire for safety. Later, when he painted, he often used the word "iron house" to show the deep feelings of the old man here. 1953, Qi Baishi named the iron house "White Stone Painting House", and made a plaque of black bronze seal script and hung it in front of the hall. And wrote a long postscript, expressing his earnest hope for the long-term preservation of this place. He said: "At the foot of Nanyue Mountain, there is a library of Ye Hou, a famous bibliophile in the Tang Dynasty, which will be admired by future generations. After 50, I went to Beijing to buy a house and sell paintings in the west of the city. The house was surrounded by iron bars. 90 years old, still self-reliant. Fortunately, painting is known all over the world. Its house calls itself the Baishi Painting Academy, leaving no descendants, leaving it as a sigh of the world, and then it may be as lucky as the Yehou Bookstore. "

But it is a precious treasure that the old man Baishi hoped to leave to future generations before his death. On any tourist map in Beijing, people can find the label "Former Residence of Qi Baishi". However, when many people come here with admiration for the master, I am afraid they are greeted with a deep sense of disappointment.

Large areas of peeling and cracks on the wall can be seen everywhere, and it has long been a dangerous building. I don't know when the corner of the gatehouse has been broken, and the black paint of the gate has been yellowed for a long time. Weeds on the roof add to this bleak feeling.

The descendants of Qi Baishi said that this is still a poetic and exquisite courtyard. According to Qi Folai, his eldest grandson, the North Third Hospital was the main body of the whole courtyard, with two bright and one dark structures and wooden boards on the ground. The main room is the living room and dining room. The bedroom is in the east and the studio is in the west. The building is ordinary and the furnishings are simple. At the southern end of a dark painting case put by Zhang, there is a pile of uneven rice paper, while at the northern end, it is filled with Four Treasures of the Study and large and small pigment plates. A round bamboo chair with a backrest, covered with a cloth pad, is for the old people to write and draw. It is said that there used to be a candle opposite the painting case, with a glass bell that can walk for more than a year at a time, which is a favorite thing that the old man often boasted to people.

According to reports, in the center of the living room of Baishi Painting Academy, there is an ordinary dual-purpose dining table. Semi-circular wooden boards on four sides are supported to form a round table, and put down to form a square table. A rattan chair is placed under the north wall, and a leather mattress is added when it is cold, which is a place for the old people to rest after painting. The old man lives a simple life and only uses a few benches to entertain guests. After liberation, the government bought him a sofa.

It is said that grapes, lingxiao and willow trees were planted in the yard, and they were shaded in summer. There is a big jujube tree in the north yard, which is higher than the roof. From the North Yard to the South Yard, there are two moon doors carved with blue bricks, which are very simple and elegant.

After the death of Qi Baishi, his descendants continued to live in their former residence until today.

1984 In May, the Beijing Municipal People's Government designated the former residence of Qi Baishi as a cultural relic protection unit in Beijing, but it was never opened to the public. When Qi Baishi bought Crosscar Hutong 13, he took a fancy to the tranquility here. According to his "self-report", in the years before 10, he moved several times in order to find a pure land for artistic creation. At that time, there were only 15 households in the cross-car alley. The hutong in front was originally called "the gate of hell", and it is still a very secluded place next to Taiping Bridge and Xidan archway in the southeast. After liberation, it gradually became lively here. Since the reform and opening up, with the completion of the nearby famous Beijing commercial center Financial Street, this area has gradually become a bustling place. As a result, it has also become the focus of some people with business vision. A newly expanded road next to the south side of the former residence also broke the calm that has been maintained here for many years.

In fact, the debate about whether to keep Qi Baishi's former residence has a long history. 1995, Qi Liangchi, the son of Qi Baishi and a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, proposed to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference that a memorial hall for Qi Baishi be established in Beijing. Since then, Yan and other CPPCC members have also put forward proposals with similar contents. In the proposal, Qi Liangchi expressed his willingness to discuss with relatives of Qi family to hand over the former residence of Qi Baishi to the Ministry of Culture or China Artists Association, or raise funds to repair the former residence, or set up the Qi Baishi Foundation to organize the Qi Baishi Memorial Hall. The Ministry of Culture replied that one of the ways to apply for the establishment of Qi Baishi Memorial Hall is to "use the former residence of Qi Baishi, a cultural relic protection unit in Beijing, to expand it appropriately. It is more meaningful and realistic to use the former residence than to build a new one. " However, "in view of the extremely difficult investment of the Ministry of Culture and its inability to undertake part of the investment of the museum, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics will give full assistance." However, seven years later, the idea of restoring Qi Baishi's former residence has never been realized.

