New Interpretation of Chinese Folk and Traditional Drawings and Paintings by Chen Ying-Te
New Interpretation of Chinese Folk and Traditional Drawings and Paintings by Chen Ying-Teh
Compiled by Chang Mi-Mi
Chinese Folk Drawings and Paintings
Chinese have respected the sky and believed in gods and Buddha. In the past, eminent monks, abbots, and governmental officers used to visit famous Taoist and Buddhist temples in any place, and men and women used to worship gods and Buddha in Taoist and Buddhist temples in counties and villages. Decorative cornices and curved columns were usually found in the temples of Guanyin, Guan Gong, and Mazu, and the doors, walls, and beams were painted with red paint and covered with gold foil.
For the birthdays of gods and Buddha and during the Lunar New Year, actors, shadow plays, and puppet shows performed plays about gods, Justice, and honorable figures. Many people enjoyed the plays, actors, the makeup and hair decors of the actors.
To respect ancestors, Chinese people used to have altar tables in their living rooms, with ancestral tablets and the statues of gods and Buddha on the tables. The rich hanged the hand paintings of their ancestors by painters.
In the Lunar New Year, Chinese people stuck colorful paintings on doors, windows, walls, and kitchens. The paintings were called by Chinese in different periods, “Zhi Hua” in the Song Dynasty and “Hua Tie” in the Ming Dynasty. In the Qing Dynasty, Chinese in different places used various names to call these paintings, including “Hua Pian” and “Wei Mo Zi” in Beijing, “Dou Fang” in Sichuan, “Hua Zhang” in Jiangsu, and “Li San Cai,” “Gong Qian,” “Li Hua,” “Ji Xiang Hua (Lucky Paintings),” and “Huan Le Tu (Happy Paintings)” in other places. After the founding of the Republic of China, Chinese called these paintings “Nian Hua (New Year Paintings).” These New Year paintings were printed by wood curved by artists, and then some artists developed stone printing paintings. The topics of Nian Hua included the guardians of door, the god of Tiger, the paintings of children and women (to expect for the happiness of children), natural and imaginary objects with lucky symbols, four seasons, flowers and fruit, drama stories, Chinese mythology, historical stories, legends, towns and villages, and living subjects. The diversified and vivid images and colorful paintings are the symbols of Chinese folk lives, spirit, and art.
In the theory of art history, the scope of art craft was used to discuss the New Year Paintings, the paintings of gods and Buddha, and the paintings of ancestors. It is not appropriate to compare these art works with general paintings. Fortunately, scholars have published professional books on these paintings. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, color painting and ink painting were both important. In the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, artists preferred ink paintings; however, folk paintings extended the tradition. Artists used diverse skills in sketching, layouts, printing, and painting. Follow-up art workers should review these paintings for reflection.
Oil-painted Folk Figures and the Images of New Year Paintings
I have dedicated myself to Western oil painting. In tens of years, my published and unpublished works can be categorized based on the classification of traditional Western paintings into scenery painting (such as factories, mountains, water, trees, woods, and geometric images) and figure paintings (such as blue workers, infants, blue dancers, and people with colors—that is, the reproduction of folk figures, New Year paintings, and other traditional Chinese people), as well as the paintings of people in the current society and the deconstruction of classical Western figure paintings that have never been published.
When I arrived in Paris, I visited the Louvre Museum, the Museum of Imagesand theMuseums of ContemporaryModern Art. Of all the paintings in these great museums and the paintings on art books, I admired the North European paintings in the 14th and 15th centuries the most, especially the Flemish figure paintings. Meanwhile, the various exhibitions of Musee Guimet and of other Oriental museums, and the pictures in Chinese art books reminded me of the art work preserved in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan, especially the paintings of Emperors, which reminded me of the paintings of ancestors that I saw when I was a child. Therefore, I tried to use my oil painting sticks and paints to mix the color of ancient Chinese and drew the topics of three generations (grandfather, father, and children) and family (husband, wife, and children). Then, I drew a family with two wives and two sons, two pairs of fathers and sons in a plain family and a rich family, and other folk people.
In the 1970s, following the trend of Hyperrealism in America, New Figurative in Europe attracted numerous artists using realist skills to present new modern lives. This made me think of the workers issue in the 20th century. Soon, I engaged myself in drawing the life of workers. I used blue oil paints to present the steady and diligent spirit of the workers. After the birth of my daughter, I added pink into the blue, which turned into violet. I used the color to draw about the innocent world of infants. Blue workers and infants were my primary subjects in the 1970s.
