Zhang Xiaoling

Since 1981, Wu Changjiang has traveled, inspected, and sketched on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau nearly 30 times in opposition to the influx of modern literary and artistic trends. In his mind, compared with those imported abstract ideas and various forms of games, the vast, solemn and broad plateau, the simple and rugged Tibetan people and their life full of beliefs are nothing more than a huge scripture, from which we can find "the painter's own soul" and "the expression language of his own Xizang spirit." [1] What is more important than "soul" and "language" for an artist? From this, it is not difficult for us to understand why Wu Changjiang maintains an enduring passion for the Qinghai Tibet Plateau that only pilgrims have, and maintains a constant reading attitude towards this scripture that only martyrs have.

30 years later, we were surprised to find that Wu Changjiang's perseverance, like a ascetic monk, not only gave his creative style an admirable uniqueness, but more importantly, this method had been internalized into spiritual and technical cultivation through the tempering of time, and the gifts obtained from it were almost the only: the painting practice crawling on the plateau land reached a high degree of consistency with the artist's individual pursuit of life, and the artist's soul was confirmed in the picture filled with the tranquil life atmosphere of Tibetans. "Searching for his own soul" and "searching for his own artistic language" have been intertwined throughout Wu Changjiang's 30-year artistic career, and have crystallized into his strong artistic views. What is even more pleasing is that this artistic concept, along with its accumulated experience, miraculously grew into a part of the theme of the "Chinese style" era under the call of the national Renaissance, and in some cases, it even became the theme itself.

1、 Chinese Style: Wu Changjiang's Art View

Since 2000, with the outstanding performance of "China's importance" in the international political and economic fields, a revolution quietly brewing in the cultural and intellectual circles has also arrived unexpectedly. Its prominent feature is that both radical and cultural conservatives attribute China's tremendous political and economic achievements to the excellence of local culture to varying degrees. In the cultural world where Western learning has always dominated, this viewpoint undoubtedly has revolutionary value. It undoubtedly marks a significant turn in contemporary Chinese culture - from the shallow enlightenment of Western learning to the great rejuvenation of Chinese literature and art with historical depth and practical significance. Only a few wise minds in the art world have felt this change, and Wu Changjiang is one of the representative ones. The introspective personality and reflective ability honed by the surging tide of thought and the flying clouds of time have made him more keenly aware than others that after the wave of deconstruction, criticism, subversion, destruction, and irony in art, an era based on local cultural foundations is approaching, rebuilding an artistic value system with national spirit and Chinese style. Wu Changjiang expressed the historical legitimacy of this trend as "the cultural consciousness of contemporary Chinese art is essentially an unavoidable historical cultural choice that Chinese art faces in the context of international and domestic social development." [2] It is puzzling that when Chinese art urgently needs a new art perspective as the coordinate for its progress at the historical turning point, the theoretical and critical circles have shown rare indifference and difficulties, seemingly losing the ability to respond to the new trends of the times as a whole. In this awkward context, Wu Changjiang's proposal to build a "Chinese style" can almost be regarded as the only ideological achievement. In the construction of "Chinese style", although Wu Changjiang was not a philosopher, he gave this proposition a rational interpretive framework in a speculative way, and used rich creative practice and historical experience as its source and fulcrum. Therefore, even those who are skeptical have to admit that from the beginning, "Chinese style" was not an empty ideological discourse wrapped in excessive passion, nor a product of imagination and fiction in the study, but a forward-looking artistic view with rich connotations and strategic perspectives. It is precisely because of this that it is qualified to hunt and sound as a flag in the sky of Chinese art.

