Exploring in Mountain and River Scenery

Xue Yongnian

(1)

Mr. Ding Guanjia, born in Chongming, Shanghai, was admitted to the Department of Fine Arts at Nanjing Normal University in 1955 and studied at renowned artists such as Fu Baoshi. He has since formed an inseparable bond with the Jiangsu art world centered around Nanjing. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Nanjing art scene was dominated by the "New Jinling Eight Schools" represented by Fu Baoshi, Yaming, Qian Songyan, and Song Wenzhi. Their poetic and realistic style of painting, which praised the new appearance of mountains and rivers, refreshed the traditional landscape painting and had a wide influence. These painters place great emphasis on brush and ink, with a particular emphasis on sketching from life. They advocate that "brush and ink should follow the times", and are keen on describing new themes. They excavate the humanistic connotations and historical implications of natural landscapes from the perspective of changes in the times. With the "reality" derived from sketching, they break free from the hollow eight legged style of old landscape paintings, paint revolutionary holy sites, paint leaders' poetry, paint old appearances to new faces, and paint socialist harvest fields. They inject vitality related to the world and people's livelihood into traditional landscape paintings that are far away from the world, and also enrich the brushstrokes of landscape depictions. The artistic pursuit and painting style of the aforementioned master painters have had an initial impact on Ding Guanjia's landscape painting.

Ding Guanjia devoted himself fully to landscape painting creation after being ordered to establish the Zhenjiang Chinese Painting Academy in 1978. At this time, he took a new step along the path of success for his teachers. The activity that marks this crucial step is the sketching and creation of "The New Fourth Army's Journey" hosted and fully invested by Ding Guanjia. Within more than a year, Ding Guanjia and his art friends, with the support of relevant parties, traveled along the journey of the New Fourth Army, covering more than 70 counties and cities in six provinces including Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Anhui, and Henan, covering over 10000 miles. They explored extraordinary meanings in ordinary scenery such as barren mountains, wild ridges, mountain streams, deep valleys, fields, thatched cottages, lakes, and reed marshes while feeling and interviewing the places they passed through, using sketching to create. It can be seen that Ding Guanjia's choice of themes and his approach to sketching in this activity all originated from his teachers. However, his broad perspective on the scenery and rich and profound use of ink have already demonstrated his transformation. If "The Former Site of Su Zhe Public School" is still seeking hierarchy in its simplicity and is not lacking in the elegance of Yaming, then "Clouds in Luo Xiao", "Flying Snow in Pi Ling", "Clouds Falling Mist in Yun Ling", and "Passing Over Jiangyin Fortress at Night" have integrated the lush and loose ink techniques of Mi Fu Yunshan and Huang Binhong in Fu Baoshi's splashing ink style, which greatly enhances the "ink style". The concept of "black circles in the circle, broad heaven and earth in the black ink circle".

I think that although Ding Guanjia's mutation originated from Fu Baoshi's dyeing, the opportunity for enlightenment was the Mi family ink technique that originated from the southern part of Runzhou (formerly known as Zhenjiang). Mi Fu's transformation of landscape painting lies in using unprecedented brushstrokes to express the beauty of the misty rain and misty scenery of the Zhenjiang Mountains. He used Dong Yuan's "hasty brushstrokes, almost indistinguishable objects for nearsightedness, and charming scenery when viewed from afar" method of combining dots and lines as a reference, magnifying the dots and lines, breaking their original order, and incorporating Wang Qia's splashing ink, to reproduce the vivid impression of the Yunshan Rain Tree in a vague and implicit way. The understanding of Mi Jiamo's method is obviously related to Ding Guanjia's specialized research in calligraphy and painting at the Zhenjiang Museum from 1965 to 1978. The contrast between ancient methods and nature not only helped him understand the need of the Mi family ink method to express the Yunshan Mountains in Zhenjiang, but also inspired him to learn from the moist and dense ink used by the Jingjiang School in the Qing Dynasty. With such insight and inspiration, he borrowed ink techniques from Huang Binhong's art, which was rarely understood at that time, and broke through the popular Ming Xiu style in the Jiangnan painting world in presenting the overall image and rich levels of "rich mountains and rivers, lush vegetation", forming his artistic style that was out of the ordinary, profound, and profound, attracting the attention of knowledgeable people.