When my daughter grew older, I bought a book about New Year paintings published in Czech. There was a girl in the book who was just about the age of my daughter. When the coming of the Lunar New Year, I thought why not draw my daughter just like the girl in the paintings in the book, which could enrich the atmosphere in my house. Thus, my daughter and my son (who was born years later) constituted other creation direction in my New Year oil paintings. I usually created these paintings just around the Lunar New Year period. Throughout the years, I drew my daughter sitting on lotus and red carps, my daughter with a blanket of flowers, my daughter riding a phoenix, my daughter holding a pumpkin in the yard, and my daughter playing with a fish in the fish tank. I also drew my son holding a rooster in his arms and riding a unicorn. Furthermore, I drew boy and girl children riding on golden roosters or sitting on lotus leaves, and other two girls jumping among tree peonies. Sometimes, I drew children holding flowers and fruit in their hands or standing on lotus leaves, dragons, phoenixes, animals, and birds that symbolize good luck, and fruit and flowers that symbolize happiness.
I also reviewed several books on New Year paintings, which enabled me to further understand the making and content of New Year paintings. Of which the Artists in the workshop of Dei Lien-Zheng and Chi Jien-Lung, in the Qing Dynasty. They minimized the imaginary shapes originated from the Song and Ming Dynasties and created vivid and happy aesthetic paintings. I did respect the craft masters and the women who engaged in coloring.
Some people thought my oil paintings were similar to that of Yang Liou-Qing. However, they were different. Although I minimized the colorful paints of his paintings, I pursed another kind of thoroughness and transparency in the concrete layout and paints. Especially, I expected the oil paintings could last longer than paper paintings. In addition to expressing the sense of good luck, I focused more on the elegance of painting skills originated from the Tang and Song Dynasties.
Extension of Playing Children
When I got grandchildren, I admired the painting of “Lien Sen Guai Zi” in the Qing Dynasty, which inspired me to draw two oil paintings: (1) Happy Twin, two heads of children connecting with four bodies of children playing with colorful balls, and (2) Good Luck Lotus, three heads of children connecting with six bodies of children, with rolling lotuses in their hands.
These two oil paintings can be watched from any angle. This layout type originated from the cooper instrument in the ancient China and the china made in the Song Dynasty. I was inspired by the paintings by ancient Chinese and hope to bring a sense of motion in the paintings, giving a sense of modernity.
Drawing children figures is a primary part of my art works. These works were inspired from the folk children figure paintings, which encouraged me to review the paintings in the Tang and Song Dynasties. According to the painting history, Chang Hsuan in the Tang Dynasty was good at drawing ladies and children; however, what we could see is the “Li Zi Tu” by Zhou Fang. In the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, Liu Tsung-Tao and Du He-Er were good at drawing children; however, what we could see is the paintings by Su Han-Chen, Su Zhuo, and other people in the Southern Song Dynasty. Although the collection from these great artists is limited, I can still spend a lot of time reviewing their works, including the colorful, elegant clothing, accessories, and hair styles of the children.
Memory in Temples
I was born in Chia-yi. When I was an elementary school student, a new temple was built near my home. I was curious so I went to see it. As I can recall, I saw many people working. Once, I saw an artist drawing the door gods on the doors of the temple. He remembered the image of the gods and drew the gods without any sketch. I thought he was awesome. Since then, I wanted to build a temple so I could draw anywhere in the temple. Now, I am older, and have never built a temple. But, I drew a lot of paintings on my easel.
When I began my creation in Paris, I drew a series of the door gods—Qi Qiong and Wei Chi-Gong. I painted the background in red without highlighting the seam between the two halves of the door. Then I drew a child holding a lotus, which symbolized the door gods guarding the child, intending to protect the family.
Major temples in Taiwan have a central hall to worship the main god, while other gods and Buddha are worshipped in the halls next to the central hall. Between the halls, painted partitions are used to separate the halls, which inspired me to drew two paintings of Bi Xie (animals that are similar to lions) with Nalakuvara and Princess Iron Fan on the paintings, respectively. Above Bi Xie, I drew a string of copper coins and a pair of Jade decoration to symbolize good luck.
Thirty years after I drew Qi Qiong and Wei Chi-Gong, I drew another pair of door gods—two sides of Zhong Kui who is a warrior god and always carries weapons. In my paintings, one Zhong Kui with a blue coat and one Zhong Kui with a green coat are holding a sword in their hands, and both have a child standing next to each of them. I also drew red bats on the background of the paintings to symbolize good luck.
Hand Puppet and Royalty
All the children of my generation used to watch hand puppet shows which were always played in front temples, markets, and fields. It was happy for us to see those little puppets on the stage wearing luxurious clothing and beautiful accessories. Later, when I grew up, I saw a puppet lying in a wooden box. The puppet without its player had no energy.
