Xu Beihong painted cats for Xu Zhimo
This text is intended to be an annotation for "Cat Garden", and will later be moved to the article "Xu Beihong Paints Cats", with some additions planned. This is a brief introduction to Xu Beihong's cat paintings, but the supplementary content was too long, so it was all removed and written separately - Xiao Mao
In 1930, Xu Beihong painted "Cat" as a gift to Xu Zhimo, the inscription in the painting says: "Zhimo's love is mostly cats. I wrote about the black and white cat next door and removed its claws, boasting about his loyalty to his friends. In the early winter of Gengwu, Beihong."
Looking at this painting "Cat", we can see that Xu Beihong painted a cat on a tree, looking sideways, with the intention of admonishing. Why did Xu Beihong paint cats for Xu Zhimo? If you want to understand the profound meaning, you must carefully study the painting "Cat" and learn about Er Xu and other related stories.
On April 10, 1929, the Ministry of Education of the National Government held the first National Art Exhibition in Shanghai. The general committee members included Xu Beihong, Xu Zhimo, Lin Fengmian, Liu Haisu, Wu Hufan, etc.; on the same day, " "Art Exhibition" (Exhibition) was founded. This is a special issue of the exhibition. The editor-in-chief is Xu Zhimo and others.
Due to dissatisfaction with Xu Zhimo and others for introducing the works of modernist painters such as Cézanne and Matisse into the First National Art Exhibition, Xu Beihong wrote "Confusion - An Open Letter to Xu Zhimo", which was published in April of the same year The fifth issue of "Art Exhibition" was published on March 22, calling the works of Cézanne, Matisse and other painters "shameless works"; in the same period, "Art Exhibition" also published an article by Xu Zhimo "I am also confused - a letter with Mr. Xu Beihong" , refuting Xu Beihong's views, which caused controversy among all parties.
Xu Zhimo has a cat named "King of France", which was a gift from his friend Han Xiangmei. According to "The Biography of Xu Zhimo" written by Han Shishan, Xu Zhimo taught at Shanghai Guanghua University in 1927. Vice President Zhang Xinhai moved to Nanjing with his family in 1928. His wife Han Xiangmei should give Xu a cat at this time. According to "The Last Night of Zhimo" written by Han Xiangmei, the name of the cat that Han sent to Xu was Dagobert, which should refer to King Dagobert I of France, so Han called the cat "King of France"; "The Biography of Xu Zhimo" believed that this cat lived in the Xu family Lived for two years and eight months.
Long before Han Xiangmei gave the cat as a gift, Xu Zhimo was already a cat lover. A French proverb goes like this: A dog may be an essayist, but a cat is a poet. Maupassant said: "All poets love cats (quoted from "Cat" written by You Ming, published in "Shenbao" on December 11, 1932)." French poets often love cats and write poems for cats, such as Théo Phil Gautier, Baudelaire, etc. In Baudelaire's collection of poems "Flowers of Evil", there are actually three poems with "Cat" as the title; he regarded cats as "the pride of the family", the love of mature scholars and lovers, "both science and lust" "A companion" (see Guo Hong'an's translation of "Cat", 1851), and is more regarded as a symbol of wife or lover: "Come, beautiful cat, come close to my passionate heart / retract your sharp paws, / let me immerse myself in you In those beautiful eyes/there is gold, silver and agate mixed there (see Qian Chunqi’s translation of "Cat").
Xu Zhimo is also a poet. He once compared his second wife Lu Xiaoman with a cat. For details, see the preface to "Les Claws in Paris" written by Xu on August 20, 1927: "These short essays, Xiaoman, Most of them are written on your small desk. Written on your desk: It means it is not easy. Imagine an unstoppable kitten making trouble with you, grabbing your manuscript paper, kicking over your ink bowl, and attacking you. I wiped the pen you were shaking on your temples, nibbled on your wrist, and ran away again with a cry of "love me" against the tip of your nose. But I just loved this trouble, so sweet it made me scratch my head! I don’t blame the back of my hand, my dear! ...Now I just want you to be by my side like a kitten!”