(II)

From the first half of the 1980s to the late 1980s, Ding Guanjia continued to advance along the path of combining modern people, learning from nature, and learning from the ancients. People's aesthetic needs diversified, driving him to drive north and south and explore new ideas in the scenery commonly seen in various places; The extreme advancement of the technique of accumulating ink also prompted him to explore the inexhaustible field of brush and ink that the ancients had not exhausted. At the beginning, he went north several times to sketch, experiencing the majestic scenery of mountains and rivers, and exploring the renewal of brushwork and line expression in the terrain and topography of exposed rocks and gullies. Subsequently, he traveled and wrote in various parts of Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, and Jiangsu, experiencing the beauty of the interior in the ordinary wind and light of the north and south of the Yangtze River, and exploring the mysteries of using water and the development of rubbing and dyeing textures in traditional Chinese painting in the warm, humid and muddy soil. Not only that, he also devoted himself step by step to inheriting and seeking change through the integration of poetry, music, and calligraphy, naturally nurturing his own style. In the mid-1980s, the gradual innovation in the art world was unprecedentedly impacted. The European style in the art world was blown away by a gentle breeze, and the cultural trend of the West was surging and surging. Apart from the trendsetters who believed in the trend early on, some painters were confused and confused, while others followed the wave. Ding Guanjia remained unmoved and continued to follow his own path. At the same time, he was different from the arrogant and complacent person who was at night arrogant. Instead, he wisely absorbed Western France and used it as a stone from other mountains to integrate tradition. As the new literati painting that returned to the tradition of elegance or madness rose to prominence in Jiangnan, Ding Guanjia launched a series of travelogue style works such as "Xingjiang Xing", "Jiangnan Yin", and "Grand Canal Group Painting". He did not seek to be unconventional or unconventional, but instead used a casual, open, fresh, and concise style similar to prose poetry, expressing his inner vitality and praising the striking vitality. He initially established his own style of standing outside of his predecessors and not flowing at the same time.

It is not difficult to see from the series of works such as "Xing Jiang Xing" that during this period, the artistic connotation of Ding Guanjia's landscape painting became broader than that of his teachers, and his artistic language changed from a traditional classical Chinese rhythmic poetry style to a modern vernacular prose poetry style. It cannot be said that his transformation has reached the essence of beauty, but it reveals the essence of re integrating tradition to meet the aesthetic needs of modern people. There are three specific characteristics of analysis: firstly, most of them describe the ordinary scenery of the Jiangnan and Jiangbei water towns during the four seasons, with a concise and atmospheric structure, breaking through the gentle and exquisite beauty of ordinary Jiangnan landscape sketches; The shaking of the sunset, the splashing of moonlight, the hazy morning mist, and the faint rain evoke a poetic atmosphere that is full of imagination. The unexpected departure of fishing boats, the light sailing of steam turbines, the uneven new buildings, the low flight of birds, and the softness of the soil are all filled with the atmosphere of peaceful life. Here, there is still the elegance of the south, but it also incorporates the refreshing and rustic autumn breeze of the northern horses. There are details that are closely related to the temporal order of the world, and there is also a fusion of ordinary people and ordinary scenery that forgets both the object and the self.

