Graphic/Zhang Jianming (Jianming)
Time flies. In a blink of an eye, my teacher Zhang Xinjia has been away from us for 18 years. However, the teacher's kind face, hearty laughter and funny words have been lingering in my mind. In the small garden of the teacher's house, in the studio of Feng Tingyuan, under the red maple tree in Tianping Mountain, beside the reed flowers on the shore of Taihu Lake, among the plum blossoms in Xiangxue Sea and among the orange forests in the East and West Mountains, I still can't forget the good times when I met my teacher. Every time I recall the past, it seems like yesterday.
(1) It was the Spring Festival of 198 1. My father and I were spending the Spring Festival with relatives in Shuiqiao Village, Xiangshan, Taihu Lake. My father was the captain of Wuxian County Committee at that time, and met Mr. Zhang Xinjia several times, so he readily agreed.
On the way back to the Soviet Union, my father told Mr. Zhang Xinjia that his son Jianming liked painting since he was a child, and he often used his spare time to learn sketching and Chinese painting in amateur art schools. Mr. Xin Jia went on to say that it is good to like painting, that is, to have perseverance. Father asked me if I could show you my son's paintings, and asked Zhang Lao to give me some advice. Mr. Wang agreed at once.
A few days later, I took some peonies to practice and went to my husband's house for advice for the first time. I remember I was shy at that time. I stood in front of a famous painter, and I was quite uneasy. But after reading my homework, Mr. Wang encouraged me first, then pointed out the shortcomings, and his amiable attitude made me feel less at home. Since then, I often go to his house with my exercise book for advice, and my husband has always asked me to take his paintings home for copying.
At the invitation of Liang, secretary of Wuxian County Committee, my father and I accompanied Mr. Xin Jia to visit Dongshan and Xishan that year. After eating oranges in Dongshan, Director Yang of Jingdiaolou hosted a banquet for Secretary Liang and Mr. Xin Jia. During the dinner, Mr. Wang was in high spirits. At this time, my father mentioned my apprentice to him. Mr. Wang said that Jianming was already learning from me. Father said, after all, there must be a ceremony to learn from teachers. Teacher Wang said with a smile: I will take this banquet as a formal reception for this student today. Director Yang replied, Xiao Zhang, you are going to learn from the teacher. Mr. Wang no longer said that if the new law is implemented, he can bow instead. I walked up to my teacher and bowed respectfully three times to show my respect to the teacher. Finally became a disciple of a famous teacher.
Four years later, with the care and help of my teacher, I transferred to Jiangsu Fashion Technical Secondary School, became an art teacher and started my new life.
(2) Art originates from life and nature. Teachers often teach me that painting must go deep into life and learn from nature; Observe more and ponder more. Take trees as an example, each tree has its own growth characteristics, such as the branch shape of peach blossom and plum blossom, and the growth structure of flowers. Only through diligent observation can their essence be accurately expressed. So every time the flowers bloom, the teacher often asks me to collect the wind together.
During the cold and hot spring and autumn with our teachers, we almost visited Dongshan, Xishan, Guangfu and Tianping Mountain. Peach blossom and apricot blossom in spring, ginkgo red maple in autumn and plum blossom in winter are all teachers' favorite creative materials. Every time I return to the Soviet Union, the teacher always draws a picture to respond to the scene. In this painting, he fully expressed his praise for nature. The teacher's pen and ink are vivid, fresh and natural, but not crazy, which makes me admire.
The picture of Sakura Swallow created by the teacher is lively, and his attention to color is fully reflected in this painting. He often said that color should be "literary", and the so-called "literary" means elegance, which means good-looking and refined. When I was learning to draw sakura swallows from my teacher, the color tone always failed to achieve the "literary" effect, and it was too bright. The teacher pointed out that the color you used is too clean, so you should learn to add variegated colors to adjust the color. The teacher said while mixing colors, and drew several effects on the leather paper for me to compare. Then he taught me how to make fog with two kinds of color blocks; How to bake and dye to increase the thickness, hierarchy and sense of space of the picture; How to use powder to make flowers more transparent? Give detailed and detailed suggestions. Is very lucky.
Although the teacher is old, he is in good spirits. I am often deeply impressed and penetrated by his comments on painting. Once, I took my exercise book to ask my teacher for advice. After reading it, he didn't comment immediately, but said slowly that it was very important to evaluate the quality of the painting. Whether it is a thick ink line or a light ink line, the lines should be painted "fake", that is, the pen should be strong and free, free and not out of shape. Then the teacher raised the brush, shook the water in the brush behind him, dipped in some ink, and followed the brush strokes to show me one by one. With the movement of the brush in the hand, the lines on the rice paper are sometimes vigorous and sometimes vigorous. I carefully observed the teacher's pen posture: the center and winger rotate freely, the lines are concise, changeable and elastic. After the painting, the teacher pointed to my painting and said that the lines in your pen contain too much water, so the lines are floating and hard, so you can't "lift" when you start writing. You must control the amount of ink, water and speed of the pen, and remember to have a thoughtful plan when you put pen to paper. After the teacher's guidance, I realized the essentials of calligraphy and the significance of the teacher asking me to practice calligraphy more.