From the root, we will soon discover that "Chinese style" is based on the extensive artistic experience accumulated by Wu Changjiang, and is an inevitable logical result of Wu Changjiang's artistic practice. In other words, it is a concept that starts from the origin, unique sensuality, and rich artistic practice. Therefore, although it has a broad atmosphere, it is never exaggerated or overweight. A few years ago, when sketching in the border area of Sichuan, Gansu, and Tibet, Wu Changjiang emphasized the "origin" consciousness of art: "We cannot detach ourselves from a basic point - where are you an artist? That is to say, Chinese art can never be separated from the needs of ordinary Chinese people and the general public. Chinese culture and art have their own traditions and veins of development, and only those with national spirit can be independent of the world. In order for Chinese art to play a unique and irreplaceable role in the world cultural pattern, it must have its own cultural choices and characteristics." The morning mist, without exception, has become the most ancient element in Wu Changjiang's artistic experience, and has also become his form The basic sources of lines and colors. For a considerable period of time, there was only a philosophical link and a historical opportunity between Wu Changjiang's rich artistic experience and the concept of "Chinese style". Therefore, when Wu Changjiang proposed the concept of "Chinese style" after 2000, everything seemed to be ripe. Relying on the abundant land and artistic practices on it, "Chinese style" has been destined to be a new artistic concept with abundant vitality and real emotions since its inception.

On the other hand, "Chinese style" is a product of a genuine sense of crisis. In the past 30 years, while many critics and artists have actively evaluated the sweeping Western modern and postmodern trends with "progress", "innovation", and "globalization", Wu Changjiang has seen another face beneath its progressive appearance: the ideological aggressiveness and value replacement nature unique to dominant culture. As a result, Wu Changjiang was shocked to discover the dual rupture of contemporary Chinese art: the rupture between its value orientation and national cultural spirit, and the rupture between its form and the expression of contemporary Chinese spirit. In the tranquility of contemplation, Wu Changjiang could clearly hear the sharp sound of fragmentation within contemporary Chinese art. He couldn't help but ask: Is fragmentation, oppression, attachment, and rampant cynicism the theme words of the development of contemporary Chinese art? The enormous sense of crisis inevitably produces corresponding ideological achievements - it is composed of a series of reflections, self reflection, and self rescue plans, ultimately attributed to the construction of the subject and values of contemporary Chinese art, and the most accurate name for this construction is "Chinese style". In Wu Changjiang's view, the newly constructed cultural subject not only reaffirms the existence of a value system that is harmonious but different from the West, but also reshapes the image and position of contemporary Chinese art in the international cultural landscape. Only in this way can contemporary Chinese art break through the theological fog scattered by Western dominant culture.

We should also pay attention to another dimension of "Chinese style", which is its historical dimension. As an intellectual artist, Wu Changjiang has always maintained a clear historical perspective in the study of contemporary art issues. It is precisely this quality that makes him more aware than anyone else that for us, a cultural country with a unique tradition in the world, "Chinese style" can only truly become a concept with historical depth, realistic height, and practical value if it is rooted in the rich soil of history. After extensive textual criticism, research, and research, Wu Changjiang provided four cultural traditions of "Chinese style" from the perspective of historical philosophy, which are inherited in an orderly manner, interrelated in value and language, and each with its own characteristics, namely the classical tradition centered on harmony, charm, imagery, artistic conception, and dilution; The modern art tradition characterized by secularism and imagery since the late Ming Dynasty; The scientific, democratic, and redeeming cultural traditions of the May Fourth New Culture Movement; The socialist cultural tradition of New China, with realism, heroism, collectivism, and nationalization as its main themes. In the field of contemporary art, no other concept has such a broad and rich historical content. We may imagine that once these values and experiences are awakened and activated in the current context, they will bring about a spectacular Renaissance movement in the field of practice! In this sense, the historical attribute of "Chinese style" is born towards reality.

As a new art concept, "Chinese style" is full of dynamism. A comprehensive theoretical explanation of it is currently beyond our reach, and providing some general descriptions of its key points is not yet considered delirium. Generally speaking, "Chinese style" can be understood from five aspects: 1. Core idea: "Building a socialist national cultural system with Chinese characteristics in the new era, constructing an artistic evaluation and value system with national spirit and Chinese style" [4]; 2. Cultural connotation: "It is a comprehensive feature of the spiritual level reflected by Chinese artists in their works, and a magnificent cultural atmosphere originating from the hearts of the Chinese people" [5]; 3. Aesthetic discourse system: Based on the pan cultural, poetic, and transcendent aesthetic views of Chinese art, reconstruct the language and ideographic system of contemporary Chinese art; 4. Cultural strategy: Simultaneously promoting both "borrowing" and "sending away". The most prominent feature of Chinese art has always been the absorption of all the excellent achievements of human civilization through borrowing, transplanting, and integrating Chinese and Western cultures. However, at the same time, the use of "sending away ideology" to make Chinese art values have universal significance is also the essence of "Chinese style". 5. People oriented. For modern Chinese art, modernity refers to the people's nature. A new value system can only be established when it is transformed into social value through the people as a huge consumer entity.