Secondly, it has basically abandoned the pursuit of profound ink techniques through accumulation during the period of emergence, and shifted its focus to the development and innovation of brushwork, water techniques, and erasing techniques. His brushwork is not too limited to traditional dot and line forms and combination rules. He often incorporates the solemnity of seal script and clerical script, the boldness of Wei steles, and the rough and disorderly style of cursive script in his free spirited and casual style. He pursues a simple and horizontal form of beauty in bold and scattered interweaving. His water method was originally aimed at increasing water consumption, that is, increasing the saturation of water in large splashes of ink, ink breaking, and large areas of cloth colors. Through the infiltration of water and ink, as well as water and color, it creates a natural and majestic yet somewhat ambiguous atmosphere. It cannot be denied that some works have been somewhat scattered in online and face-to-face coordination, but "Starry River Sunset", "Starry River Night Moon", "Starry River Night Mooring", "Summer Has Passed", and "Untitled" are actually satisfactory works. Later, his water method gradually merged with the wiping method, from increasing to decreasing, from wet to dry. The bold use of wiping techniques supplemented by drag dyeing is a distinctive feature of Ding Guanjia's landscape paintings. Although the wiping method has existed for a long time, it has not been fully utilized due to the abnormal and dry texture of the pen marks, which are difficult to see. In previous works, it was often only used as an auxiliary means of hooking and dyeing. Ding Guanjia found that, on the basis of not neglecting the use of lines to establish bones and the combination of dry and wet, strengthening the use of wiping method, combining wiping and dyeing, can not only express the rough texture of mountains, stones, and soil, but also enhance the thickness and strength of soil and stone, and make the casual style that comes with ease without clumsiness more eye-catching. Works such as "Autumn", "Water Town Ballad", "Water Town Love Silk", "Trees on the Beach", "Jiangnan Water Town Song", and "Mountains and Rivers Always Love to Sing This Song" have all received unique performance effects due to the appropriate use of rubbing techniques.

Thirdly, in terms of layout, it does not adhere to the traditional "three layers and two sections" of the entire landscape, nor is it constrained by the perspective of focal perspective. It always "views the small from the big" or "sees the big from the small" to bring the medium scene closer, providing reinforcement without being limited to tedious descriptions. If, in the early stages of this period, Ding Guanjia's layout was still intended to show the depth and depth of the actual space, then later he drew inspiration from the planar composition consciousness of Western modern art, using concise and powerful lines to divide and connect into patches of erasing and dyeing, pursuing the planarization of spatial processing, the structuring of forms, and the interaction of geometric shapes with white space. At this point, his scattered brushstrokes began to combine with strong design ideas, forming a highly expressive and unique face. From the works of "Wu Jiang Yi Duan", "Untitled", "Autumn", "Canal Spring Tide", and "Jiangnan Canal", which reflect this effort, it can be seen that Ding Guanjia's vernacular prose style landscape painting already contains some kind of modern rhythm brewing.

(III)

From the late 1980s to the late 1990s, Ding Guanjia's landscape paintings entered a new era where language became more purified, meaning became more profound, and spiritual appeal became stronger. In the late 1980s, when Ding Guanjia entered the age of knowing his destiny, he launched the sublimated "Earth" series based on his travels to the mountains and rivers, washing away the diversity and returning to simplicity. He devoted himself to depicting the motherland, which carries the reproduction, reproduction, and transformation of all things. Although the painting only shows endless flat beaches or gloomy and vast fields, it clearly contains infinite power and a magical source of change, stirring the eternal light of life that has been enduring for generations. In the early 1990s, he took a big step back in his journey of sketching and embarked on the Xinjiang Silk Road, which was linked to the grandeur of the Han and Tang dynasties. The open plateau, majestic mountains and rivers, and the remembrance of glorious history made his painting style even more vigorous and simple. He clearly carried an excited mood of amazement, contemplation, and admiration, using a simple combination of dots, lines, and surfaces to describe the snow capped mountains, the vast Gobi, the boundless grasslands, the setting sun of ancient cities, the new green plateau, and the sweet springs of deserts. The scenes in his paintings were so lush, and so dripping, so wild and simple. It is so sublime and magnificent, as if the author's strong feelings have merged with the consciousness of the universe, life, and history. It can be seen that during this period, although Ding Guanjia's landscape paintings still need to be improved, they have further broken away from the limitations of Ji You's landscape paintings and leap towards a realm that deeply penetrates people's hearts. Not only is the atmosphere more grand and the mood more intense and profound, but the painting style also emphasizes the seamless integration of brush and ink rhythm and flat composition. If his works are still compared to poetry, then in the past, he used to sing the ordinary and moving scenery at will, but now it is a deep admiration for the magical mountains and rivers and the long history and culture of the motherland. Although not every artwork is flawless yet, overall it has reached the level of "conceptual imagery" pursued by Ding Guanjia. He wrote, "The stimulus given to you by objective objects, the initial strong reflection on the 'visual screen' in your eyes, is the first impression. If this first impression is filtered by the brain, distilled from the reflection of ideas, and transformed into a new and improved impression, it is a higher-level reflection, which I call the second impression. The painter takes this impression one step further and turns it into a conceptual image, but it is by no means an abstract thing in the West." The "conceptual image" expounded here, in my opinion, is what Da Zhongguang called the "divine realm.".