The figure paintings of the royal families in the Chinese history were created by famous artists. All the figure paintings of the Emperors and Emperesses collected in the National Palace Museum were the most beautiful and the finest ones. What inspired me the most is the figure paintings of the Emperors in the Yuan Dynasty, including Genghis Khan, Ogedei Khan, and Kublai Khan. At the time, these Emperors ruled China. In addition, the figure paintings of their Emperesses inspired me to wonder whether it is the Mongolia Plateau that cultivated their souls or the magic done by the artists. Of course, the figure painting of the Emperess of Hongxi Emperor in the Ming Dynasty was another masterpiece.
A strange association of me inspired me to connect puppets and the figure paintings of Emperors and Emperess. I drew a pair of Emperor and Emperess wearing the traditional costumes of the Qing Dynasty. I drew them as puppets controlled by other people. Although they were royalty and had power, they had to listen to others. The Emperor and Emperess were controlled by others, so as their son.
‘’Emperor’’ is one of my paintings in the 1970s, and then I also created “Emperess” and “Concubine.” The three paintings can be exhibited respectively and collectively. “Emperor” and “Emperess” are wearing luxurious clothing with dragon and phoenix, and “Concubine” is wearing clothing with colorful butterflies. The bottom parts of their clothing were water waves, symbolizing the world outside the garden. I expect viewers can see the garden first, then the sky, and finally their sad eyes. I painted the background dark purple, meaning the silence of the great palace. I drew a painting of “Emperor and Emperess.” Their clothes are painted with gold powder, meaning the dawn and twilight.
Dragon is the strongest ethical totem in China, and I love to draw dragons the most. I drew a painting of a single dragon in the 1970s. After I finished the paintings of Emperor, Emperess, and Concubine, I started the painting of Princeling—which is a dragon with the head of princeling. People used to call the Emperor as the dragon, so his heir should be the son of the dragon. The Real Son of Dragon is composed of two separate paintings, and the face of the prince is more realistic, which is another trial in my art.
In every dynasty, there were numerous concubines waiting for the Emperors. Generally, those Chinese women desired to be noble and rich, but they had to be diligent and innocent. Therefore, I drew the concubines with peonies on their heads and holding lotus and chrysanthemum in their hands. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Kuo Nuo-Tsu once said, “Of all the figure paintings, the elegant appearances of women were cultivated from their heart.” This saying is the foundation of the painting “Three Beauties.” I knew some people thought this saying was not appropriate from contemporary art; however, the beauty of the women in ancient China is respectful.
Legends and Fairy Tales
Myths and legends tell the origination of every race in the world. In the ancient time of China, Fu Xi and Nuwa, the mating between the dragon and the snake, and the mating between snakes. Those stories are curved on the tomb stones in the Wu Lien Temple and the wall paintings in Mogao Caves. Fu Xi, Nuwa, Yin and Yan, and the combination of the sun and moon created the generations of Chinese people. The legends are the symbol of affection between men and women. Therefore, I drew human bodies with snake tails weaving with each other. In “the Beginning of the World”, a man and woman are flying on the clouds, holding respectively the sun and the moon, and looking at each other with a smile on their faces. In “Combination of Sun and Moon,” the man and woman are flying in the sky together; the moon is hanging in the middle, cultivating mountains. The woman is holding a laurel branch from the moon, and the man is holding the sun.
The book “Shan Hai Jing,” the classic text of early geography and myth, records animals and insects in the mountains. According to the book, the paintings originated from early time and had been popular among the folk. The Fairy of Sea Pearl is inspired by the fairy of oyster, and the Fairy on the Lotus is its extension. The two women in the two paintings had fertile bodies and a contemplative temperament; one is standing on the sea waves, and the other is lying on the lotus leaves in a lake.
Nalakuvara –also known as Nezha- in the “Creation of the Gods” and the “Journey to the West” is a young hero familiar for the public and a subject for art crafters, such as the “Yellow River in Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture Sichuan China.” I drew a naked but healthy Nalakuvara holding a golden ring, standing on fire wheels, and protecting the people.
When I was at the university, I created a series of wood-printed paintings on gods and monsters. Of which, I drew the Thunder god with a thunder hammer and the Thunder goddess with a reflection mirror. I used the strong warrior in the ancient China to draw the Thunder god and the feminine figures in the Buddha art to create the Thunder goddess. Years later, I understood Buddhism and Dun Huang Art more and better, I wanted to use oil painting to express the solidness and this is why I created the painting of “Thunder God and Thunder Goddess.” The paintings of “The Beginning of the World” and “The Combination of Sun and Moon” express the legend of ancient marriage. The painting of “Thunder God and Thunder Goddess” expresses a couple fighting with each other but never get divorce. I named this painting “Good Marriage of the Thunder God and Thunder Goddess” to make fun of the legend.
Painting of the current societies
When I arrived in Paris, I drew “The Three Generations of Grandfather, Father, and Son,” presenting the hope to extend the family and also symbolizing the order in traditional Chinese family. After years, I reproduced the faces and clothes of the figures, and the new version of “The Three Generations of Grandfather, Father, and Son” is another experiment of colors and lines.