In 1930, Xu Zhimo wrote “A Poet”: “My dear! Cat, she is the embodiment of beauty and strength, sitting in front of the new pearlescent fire tonight, seeming to be amazed at the magic of this warm place. I think she is tired, but she is not willing to stay here. She closed her eyes and fell asleep. It was so cute that she was squatting on her hind legs, her two front legs standing quietly, like stone pillars in front of an ancient Greek temple, with her head slightly raised, revealing a piece of her body. Her pure white chest was like the snow of Siberia. Sometimes she lowered her head to lick her hair, and her little red tongue was as flexible as a flame. But after a long time, she still sat upright and looked at the fire. I don’t know what she is thinking, but I miss her. At least at this time, she is never thinking about her plate of milk in the morning, or the mice in the darkroom, nor is she thinking about going on a romantic cruise on the roof, because in spring, No longer. I dare say, and I said it for her without hesitation, that she was watching with all her heart, admiring, and marveling at the new wonder in the room - the light of the fire flashed in her eyes, and the heat in her The cloth on his body is like a poet contemplating the evening photos in an autumn forest. My cat, at least for this moment, is a poet, a pure poet."
"Mr. Huai Zhimo" written by He Jiahuai. " Cloud: "I often imagine a freezing cold night,... There are two of us sitting in front... Next to him squats his most beloved cat - the pure poet. It must be rolling its flexible eyes, half understanding and half understanding. Those who are doubtful look at us."
From this we can see that the "pure poets" mentioned by Xu Zhimo and He Jiahuai should be the "King of France", not Lu Xiaoman, Lin Huiyin and others.
Despite this, the cats in Xu Zhimo's paintings are very reminiscent of Lu, Lin, etc., and the dispute between the two Xu in 1929 did not affect their friendship. Therefore, Xu Beihong painted "Cat" in 1930 and presented it to Xu Zhimo. The saying "Zhimo Duo fell in love with cats now" refers to Lu Xiaoman, Lin Huiyin, etc. and the "King of France"; "and remove their claws" alludes to the dispute between realism and modern painting between them and Xu Zhimo last year. Since cats all have claws, and having no claws is inconsistent with reality (but it is meant to alleviate the contradiction), the cat paintings presented to Xu Zhimo by Xu Beihong can be called a product of the combination of tradition and modernity, and at the same time reflect the respective artistic opinions of the two Xus.
According to Sun Shurong's "Xu Zhimo Accompanying Jiang Baili in Prison" (published in "Baoding Evening News" on September 4, 2010), Xu Zhimo is a younger brother of Jiang Baili's uncle, and he and Jiang are both disciples of Liang Qichao (June 1918) , who was recommended as a disciple by Chiang Kai-shek) and had a close relationship with each other. In the winter of 1929, Tang Shengzhi, a disciple of Jiang Baili, launched an army to attack Chiang Kai-shek, and Jiang Baili offered suggestions. In January 1930, Tang Shengzhi was defeated and fled; in March, Jiang Baili was arrested and later taken to Nanjing. After hearing about this incident, Xu Zhimo went to Nanjing and accompanied him to jail. Therefore, Xu Beihong's "Cat" painting refers to Xu Zhimo as "loyal to his friends."
According to "The Biography of Xu Zhimo", on February 20, 1931, before Xu Zhimo went to Beijing via Nanjing to teach, Han Xiangmei returned the "King of France" to Xu Suo; at seven o'clock that night, Xu dreamed of This cat: "Due to the severe heat, I had nightmares. One dream was that the Xiangmei cat suddenly turned against me and asked another cat to jump on the bed and attack me. It was so fierce that I almost shouted for help."; 24th, Xu arrived in Beijing and stayed at Hu Shi's house; the next day, Xu wrote to Lu Xiaoman: "When I talked about Xiangmei, I wanted that cat for no other reason than because there were rats in her backyard, so I asked her to suppress them. She is with us." After all, she is a guest, so don’t treat her too badly..."
For some reason, the Han family became troubled as soon as Xu left Shanghai, but Xu's love for the "King of France" can be seen from this. On November 18 of that year, Xu Zhimo went to Han Xiangmei's home in Nanjing and met Han and the "King of France"; on the 19th, Xu Yu went to Beijing to watch Lin Huiyin's speech, but died in a plane crash. Therefore, Han Xiangmei wrote "Zhimo's Last Night": "Zhimo! Have you ever heard a slight, distant voice calling you? You also played with your beloved French King (cat name Dagobert). He has lived in your house for two years. Years ago, you said you often slept with it in your arms. I brought it back to Beijing because of you. Every time you came, it always jumped into your arms. Poor cat, I don’t want to be that gentle anymore. Its people."