The above description may be rough, but from it we can read a powerful and wise account of the soul, although it is sometimes elusive. Upon reading the mystery, I suddenly felt a sudden awakening: from a deeper perspective, isn't "Chinese style" a declaration of the comprehensive return of contemporary Chinese art to the national cultural standard? As a modern wanderer, Chinese art has been wavering in its value conversion for over a hundred years. Perhaps only in an era of national strength and in the historical trend of a national Renaissance, can it achieve a historic ultimate return, and thus open up great achievements worthy of the times, history, people, and country - this may be the entire hope of Wu Changjiang's heart, but it is also the hope of contemporary Chinese art.

2、 The Spirit of the Times: Reshaping the True Consciousness of Life

The poet's duty is to return home. In history, the reason why great artists are difficult to erase even time is not only because they have created classic aesthetic styles, but also because they have completed a secret spiritual return home with this style - returning to the moment of harmonious coexistence between individual life and the universe, returning to the place where the true power of life can be demonstrated, becoming the most prestigious quality of art. We may only be able to name Wu Changjiang's nearly 30 life drawing and creative activities that have delved into the Qinghai Tibet Plateau after "returning home with spirit", and it is difficult to have any other more appropriate interpretation. In his creative essays in 1990, we can find a footnote from Wu Changjiang's heart: "Standing in this mysterious Qinghai Tibet Plateau, walking on the vast and boundless grassland, it seems that everything around us is moving. The white clouds in the sky are rising, and our hearts are filled with rising excitement and desire. In such a vast and desolate environment, we feel the enormous gravity contained in the universe." [6] Through daily experiences, Wu Changjiang gradually realizes that the "gravity" from the plateau is not mysterious, and for those who feel with their hearts, it is only a daily presentation. The Tibetans, yaks, horses, felt houses, milk barrels, etc. rooted in this land are the true power of life. Therefore, in Wu Changjiang's view, every sketch and creation naturally transformed into an understanding of the true life, and the completion of each work seemed to be the end of the spiritual dojo ceremony. It can be said that the realization of the power of the plateau, the pursuit of the true value of life, and Wu Changjiang's artistic behavior have been integrated into a transcendent spiritual state.

Although Wu Changjiang has been fascinated by the experience of the plateau for a long time, he cannot escape everything that a urbanite and a modern person's life must face. The huge spiritual gap between the two has enabled him to observe the variation of human nature and the loss of authenticity in the city to a profound and insightful level. In Wu Changjiang's eyes, Marcuse's "one-dimensional people" who "understand themselves through commodities and find their souls in cars, sound systems, staggered houses, and kitchen equipment" are no longer texts, but increasingly become a common character among urban populations; The "simulation" and "illusion" that are controlled by consumption in Baudrillard's "consumer society" are also difficult to refuse to become the survival status and quality of cities. Since the 1990s, this widespread mental state has not only alerted the intellectual class, but also inspired various solutions for their diagnosis, treatment, and correction of social drawbacks. Unlike the study style programs created with pathological enthusiasm, and also far from those "homesick" escapism, Wu Changjiang firmly believes that the high-altitude spirit obtained from personal experience will be a good medicine for modern people's spiritual redemption: "As ordinary people, it is difficult for us to escape the hardships of life and the pressure of survival. As humans, we will also face various difficulties and problems in the future. Therefore, I firmly believe that the attitude of high-altitude ethnic groups towards life, environment, and life, their harmonious coexistence with nature, has eternal charm for modern people, and their spiritual value will never be replaced." [8] The importance of this passage is that it marks Wu Changjiang's commitment to true life. Experience has begun to transform into a social value through the dissemination of works, It contains Wu Changjiang's ideals and thoughts: silently implanting the essence of life on the plateau into the spiritual life of modern people, exploring a path of harmonious coexistence with nature and one's own heart. In this process, the essence of life on the plateau will be elevated to the spirit of the times.