Before using the art of Buddhism to create the “Three Beauties,” I had similar creation before I started in Paris—“A Family.” However, I made some changes. “Three Beauties” is spiritual, and “A Family” is the real society. In the ancient China, a husband could have more than three wives. I have seen this kind of family, and I have heard of it even recently. I drew a strong man sitting in the middle with two women besides and two children in the women’s arms. The two women are thinking about something, and the two children are pointing at something; the strong man is sitting among them, expressing the dilemma he is facing.
In the traditional Chinese society, it is a great event when rich men hold their birthday parties. The rich family decorates the halls and hanging the paintings of gods to express the sense of good luck. In the Song Dynasty, rich people used to hang “The Painting of Fu, Lu, and So” by Ma Lin and “The Painting of Three Stars around the Man” by Sen Zi-Sou. In the Ming Dynasty, there were various versions of “The Painting of Ma Ku Celebrating Birthday.” The story of Ma Ku is familiar for many Chinese. However, I drew the “Birthday of Adults” which is different from the story of Ma Ku. The subject of my painting did not focus on the celebration of birthday, but on the contrast between weak women in the ancient time and the strong men in the current society, implying to mock the society.
In the old version of students attending schools, I thought that during the Cultural Revolution period, Mao Zedong used the Red Guards to create chaos. From a historical perspective, the Red Guards led to the collapse of Mao Zedong. In my painting “the Revenge of Children,” I represented the Red Guards as children of the ancient times in military dress. One is holding a pencil and the other one a gun, attacking Mao’s picture as if it was a counter-revolution. In addition to all those works, I have also been working on paintings mocking the current Chinese society which have not published yet.
Pursuing the perfection of Paintings
I used oil paintings to reinterpret Chinese folk and traditional paintings. Although this field is a branch of my works, I am still serious about them. By recreating the figure paintings of folk ancestors, gods, Buddha, Emperors, and Emperesses and the object paintings, I hope to represent the aesthetics and spirit of China. Some people might say these are dead people, past scenery, that there might be good things to preserve but it is not representative of our era. My answer is that the art of the Western Renaissance is primarily to represent Greek and Roman myths and the biblical stories of the New and Old Testament and extend the spirit and aesthetics of the ancient Greek. Actually, the Western classical painting history has followed this tradition. The symbolism painting in the 19th century also adopted a lot from the myths. In the 1970s and 1980s, many artists tried to recreate paintings from ancient paintings.
In the past ten years, the development of contemporary art has been flourishing. Speaking of the figurative paintings, real, naked, exposure, exaggerative, twisted, super real and dramatic art performance are prevalent. We respect the art created by these artists who give the “not beautiful” defined by the general public with aesthetics that we never know. Their attitudes might also attract our attention. However, in the world of art, outsiders, viewers, and insiders seem to have other expectations. As an artist and an insider, I express the positive spirit of the workers and working places, and also reinterpret the Chinese folk and traditional paintings, in hope that our generation can pursue the aesthetics. I hope that my work answers to the common thinking of a lot of people. My paintings aim at being joyful. The atmospheres of happiness, persistence, quietness are what I purse. Serenity is persistent and eternal.
Art should be based on the expression of art itself. And paintings should return to paintings. The representation of these old subjects – including their symbols, atmospheres, and tests – without the work of painting is in vain. I reshaped the figure of ancient painting and recreated it as contemporary art. I used the lines and colors of Chinese art and how the Western art handles the dark and bright as the auxiliary. I hope to create scenes that viewers have never seen. Since the introduction of oil paintings in China, many artists have been working on it. I believe my oil paintings on Chinese folk and traditional paintings do extend my personality. By continuously thinking and adjusting the layout of lines and colors, I pursue fullness in painting. Painting is the harmonizing of the artist and his painting, which can be reached in sublimation.
Acknowledgement
My gratitude goes to Mr. Lee Hsian-Wen and his wife who visited my workshop, leading to my Solo Oil Painting Exhibition in Lionart Galley in 1988. The exhibition attracted some people, particularly the editor of The National Palace Museum Monthly of Chinese Art, Mr. Song Long-Fei. It is a pleasure for me to have Mr. Song to review my oil paintings and published his review in the journal of Chinese art. I would like to thank Ms. Chen Li-Huei and Ms. Chen Jien-Mei from Moon Gallery in Taichung who organized the Blue Painting Exhibition in 2009 and have urged me to plan for the next exhibition. Now, I can have the exhibition of “New Interpretation of Chinese Folk and Traditional Drawings and Paintings.” Here, I want to thank the magazine “Artist” organized by Ho Zheng-Guang. I want to express my warmest gratitude to them all.