(3) The teacher is a person with temperament. He likes Kunqu opera and can hum a few words. He said that when the flute blows, people are like in the fog, similar to being drunk. Teachers also like to play poker "Luo Song" (commonly known as "brain"). After class, the teacher will invite me to play cards. At first, I couldn't play. Later, I became better and better at cards and often beat him. The teacher refuses to admit defeat, and sometimes I just play a little trick to get through. Once I hit my teacher, and he asked me to treat him. He asked me to take two "crab shells" (baked wheat cakes) to the studio the next day.
After spending many years with my teacher, I found that he has three hobbies: smoking, drinking and eating meat. The teacher once told me that you are young and don't learn to smoke. But he likes smoking himself. Every time he goes to the Chinese Painting Academy, his studio is often filled with smoke. The teacher always smokes one cigarette after another and keeps drawing. He often continues to smoke on a new bed and can't bear to waste it.
Speaking of drinking, the teacher likes yellow wine best. With or without food, he drinks one cup every meal, and sometimes he drinks two cups when he is in high spirits. Once, I invited my teacher to my house to eat wonton. When steaming wonton was served on the table, the teacher asked, do you have yellow wine? I said, I'll treat you to wonton. I didn't prepare any snacks I should have. Unexpectedly, the teacher said humorously, isn't there food and meat in wonton? So, I gave him a glass of yellow wine, and he ate wonton happily.
The teacher has a special liking for Sixi meat (sauce meat). At that time, someone once hosted a banquet for a teacher in Wuxian (now Suzhou Convention Center). He is full of praise for the four joys and never forgets. I remember that I invited him to my wedding that year and told him that the wedding reception was held in Wuxian. He was overjoyed and asked if there was any four-happiness meat. When I said that there were hooves besides Sixi meat, the teacher shouted happily, "Meat is my enemy, and I want to destroy it." When the teacher was delighted, he immediately drew a peony Pulsatilla and gave it to me as a gift. Later, when my son was just full moon, I asked the old teacher to go to Wuxian to taste Sixi meat and make an appointment with him. We will meet here when my son is one year old. However, it is a pity that the teacher left us forever without waiting for that day, which is only ten days away from my son's first birthday. It's embarrassing to think about it so far.
(4) The teacher is open-minded all his life, does not seek fame and fortune, loves life and is optimistic and open-minded, which can be seen from his birthday grave. Once, when we visited Mei from Xiang Xuehai and returned to Jiangsu, the teacher told me that he wanted to build a birthday tomb in Xiangshan and asked me to help him choose a place. That year, the teacher was almost eighty years old. He said that there are two reasons for choosing Xiangshan: First, Xiangshan is close to Taihu Lake and has beautiful scenery; Second, he took refuge in Xiangshan for nearly a year during the Anti-Japanese War and had feelings for Xiangshan. According to the teacher's instructions, I investigated several cemeteries in Xiangshan and found that Guanyin cemetery in Xiangshan meets the teacher's requirements. After talking to the teacher, I decided to go and have a look together.
I remember that it was the peach blossom season, and I accompanied my teacher to the Guanyin cemetery in Xiangshan. Standing on the hillside, looking around, there is a peach blossom forest nearby, a green field in front and the endless Taihu Lake in the distance. The scenery is very charming. I asked the teacher if he would look elsewhere again. The teacher said, no, let's choose here.
After returning to Sue, my teacher took good care of me, and the inscription on the tombstone should have been written by him. He handed me the written inscription and asked the workers in the cemetery to engrave it as it is. He repeatedly told me that the font on the stone tablet should not be deformed and the words should be engraved deeper.
Two months later, after the project was completed, I went with my teacher again. He was satisfied after reading it, especially the inscription on the tombstone. He pretended to be surprised in other people's tone and said, Oh, this is an inscription by the painter Zhang Xinjia, which is really different! Then he sat on the railing and smiled and said to me, Jianming, this is my home. One hundred years later, I can enjoy the beautiful scenery here every day. The teacher's optimistic and funny personality is obvious.
A few months later, I asked my teacher to write a name for my studio called Zhai. The teacher thought for a moment and said, How about you name Zhai Lou? At that time, my first reaction was the "Yuanxiang Building" in Humble Administrator's Garden. Seeing me puzzled, the teacher said to me, Jianming, you are from Xiangshan, and we met in Xiangshan. Isn't Xiangshan a place worth remembering? After listening to what the teacher said, I suddenly realized. Yes, Xiangshan is also memorable for teachers. This quick name is so meaningful. Then, the teacher wrote the three characters of "Yixianglou" with an inscription: Jianming's younger brother lives in Xiangshan, and now lives in Zhu Hui New Village, south of Buzhai. Because Yan Qizhai said that he remembered Xiang Lou, it shows that he has never forgotten the meaning of his hometown. If I get the treasure, I will carve it on a mahogany plaque and immediately hang it straight on the wall of the studio.
Nowadays, whenever I stare at the "Xiang Yi Lou" in the studio, I can't help but think of the teacher who is buried in Xiangshan. I will keep in mind the teacher's teaching, work hard and study hard. Teacher Zhang Xinjia will live in our hearts forever.
The past two or three things mentioned above are my memories of knowing teachers and getting along with them for ten years. Express deep memory of the teacher in this way. At the same time, the paintings and calligraphy that my teacher gave me before his death will be exhibited as souvenirs.
On May 20, 2009, in the building.