On December 14, 1931, Hu Shi's poem "Lion - Mourning for Zhimo" in the 205th issue of Tianjin's "Ta Kung Pao Literary Supplement": "The lion is crouching behind me, limp. He refused to leave. ∕I was about to push him down, ∕ suddenly I thought of my dead friend. // I patted the snoring cat with one hand, ∕ Two tears wet my sleeves: ∕'Lion, you are fine. Go to sleep, - you have also lost a good friend. "Twenty, twelve, four." A self-note at the end of the poem says: "The lion was Zhimo's favorite cat when he lived in my house." Then Hu Shi's family also kept cats, and there was more than one. It can be seen from Hu Shi's manuscript that the original title of this poem is "Lion", without subtitle or annotation. The original title of "Zheng Yao" is "Zheng Xiang", and the inscription date is "1931, 12, 2. Shizhi".
Zhang Xi's "Xu Beihong's "Cat"" (published in "Art Observation" on March 26, 2018) quoted Wang Zhen's "Xu Beihong Chronicle Long Edition" on page 146: "After Xu Zhimo's death In 1935, Xu Beihong painted a lion cat raised in Hu Shi's home in memory of his old friend. The title was: "In the middle of the winter of Jiaxu, I remembered my deceased friend Zhimo. I recalled his appearance, but I didn't recognize his dragon bell or mother-in-law's attitude. He looked and sounded like a joke. , Respecting Mrs. Dongxiu's elegant play, Beihong'"
In Zhang Xi's quotation, Jiaxu was in 1934, so Xu Beihong should not have painted this painting in the following year; "Remembering the deceased friend of Zhimo". The sentence is confusing to read; "Mother-in-law" should be "whirling"; "Visual Sound", I don't know what it means. Since the trace of the original painting is unknown, there is no way to verify it. The Long Chronicle of Xu Beihong is now very expensive, so Foker purchased it. If he wants to know the exact content of Xu Beihong's signature, he can only continue to seek confirmation from a third party.
Guo Cunxiao and Zhou Wenjie wrote "Xu Beihong Painted Cats for Mrs. Hu Shi" (collected in "Traces of History - Celebrities in the Torrent of History", published by Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House in 2006), early December 1935. , Xu Beihong went to Peking to paint a portrait of Fu Zengxiang, the former director of education of the Beijing government, so Lao Zeng supported him to further his studies in France. After that, "Xu Beihong stayed at Hu Shi's home again", "to express his gratitude to Mrs. Jiang Dongxiu's sister-in-law" for the hospitality, and "intentionally" wrote "Lion Cat" for his pet, "dedicated to giving it to Jiang Dongxiu and remembering Xu Zhimo", while Hu Shi dedicated poems to Xu Zhimo , because "this cat was loved by Mrs. Hu Shi" and "Xu Zhimo also loved it when he lived in Hu's house during his lifetime." "In view of everyone's special liking for it, especially Jiang Dongxiu, Xu Beihong specially wrote an inscription on the painting, saying: 'In the middle of the winter of Jiaxu, I was thinking about my deceased friend Zhimo. I recalled his face and did not recognize him in the dragon bell or whirling state. See Xi Ruo Ye. Respect the elegant play of Mrs. Dongxiu, Beihong. '" After that, "Xu Beihong took the painting back to Nanjing" and sent it to Hu Shi, "asking Hu Shi to write a poem on the painting. Hu Shi was happy to do so, so he wrote the following. :'The lion cat was Zhimo's favorite cat when he lived in my house. After Zhimo's death, Beihong lived in my house for more than a month and also liked lions (cats). Last year, Beihong sent this painting from Nanjing and asked me to write about the twenty-year anniversary. The little poem is here.
'On December 4, 1935, Hu Shi dedicated the poem 'Lion' on the painting: The lion is crouching behind me..."
In summary, Guo Cunxiao and Zhou Wenjie quoted Xu Beihong's "Lion" in their works. The content of "Lion Cat" is more precise, but the time when Xu Beihong went to Peking to paint Fu Zengxiang's portrait was not in early December 1935, but in early February of that year. Fu Zengxiang's diary says: "On the 29th, in the afternoon, Xu Beihong came... to write for me. Xiaoxiang, I have agreed to come in the afternoon of the first, second, third and fourth day of the lunar new year. New Year's Eve: After 2 o'clock, Xu Beihong came to write a small charcoal portrait. It was completed in the evening... On the fifth day of the lunar month: Xu Beihong came to paint the portrait, and it was finished after a while. "The first day of the first lunar month in 1935 fell on February 3 in the Gregorian calendar, so Xu Beihong went to Fu Zengxiang's house on February 2 of that year, and painted Fu's portrait the next day, which was completed on the 8th. In addition, Xu Beihong came to Peking this time, and He did not live in Hu's house, but lived in Jiang Menglin's house in Xisi Maojiawan.