The fate of Qi Baishi's former residence has also attracted the attention of other people of insight. In the spring of 20001,Li Shengsheng, a member of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, once again put forward the proposal of building and opening the Qi Baishi Memorial Hall. His suggestion was transferred to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics for study and handling. However, I am not satisfied with the reply of Beijing Cultural Relics Bureau.

Li Sheng said that the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics has been stressing the difficulties. The bureau replied to him: "First of all, after the death of Qi Baishi 1957, the former residence was in disrepair for a long time, the foundation sank and the rain leaked seriously, which could not be solved by minor repairs. Secondly, the former residence has been a private property for many years and belongs to a non-open unit. The descendants of Mr. Qi Baishi and their families lived in many families. Therefore, the former residence has never had a daily management unit responsible for the protection of cultural relics. " In addition, "according to the Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) on the Protection of Cultural Relics and the Regulations of Beijing Municipality on the Protection and Management of Cultural Relics, cultural relics protection units shall be maintained and repaired by users. Considering that Qi Baishi's family lived in the former residence for many years, it is also one of the important reasons why the former residence cannot be completely maintained and opened. "

In February 2002, during the "two sessions" in Beijing, Shu Xiaofeng, deputy director of the Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau, also explained the same content to reporters.

It is understood that since 1994, Beijing Zhaotai Real Estate Company has undertaken the renovation project of old houses in Nanfeng Community, Xicheng District, Beijing. Its transformation scope is mainly located on the east side of Qi Baishi's former residence. At that time, it was said that in order to "save millions of dollars in demolition costs", Zhaotai Company had expressed its reluctance to relocate Qi Baishi's former residence, which belongs to the scope of cultural relics protection.

According to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics, after their efforts, Zhaotai Company later agreed to bear the relocation expenses of the former residents. "After the residents moved, Zhaotai Company renovated it and opened it as a cultural place."

"However, due to the failure to reach an agreement with the residents in the former residence on the relocation conditions, and at the same time, Mr. Qi Liangchi also has certain opinions on this proposal, this situation eventually led to the completion of the construction of the surrounding dilapidated housing community, and only the former residence has not been improved."

The opinion of Beijing Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics is that Qi Baishi Memorial Hall "should be properly located". Several relatives of Qi Baishi expressed the hope that their former residence would be handed over to the state and restored as soon as possible.

One of the granddaughters of the old man Baishi said, "Now some people say that we don't want to move out because we want money. In fact, I am mainly unwilling to hand over my former residence to a real estate company. We believe that the country has the ability to repair grandpa's former residence. " She said that Zhaotai Company had told them that part of the restored former residence would be used as the office space of the company, which was unacceptable to all Qi families.

They said that over the years, many people from home and abroad have often come here. Although there are two "closed units, no visiting" signs hanging on the gate, many people have knocked on the door, hoping to visit the place where this great artist once lived.

Many artists believe that it is of great practical significance to protect and restore the former residence of Qi Baishi in Beijing. According to Qi Liangchi, the old man Baishi created nearly 20,000 Chinese paintings here in his later years. After his death, his family donated hundreds of masterpieces to the country according to his will.

It is reported that the former residence of Qi Baishi, located in Xinghua Village, Baishi Township, Xiangtan County, Hunan Province, was completed on the eve of 200 1 Qi Baishi 137 and officially opened to tourists. During the period, the Hunan provincial government allocated special funds to repair the former residence in accordance with the principle of "repairing the old as before". Qi Baishi Art Exhibition Center also laid the foundation stone in Xiangtan City and is expected to be completed in 2002. It is also known that the site selection of Qi Baishi Modern Art Center on Chang 'an Avenue in Beijing is in full swing.

According to the literature, after the July 7th Incident in 1937, Qi Baishi, who made a living by selling paintings, closed his home door in the cross-city hutong, and the words "officials don't enter the people's home" hung on the door, refusing the Japanese puppet leaders' request for paintings, showing lofty national integrity. When the Japanese invaders invaded Beiping, he drew a mouse picture here to satirize the Japanese invaders. In order to attack the corruption of the old bureaucrats, he drew a "tumbler" and a crab picture here, with the title "See how long you run amok". After the founding of New China, he painted the famous long live the motherland here. During the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, he painted pigeons for charity sale to express his deep affection for the motherland. 1956, the old man Baishi accepted the international peace prize awarded by the World Peace Council here. Awarded as "People's Artist" by the Ministry of Culture and "World Cultural Celebrity" by the World Peace Council, Baishi, an outstanding painter, calligrapher and seal engraver in China's modern art world, created the brilliance of Chinese painting in the 20th century here.