Once an artist's individual experience and values are rewarded in the field of social morality, they will in turn generate tremendous creative motivation - which is one of the reasons why Wu Changjiang's creation continues. In his extensive sketches, sketches, lithographs, and watercolor creations, the true state of human life and the seamless integration between humans and nature remain two unchanging themes.

Wu Changjiang's depictions of Tibetan figures are mostly based on the nomadic Kangba and Anduo people at the border of Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, and Tibet. In terms of image, its main feature is the roughness and boldness carved by the high-altitude wind and snow; What impressed Wu Changjiang even more was the sound, simple and transcendent inner temperament, resilient personality, and broad mindedness of this nation, as well as their optimistic attitude towards life and death, suffering, worship and awe of nature, and devout longing for the future. In Wu Changjiang's mind, the Tibetan people on the plateau are a nation that can completely expose their spirit to the embrace of sunlight and nature. Therefore, in the process of sketching, the image portrayed by Wu Changjiang seems not to have been drawn, but rather summoned by the spell of this belief. Under its guidance, every tiny part of the Tibetan people's facial features, appearance, hair accessories, skin tone, and accessories presents a breathtaking beauty. If we make an arrangement of Wu Changjiang's nearly 30 high-altitude sketches, we will be surprised to find that this is a true spiritual history of Tibetan characters.

The Zeku Youth, written in 2002, is a standing half body portrait. After delicately and smoothly outlining the basic shape of the character, it shrinks into the rigor of the face. The firm nose bone and sharp mouth lines clearly express his rough and resilient personality without any disguise. Especially those eyes that were slightly hidden under the shade of the brim, clear and transparent like a holy lake, peaceful and solemn yet exuding a heroic aura. These eyes, perfectly deserving of Merleau Ponty's evaluation, "should be understood as the 'window of the soul'... Through them, the beauty of all things in the universe is revealed to our contemplation and contemplation." In the powerful image of "Gander Youth" in 2003, the eagle like eyes look straight ahead, and the hands, folds, shoulders, and even the messy and flying hairstyle all bulge with strange power from the inside out. The powerful lines of knives and axes are cast into its bronze like heavy portrait. Compared to "Young Gander," "The Shepherd of Zeku" uses the lyrical lines to soothe the emotions in the picture. On the grassland, the young man gazed far and wide, with a sense of confusion in his firm gaze that was hard to detect. The youth years that grew up in labor and plateau climate have gained a few more perseverance and maturity, but lost a few childishness and mischief. The description of women's character in Xizang is one of Wu Changjiang's main ways to explore the inner world of Tibetan people. The slightly cramped but powerful hands in "Yixilam", the holy expression of praying in "Tibetan Women", and the ancient and profound figure in "Milk Squeezing", which stands like a mountain on a snowy field, are the best and most beautiful interpretations of the inner world of Tibetan women by Wu Changjiang.

Wu Changjiang is quite adept at handling the relationship between humans and nature, as he has always regarded Tibetans as a part of nature. On the plateau where all things are spiritual, humans, horses, yaks, snow capped mountains, lakes, forests, and abundant vegetation are all miracles of natural life, and there has never been a distinction between subject and object. Isn't the gentle breeze that brushes over the peaks and roams freely in the forest another form of human breathing? "The Wind, Gently Blowing on the Grassland" (1994) portrays a legendary relationship between humans and nature - it is not a pastoral song or a phantom, but an unadorned representation of daily high-altitude scenes: the alternation of light and darkness on the peaks, soft, delicate, and lazy. With the help of meteor like light spots, horses and herdsmen miraculously emerged from the depths, followed closely by a faint flock of sheep, and finally the water plants on the earth and their awakened expressions. Under the cover of half light and half dark tones, horses, sheep, and all the sons of the earth are freely enjoying the nurturing of the mother earth。

Wu Changjiang's works are a type of work that can be smelled - butter tea, the sweat of Tibetan clothing, and the refreshing scent of grass, which can enter my sense of smell rather than sight without distinction. Reading Wu Changjiang's works is like returning to the moment when all things were in their original unity. At that moment, heaven and earth share the same origin with humans, the inner world is integrated with the outside world, desires and happiness go hand in hand, dreams are reality, and the true nature of life and the universe merge into one in the warmth of a mother

