Song Xiaoxia

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Fifteen years ago, I first set foot on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau with Wu Changjiang. From Xining to Yushu, the long-distance bus stops and the road is also intermittent. As evening approached, the car completely broke down and we all got out, picked up important luggage with us, and stood on the roadside to intercept passing vehicles. The people in the same car are all villagers along the way, many of whom are Tibetan compatriots. Wu Changjiang was carrying a painting tool in the crowded crowd, carefully holding a painting clip in his arms. A truck arrived, and someone rushed forward to block the front of the car with their bodies. We rushed forward with the others. Although it's summer, it's very cold when it gets dark. I hesitated and calculated in my heart that Wu Changjiang had already come to the Qinghai Tibet Plateau to sketch ten times before. At that time, I didn't know that for the next fifteen years, he would continue to sketch in Tibetan areas on the plateau year after year. People naturally ask: why is sketching? Also, what kind of sketching is worth painting for a lifetime?

In the library of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, there is an old version of Wu Zuoren's collection of life sketches in the Tibetan area, printed on loose leaf, which was a work of traveling to the border and visiting the Tibetan area in the 1940s. The paper contains the author's feelings about the opportunities and experiences of that time, and the brushwork has a lyrical meaning. From the perspective of modern Chinese art history research, it is also a vivid dialogue between Chinese oil painting and Chinese art tradition. Wu Changjiang published his Xizang sketchbook in Japan in 1991. The cover was inscribed by Wu Zuoren, indicating that Wu Changjiang consciously continued this precious sketching tradition in the development of Chinese art in the 20th century. The other artist who walked on this road before was Dong Xiwen. In the 1950s and 1960s, Dong Xiwen entered the Tibetan region three times, leaving behind a group of chaotic and vibrant sketches. Even now, it still looks like a fresh one that only takes off his pen and inkstone in the evening. It was as if he had walked all the way in the latest air, writing down his feelings through sketching, and connecting them together with a refreshing breath. The earth shaking changes in Xizang have touched the artists. Dong Xiwen's inner fervent feelings are in harmony with the lofty sentiments of the times, and his rich and keen feelings are also based on the lofty sentiments of the times. In the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, Dong Xiwen found a suitable artistic expression, with great vitality, and able to summarize the atmosphere of New China. He closely links his works with China's historical fate and the spirit of the times with full passion and solid and varied artistic expression techniques. The natural and cultural landscapes in the Tibetan region not only provide conditions for painters to explore the "Chinese expression" of oil painting language, but also blend and permeate with Dong Xiwen's emotional temperament and character style in the artistic conception, living together.

The tradition of direct dialogue with people through painting - this tradition of sketching may also become a new artistic starting point for observing people and the times today. Wu Changjiang went to Tibet dozens of times to sketch, not just to collect materials in the usual sense, but to embody his high-altitude journey as a major creative intention - centered on people, expressing their confidence, simplicity, and vitality. All the achievements of the high-altitude journey are reflected in different emphases in this general plan.

Sketching is the process by which Wu Changjiang feels the objects being depicted. He regards the owner of the plateau as the "original mine" of art, and sketching is a way of excavating on site. Sketching is also a process in which Wu Changjiang perceives and extracts the hidden spirit of the object's appearance. In this process, he draws deeper and deeper. His intention is to use the brush to cast these ordinary characters into spiritual sculptures, making these ordinary moments eternal. Wu Changjiang's painting is undoubtedly that of this person at this time and place. With a grasp of "stability, accuracy, and ruthlessness", he is meticulous in his brushstrokes, highlighting the agility of the human nature stored in this person at this time and place, conveying a full and strong vitality. At the same time, Wu Changjiang's works go beyond the usual landscape sketching. The sketching works completed in urgent situations such as the Jiegu Market, Zeku Grassland, and Pastoral Countryside have a rigorous design and a dignified attitude, melting the passionate creative state and on-site situation into a solid artistic depth, presenting the solemn aspect of art history.