According to Xu Beihong's "Lion Cat" and Hu Shi's inscription, the cat painted in "Lion Cat" is actually Xu. Zhimo's "King of France" is not Hu Shi's "Lion"
As for what happened before and after, this should be the case -
In 1930, at the invitation of Hu Shi, Xu Zhimo. He was re-appointed as a professor at Peking University. On January 4, 1931, Xu Zhimo arrived in Peiping and lived in Huzhao. He was delighted when he saw the "Lion", probably because the "King of France" was also a lion and a cat, and they looked similar to each other. Xu Zhimo unfortunately died on December 2, 1931. Hu Shi wrote a poem "Lion" in memory of Xu Zhimo. The poem was published in the 205th issue of Tianjin's "Ta Kung Pao Literary Supplement" on the 10th, with the content and title changed. .
On February 12, 1932, Xu Beihong went to Peiping and lived in Hu Zhai (which was the room Xu Zhimo lived in). Yiyun liked "Lion" and also mentioned "Mrs. Hu Shi". He talked to Xu Beihong about Xu Zhimo's love for "lions" and asked Xu Beihong if he could paint a portrait of the "King of France" for his viewing. Xu Beihong immediately agreed, but did not do it after several months.
Fei's "An Examination of the Friendship between Xu Beihong and Hu Shi" (published in the 3rd issue of "Rongbaozhai" in 2012) contains several letters from Xu Beihong to Hu Shi. One of them said: "Mr. Shizhi gave me a lesson: friends who come from Peiping are always He said that he is living well and is very comforted. Yesterday, Guo Junzijie came to the Prussian Academy of Words to elect me as a member. He is well-deserved and congratulated for his victory. Waiting for Mr. Shu Yongren to come here is like looking forward to the new year, and I will take a step to promote it. Praise to Li Qi. Bless you madam, my mistress is thinking of you. Beihong paused. June 12th. "Lion Cat" has not been forgotten, and I plan to write it and send it soon. "Peng Fei dated the writing time of this letter to 1932. It can be seen that until June 12, 1932, Xu Beihong had not painted "Lion Cat".
From January 1933 to August 1934, Xu Beihong After going to Belgium, Italy, Germany and the Soviet Union to hold Chinese art exhibitions and personal exhibitions, on the third anniversary of Xu Zhimo's death in the 11th month of the lunar calendar in 1934, Xu Beihong commemorated his deceased friend and recalled the "King of France" at his residence in Nanjing. As well as the promise made two years ago, he finally painted a splash of ink and painted "Lion Cat" for Jiang Dongxiu. The inscription said: "In the middle of the winter of Jiaxu, I was pregnant with my deceased friend Zhimo. I recalled his face, but I didn't recognize him in the dragon bell or whirling in the sky. His attitude is like looking at the past and ridiculing him. Dedicated to Mrs. Dongxiu for her elegant play and Beihong. "
Xu Zhimo is a poet, and he once compared the "King of France" to a "pure poet" in "A Poet". Therefore, Xu Beihong must have seen this cat in Xu Zhimo's place, so "The Lion" The title of "Cat" refers to "King of France" as "Friend of Zhimo, my deceased friend". In 1928, Han Xiangmei gave Xu Zhimo "King of France", and in February 1931, he claimed "King of France". " He must be old, and Xu Beihong could only copy the paintings from memory, but he didn't know whether his appearance had changed at that time. Therefore, the paragraph in "The Lion Cat" says: "Recalling his appearance, I don't recognize it in the dragon bell or whirling state. Xi Ruoye. "
After painting "Lion Cat", Xu Beihong sent the painting to Hu Shi. At the same time, he hoped in the letter that Hu Shi would include his 1931 poem "Lion" in the painting and commemorate Xu Zhimo with it. The following year, in February 1935, Xu Beihong went to Peiping to paint a portrait of Fu Zengxiang and lived in Hu's house. By this time, Hu Shi had already received "Lion Cat", but he did not inscribe a poem on the painting. He added "Lion" to the painting "Lion Cat" and added: "Lion cat was Zhimo's favorite cat when he lived in my house. After Zhimo died, Beihong lived in my house for more than a month and also liked lions (cats). Last year Beihong sent this painting from Nanjing and asked me to post here a short poem I wrote in the past 20 years. Suitable.
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20-8-13 Thursday 18:19 Xiao Mao; 20-8-15 Saturday 17:22 Supplement