From this, we will have a deeper understanding of what the spirit of the times is. It is obvious that the so-called spirit of the times is neither a certain "humanistic spirit" pieced together in the study, nor a series of moral preaching, nor of course, those ostentatious and demagogical consumerist slogans. The true spirit of the times is completely contrary to this - it first is a high level of vigilance towards the lack of human nature and the true essence of life in this era, while attempting to bridge this gap by reshaping the true essence of life, and hoping to build it into a universal consciousness in the social field. For an artist, he will accomplish all of this in an artistic way - this is Wu Changjiang's art.

3、 The Ultimate Realm: Void Silence and Flying

In a journey on a plateau at an altitude of 4000 meters, if an artist cannot discover the wonders of nature and life, and use them to construct a magnificent and majestic realm in his works, then he is just an ordinary spectator. Completely different from this, Wu Changjiang transformed his travels on the plateau into a spiritual experience and observation activity: "using his own heart to get close to the pulse of the plateau", and the Tibetan people's "soul is so close, as if I was once one of them." [10] The feedback from the plateau to Wu Changjiang's understanding is almost magical: from vision to soul, a quiet, peaceful, static, as if unchanged from ancient times, and a world full of lively and dynamic life unfolds towards Wu Changjiang at the same time. The latter is composed of the daily work and life scenes of Tibetans: grazing, hunting, milking, worshipping, reciting scriptures, playing with harvest, drunken dance steps, the sound of arrows piercing through the forest, and the leisurely floating of misty mist; Underneath the colorful surface of life, a life existence that transcends time has brought unprecedented shock to Wu Changjiang. It is manifested in the devout spiritual beliefs of the Tibetan people, unique culture and history, the natural consciousness of all things having spirits, a highly purified state of life, and the towering silence of the mountains. In their creation, they effectively condense into two different realms of Wu Changjiang's works: emptiness and stillness and movement.

On the other hand, emptiness and movement are also two different moods of Wu Changjiang: they are not only the ways of perceiving the psychological activities of the plateau and Tibetan people, but also the psychological sources for constructing the realm of works. Reading Wu Changjiang's works, it is interesting to find that the aesthetic realm of emptiness and stillness, as well as movement, is constructed in different types of painting. That is to say, in the creation of different genres of painting, Wu Changjiang's psychological activities, corresponding value orientations, and creation methods are different, or in other words, there are differences. In the field of lithography, Wu Changjiang uses stillness to brake, or stillness to create stillness - the spirit of emptiness and bathing in snow, with broad emotions and subtle insights, or to silently reflect the lively consciousness of life, or to statically present the spirit of plateau, thus creating moments that transcend reality and observe eternity; In watercolor painting and sketching genres, Wu Changjiang uses motion and movement to perceive objects with warm and abundant emotions in a short period of time, capturing and expressing the personality and autobiographical spiritual qualities of the objects in their daily scenes. As a result, the picture is filled with the flying of life and the warmth of the scene.

Moved by a certain scene or character of high-altitude life, they are rescued from the complexity of daily life through the activity of self emptiness and forgetfulness. Through the purification of the unity of mind and matter, they ascend to the vast and lonely spiritual space, where they obtain eternity. This is the aesthetic pursuit and personality of Wu Changjiang's lithography creation, as well as his basic creative method. We can feel this quality in almost every of his lithography works. Milk Squeezing, written in 1982, is one of Wu Changjiang's early representative works. On the screen, everything fades away under the cover of heavy snow, and the silhouette of the herdsman standing in the midst of it, with a slight camel, is as quiet and solemn as a snowy plateau, subtly hinting at the hidden relationship between humans and nature: the image and resilience of humans come from the gifts of the plateau. Therefore, as the son of the plateau, the herdsmen's hard work in harsh environments is not so much a struggle against nature, but rather a realization of nature and a physical and mental cultivation through labor. It is precisely because of this that his pillar like figure has gained a sense of happiness that we cannot understand. Therefore, the ascent of the snowy plateau in the lonely realm on the screen is fundamentally the ascent of the inner world and personality of the herdsmen - this may be the life and outlook of the Tibetan people on the plateau. As a result, "Milk Squeezing" has received high praise in academia and society since its publication, and its herdsmen's backs have become one of the classic images of contemporary art with rich meanings and expressions.