After nearly thirty years of traveling on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, Wu Changjiang has developed a modeling method that combines lines with watercolor. The concise lines and simple color tones constitute Wu Changjiang's unique language that is vivid, dynamic, rich, and expressive. His lines are not traditional Chinese line drawing, nor are they European line shapes that depict the volume and changes of form in light and shadow; But rather, it is a thick line that contains a comprehensive feeling of the transformation, momentum, and image of the form, and is a highly summarized concept of form theory. This unique way of creation and language expression is conducive to expressing the agility of human nature, human passion, and vigorous vitality. When Wu Changjiang faced his characters, he emphasized not the variable light but the unchanged form; not the photochemical effect of color, but the true color. Through direct dialogue with people who are the focus of attention, he gained the spirit of Dong Xiwen and created the style of Wu Changjiang.

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Wu Changjiang's style is closely related to the Qinghai Tibet Plateau. In the album of paintings published in 1991, Wu Changjiang wrote an inscription: "I would like to dedicate it to my beloved Tibetan compatriots and friends in Beijing, Gansu, Sichuan, Qinghai and Xizang." At that time, Wu Changjiang was on a two-year visit to Japan, but others did not paint a picture of the capital in Kyoto, which strengthened his will to paint on the Tibetan Plateau. Japan's experience may have prompted him to stand on top of the local historical and cultural traditions and the global reality, gaining a sense of autonomy in Chinese culture. From Wu Changjiang's subsequent routes of sketching in Tibet, it is evident that this self-awareness is not only an recognition of some abstract cultural principles, but also a profound understanding of the tradition and reality of Chinese art over the past century. In the end, Wu Changjiang established his subjectivity in openness and made the Qinghai Tibet Plateau his place of residence. With such self-awareness, we can avoid blind inferiority and arrogance in the diverse development of contemporary art, and truly understand the diverse world we are in and the challenges we face.

Wu Changjiang's Tibetan sketching mostly focuses on characters, taking inspiration from Wu Zuoren's Tibetan sketching style of grace and generosity, as well as the free movement of Luo Dan's human body in sketching. The foundation of his paintings is still his inherent Confucian poetic character. Wu Changjiang is particularly enamored with the bold, free, simple and peaceful image of the Tibetan ethnic group nurtured by Gentiana. Perhaps only that kind of strong and simple heroism can match Wu Changjiang's temperament and deep emotions. Whenever he goes to the plateau to sketch, Wu Changjiang always devoutly observes the characters in front of him, as if facing a mountain, a stream, or a grassland, directly witnessing the simple human nature and vibrant sense of life.

Those who are familiar with Wu Changjiang know that he has a hobby of collecting historical information about the Tibetan region over the past century. Regarding the customs and customs of the Tibetan region, as well as the cultural geography of the plateau, I have carefully read and studied various documents from the Qing court, military telegrams, academic writings, and private notes; Its collection of historical materials covers Japan, China, and Europe. Such a scale, combined with years of accumulated research, is enough to leave Tibetan scholars out of reach. Wu Changjiang scrutinized every detail of the Tibetan nation like he looked at himself, and studied the historical context of Tibetan culture like he studied his own genealogy. Between the grasslands and mountains, he became familiar with the history and geography of the Tibetan region. In his research on the Tibetan ethnic group, there is a deep affection and genuine energy from Wu Changjiang. What does Wu Changjiang taste from his natural and watery daily life when he treats his characters on the plateau?

During Wu Chang's nearly thirty year journey on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, he may have painted over a hundred Tibetan compatriots, and his inner skills in traveling between gods and objects have gradually been honed from an iron pestle to a needle in an imperceptible way. The Qinghai Tibet Plateau is a place for Wu Changjiang to self-awarely understand and self nurture, and sketching is his unique form of "returning to the past and breathing in the heart" with the plateau. Wu Changjiang meticulously sculpted the image with his pen, while he sucked in the sunshine of the plateau, the fragrance of tea on the stove, and the simplicity of Tibetan life from the shape of the object. At first, this was an accidental thing. Year after year, Wu Changjiang gradually realized that this almost personal way of cultivation was the most precious gift given to him by the plateau. The sketches collected in this collection are his diary of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau.