(4)

In the ten years after retirement, Ding Guanjia can be said to have been an old hero with a strong heart. During this period, the vitality in his paintings became more vigorous, and the realm in his paintings became broader. Not only did he have endless works such as "Evening Breeze Also Clear", "Jiangtan Series", and "Wetland Group Painting", but he also began to paint more water. If there are mountains and water in "After the Spring Rain", "The Twilight", "Flying Snow Welcoming Spring", and "Winter Rhyme", then "Time is Long", "Morning Clouds Full of Lake", "Fishing Song Series", "Colorful Four Seasons", "Light Moon in Jiangnan", "October in Jiangnan", and "Source of the Great River" are mainly based on water.

He was born in Chongming Island at the mouth of the Yangtze River. He has always studied and worked on the bank of the Yangtze River. He has long lived on the bank of the Taihu Lake Lake and on both sides of the canal. He is most familiar with water, has special feelings, understands the character of water, appreciates the wisdom of water, and likes the broad mind of water. He always remembers the joy of water in the wind and the sun, never forgets the joy of water in the sun, and often remembers the beauty of water in the moonlight. Water seems to have become his confidant. He said, "As soon as I draw water, I am thrilled, as if she is hugging me, and the paintbrush is passionately soothing her." However, in his writing, whether it is the vast expanse of blue waves in the rivers and lakes, the soaring seagulls, or the river boats sailing on the shimmering waves, whether it is the dazzling morning glow filling the lake, or the pure white snow boats sailing along the river, or the vast river water and the singing of fishing boats at night, all create a touching atmosphere with a blend of emotions and scenes, demonstrating a superb realm.

The mountains are still and the water is moving, so painting water is difficult than painting mountains. In ancient times, most painters replaced them with blank spaces. Ding Guanjia, who graduated from the Department of Fine Arts at Nanjing Normal University, laid a solid foundation in realistic Western painting and acquired strong abilities in spatial expression and color studies during his studies. He also went abroad for multiple inspections, which made him feel the need to break free from the limitations of literati ink painting and unleash the beauty of light and color in his paintings. Therefore, his works of painting water show two obvious characteristics. Firstly, he borrowed the technique of direct water painting from Western France, successfully describing the modality and charm of river and lake water, depicting the water light in the morning, middle and evening, under the sun and moon, and even the cloudy world, depicting the flashing and rippling of water surface light, as well as the richness and brilliance of colors. The second is to depict the reflection of the water surface through the contrast between dry and wet, thick and light in traditional brushstrokes, and to depict the shimmering waves and ripples of the water surface through the combination of ink accumulation, color accumulation, splashing, color breaking, and color breaking.

Mr. Ding Guanjia has been painting for 57 seasons since he started painting in 1955. On his long artistic journey, he had many experiences similar to those of his contemporaries, but one thing was unique, which was the more than ten years of ancient calligraphy and painting collection and the resulting in-depth study of tradition. The artistic tradition of Zhenjiang, which has a long culture and a large number of painters, is multifaceted. However, the two most important points summarized by Da Zhongguang in the Qing Dynasty, which have no regional limitations, have long become the essence of art theory. The first is that "the true realm is forced, but the divine realm is born", which talks about realistic and sublimated artistic conception in Chinese style. The second is that "the exploration of brushstrokes must always be a reflection of mountains and rivers." The second is that the transformation of brushstrokes, which is the main feature of Chinese painting, can only ultimately rely on learning and creation. I think it is these two valuable experiences that have permeated Ding Guanjia's process of landscape innovation. His travel sketching, his short academic background, his pursuit of spiritual content in his works, his borrowing from the West, and his excellent depiction of light and color are almost all based on these two points as the initial starting point. Ding Guanjia is 76 years old, and among painters, he is at a stage where his skills are profound, his experience is rich, and his creative ability is still strong. His art is fully capable of achieving perfection and essence to the next level. I wish him well.

Second draft on July 24, 2012.

（Xue Yongnian is a professor and doctoral supervisor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Director of the Theoretical Committee of the Chinese Artists Association.）