The transcendent quality and tranquil realm established in "Squeezing Milk" have been continuously deepened and improved in Wu Changjiang's subsequent lithography creations. In 1984, the creation of "Qinghai Tibet Plateau" was completed. The understanding and handling of the relationship between heaven, earth, and humans have become the most eye-catching aspect of the picture. The large gray tones formed by the particles of lithography extend to the distant horizon in the blurred movement of floating shadows. The place of extreme vision is vast, mysterious, and somewhat hollow. Between heaven and earth, there are scattered yaks, people, dogs, and tents, seemingly close and far, either hidden or clear. On the vast and majestic grasslands, the occasional breeze and barking of dogs awaken the poetic essence of the picture and activate a truth passed down from generation to generation on the plateau: human transience can only be achieved through eternal dwelling in nature. This metaphorical suggestion actually makes the picture atmospheric and full of charm, radiating a clear and consistent appearance. It can be said that this work is Wu Changjiang's most fascinating poetic narrative about the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, and it also clearly expresses his most profound and unique interpretation of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau. Compared to "The Qinghai Tibet Plateau", "The Peak of the Plateau" completed in 1993 has a awe inspiring depth and endless beauty. The composition of the isolated scene comes entirely from the author's momentary feeling of the spirit, rather than the reality itself. In other words, snow capped mountains, galloping horses, and low hanging clouds are the eerie illusions in the author's writing, highly purified and deepened psychological images, and they have become the embodiment of the philosophy of high-altitude life.

The plateau life composed of small particles in lithography is transcendent. The painter deliberately dissolves the daily attributes of each image centered on facial expressions, focusing on highlighting the common spiritual trend of the Tibetan nation: solemn, broad, calm, serene, full of dedication and a sense of respect for nature. On the screen, these qualities are enough to give them a divine radiance as they approach the gods. In a series of works such as "Milk Squeezing", "Shower", and "Vast Grassland" (written in 1987), the image of the Tibetan people is depicted as their back or profile. Even in portrait like images like "Tibetan Woman" (written in 1988), it is difficult to find traces of her personal spirit - she holds branches and fruits, her demeanor is empty and focused, and her abstract and lonely background allows her to obtain the moment of listening to divine metaphors while staying away from the complexity. Although she lost a secular world in the silence of praying for blessings, she became a true soul rescuer in listening, which may be the secret miracle in the hearts of the Tibetan people on the plateau.

Only in the realm of emptiness and stillness in lithography can Wu Changjiang's understanding of plateau Tibetans and the resulting imagination be subtly and internally expressed. Xu Jing in Wu Changjiang's place is not only a spiritual journey completed on the plateau with a tranquil and tranquil mind, but also a self transcendence of his inner detachment and abandonment of intelligence; It is not only a moment of marveling at nature amidst the vastness, but also a moment of creating a free and peaceful mind in the forgetfulness of things and myself. On the screen, they are the tranquil emptiness of the plateau, the towering desolation of the snow capped mountains, and the tranquility where heaven and earth nurture and reproduce all things; At the same time, it is also the imprint of time on the black tent and milk bucket, and the vitality emanating from the strong physique of the Tibetan people.

Along with the creation of lithography, Wu Changjiang also used watercolor, sketching, and other methods for sketching and creation. In the past 30 years, there has been a huge number of watercolor and sketch works, which are rare to match. Appreciating these works is like reading Wu Changjiang's artistic diary, where the rich images depicted constitute a secret code of Tibetan character, while also secretly recording Wu Changjiang's spiritual journey during his wandering on the plateau. Here, a new realm has emerged that is completely different from the aesthetics of emptiness and stillness: the aesthetics of flight.