The theme of Xizang is a unique artistic tradition formed in the development of Chinese art in the 20th century. Several generations of artists from different periods have explored different issues through the form of sketching in border areas, bridging the gap between the past and the future. The artistic tradition of this practice originated not only from the inherent historical evolution of Chinese art, but also from its encounter with the West; It is closely related to the historical movements of 20th century China and also an active force in creating new culture. Wu Changjiang's sketch of the Tibetan Plateau is a "spiritual reconstruction" quietly carried out in the theme of Xizang. He combines the exploration of spiritual connotation with the expression of the flexibility of human nature, human passion and vitality on the plateau, and represents human life for decades in the process of Tibetan religion, folk customs, lifestyle, multi-ethnic communication and integration, and cultural investigation. It is these people depicted and cared for by Wu Changjiang who maintain the relationship between art and society, which is also the source of his spiritual expression in creation. Art thus touches the pulse of the times and the spiritual core of humanity. The Xizang theme provides not only the object of painting, but also the basic metaphor for the choice of artistic value, lifestyle and social attitude. In this sense, the theme of Xizang is not an object external to Chinese art in the 20th century. It has participated in the "internal transformation" of Chinese art in the 20th century.

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From 1981 until now, Wu Changjiang has been going to the Qinghai Tibet Plateau every year to sketch. As usual, he completes his paintings on site, still using charcoal brushes, colored pencils, watercolors, and paper. The size of the ruler has gradually increased from half a meter to the size of a whole piece of paper, which has remained unchanged for thirty years. These thirty years are a period of tremendous social change in China. A city in Beijing has been transformed and transformed, and the ancient saying goes, the sea has changed into mulberry fields. It takes less than thirty years now. Wu Changjiang and his characters are both in this era of great change. From using camels and horses as a means of transportation in Tibet to the opening of the Qinghai Tibet Railway today, there are many heart stopping and soul stirring stories. Nowadays, what is tied to the Tibetan courtyard may not be horses but motorcycles. Wu Changjiang said that every time the sketching is over, the characters in the painting will take out their phones from their Tibetan robes and take photos of the artwork together. However, Wu Changjiang did not choose to observe the changes in China over the past thirty years through sketching. He was concerned about the powerful life that had been rewritten by modern times and the human luster that had been worn down by these changes.

Wu Changjiang's high-altitude sketches penetrate various symbols of modernity, imbuing "Chinese style" with deeper human nature and broader cultural perspectives. This is a comprehensive spiritual characteristic pursued in life painting that has remained unchanged for thirty years, originating from the grandeur of the Chinese people's hearts and radiating a cultural charm. But the so-called "China" is not just one of the hundreds of countries in the United Nations, but above all, it is a great civilization matrix. If we look at the relationship between China and the world from the perspective of the great civilization pattern, we need to re understand modern China and understand today's relationship between China and the world from the relationship between Chinese civilization and other civilizations, especially the dominant Western civilization. The true rise of a great power is inevitably the rise of a cultural power. "The power of culture is deeply ingrained in the vitality, creativity, and cohesion of the nation." (Wu Changjiang: "Calling for the Art of" Chinese Style "in the Era") Wu Changjiang's sketches on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau are indeed exploring the potential and cultural creativity of Chinese civilization.

During his thirty year journey on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, Wu Changjiang engaged in a prolonged battle against the hustle and bustle of the times with his wise, simple, tough, spirited, and persevering image of the Tibetan nation, his majestic momentum, and the simple and profound beauty of power hidden in these images. The changes in reality experienced by Wu Changjiang and the unchanged nature of his sketching works provide us with a valuable experience on how to face the times with art.