The beauty of flying first comes from the qualities bestowed upon the image by the sense of the scene: the fleeting personality and vital features of the image, the freely moving lines of the flying crane, simple and bright colors, as well as the residual scent and temperature of the scene on the screen. Therefore, it is uplifting, sporty, and lively. In terms of aesthetic style, it indicates that it is unique; Secondly, at the scene of sketching, Wu Changjiang pursued the object with movement, felt it with surging and stirring emotions, melted it, and presented it from the complex and turbulent surface, achieving the state of "turning with the object and wandering with the heart". The painter's self is no longer hidden or exposed. On the contrary, it is manifested in the aesthetic pursuit and value orientation of form, as well as in the passion for controlling lines and colors; Meanwhile, perhaps more importantly, the beauty of flying also stems from the affirmation of the daily attributes and vital features of Tibetan images. In the numerous portrait works painted by Wu Changjiang, each image has its own identity, experience, professional characteristics, and physiological markers. Based on this, Wu Changjiang also focuses on exploring the personal spiritual autobiography, era imprints, and survival status behind the image. The secluded secular consciousness of life in the world of emptiness cannot be stopped from surging out in the realm of flying aesthetics.

"Yushu Old Man", created in 2006, is a masterpiece of watercolor painting. The bold and unrestrained cursive lines accurately outline the contours of the characters, transforming them into meticulous brushstrokes on the face. Relying on the skeleton of the lines, ink permeates and blends with each other on the face, forming subtle and imperceptible changes in light and dark. In the flicker of highlights and reflections, the elderly person's contemplation is somewhat mysterious and unpredictable. Perhaps, this is a true folk philosopher. The works "Youth Gebu" (2006), "Singer Yodo" (2006), and "Root Hidden Statue" (2007) created during the same period depict the personality traits of the characters in different scenes with heavy, relief like shapes, and deliberately strengthen the physiological markers given to them by the plateau: the dark and reddish antique copper color formed by long-term ultraviolet radiation. This is particularly noteworthy, as the reason why Wu Changjiang tirelessly portrays this in his portrait is actually conveying a clear value orientation: the ancient bronze color is not only a physiological symbol of the Tibetan ethnic image, but also an eternal mark stamped on the sound and lively consciousness of life. After 2003, a batch of sketch portraits were created in the Guoluo area of Qinghai, which can be said to be exquisite pieces. Here, we truly approach the simple souls from the plateau, appreciate their broad and profound personality world composed of simplicity, perseverance, calmness, strength, bravery, resilience, and grandeur. While sucking on the plateau atmosphere they bring, our body and mind are intoxicated, and our thoughts are flying. For this batch of works, we may only have one evaluation: they have reached the height that sketching can reach.

Let's return to the theme of "Chinese style". After a sleepover, the most touching discovery in Wu Changjiang's art world is that "Chinese style" is not isolated, it is visible, and even touchable. The realm, shape, lines, and colors of each of Wu Changjiang's works are marked by it. When Western scholars generally marvel that "all solid things have vanished into thin air" [11], Wu Changjiang, through his lonely life practice, confirms that a strong belief miraculously grows in the East, on the plateau at the top of the world. It may not be a bright spot, but at least a glimmer of light is enough. Because it is enough to provide some warmth and comfort to the wandering wanderers, and also enough to start the grand construction of "Chinese style" on the ruins left by subverters and saboteurs. Is this still questionable in the spring tide of the great Renaissance of the Chinese nation?

In this sense, Wu Changjiang's 30-year plateau wandering is a true spiritual return to his hometown.

[1] Wu Changjiang, "The Call of the Plateau", "Fine Arts", Issue 1, 2005.

[2] Wu Changjiang, "The Era Calls for the Art Creation of" Chinese Style ", published in" Fine Arts ".

[3] Ma Jun, "Walking Alone on the Plateau to Write Atmosphere - Interview with Famous Painter Wu Changjiang.".

[4] Same as 2

[5] Same as 2

[6] Wu Changjiang, "Essays on Creation", "Art Research", Issue 2, 1990.

[7] Herbert Marcuse, "Unidirectional People: A Study of Ideology in Developed Industrial Societies," translated by Liu Ji, Shanghai Translation Publishing House, 2006, p. 10.

[8] Wu Changjiang, "Self narration of Art.".

[9] Merleau Ponty, "Eyes and Hearts", China Social Science Press, 1992, p. 161

[10] Same as 6

[11] Marshall Berman, "Everything Strong Has Disappeared", translated by Xu Dajian and Zhang Ji, Commercial Press, 2003, p. 28.