Why can Qi Baishi become a master of Chinese painting? How powerful are self-taught people?

In the history of modern painters in China, this master went to the world by self-study and has never been surpassed. Later, he was awarded the title of "People's Artist" by the Central Ministry of Culture. His success is not accidental, but inevitable

He is Qi Baishi.

At the age of 60, in order to draw the shrimp in his pen, Qi Baishi actually raised shrimp in his room and started the project of painting shrimp without leaving home. The compulsory course every day is to observe and copy, repeat, and sometimes sketch to the point of forgetting to eat and sleep.

After continuous efforts, Qi Baishi's "Shrimp" finally left a rich and colorful stroke in the history of painting. Such an extraordinary lifelong learning master, he embarked on the road to success by self-study. Before the age of 40, he had never been out of Hunan. As a child of an ordinary family, he became a master of Chinese painting.

0 1

65438+65438 0864+ 1 October, a farmer in Baishipu, Xiangtan, Hunan Province, was much more lively than usual, because on this day, a chubby child was born in Baishipu. This man is Qi Baishi, a famous painter at home and abroad and a celebrity in Xiangtan, Hunan.

Qi Baishi was originally named Qi Chunzhi. When I was young, Chunzhi was very clever. Grandma often teaches him to sing children's songs, and he can recite them just a few times.

At the age of 6, grandpa sent him to a private school to study, and took him home every day, rain or shine. Grandpa attaches importance to education and respects the practices of scholars. Koharu Branch is smart and studious, and often learns to forget the time to go home at school. Grandpa is very happy to see him working so hard.

After studying in a private school for less than a year, 14-year-old Qi Chunzhi dropped out of school because of poor family conditions. His family hopes that he can learn a trade and have a skill to support himself.

It happened that a carpenter's relative visited this day. In a small talk, the young Qi Chunzhi became an apprentice to a carpenter. Master carpenter has a bad temper and is always cursing and hitting people. Once Qi Chunzhi and the carpenter master went out to catch up with the work. Chunzhi was dismissed because he couldn't move the stake and was laughed at by the master.

Qi Chunzhi's second master is also a carpenter, but one of his characteristics is that he pays special attention to saving costs for all materials, which is "cherishing" in the words of the master.

Until one time, after the master and apprentice went out to work, they met four people on their way home, all of whom were masters of small crops. Qi Chunzhi's master was very polite to the four men, which made Qi Chunzhi wonder and asked the master why.

It turns out that gadgets are small pieces of furniture, and they are exquisite and delicate, such as carving. Qi Chunzhi also found that gadgets have high wages and high status. At this time, Qi Chunzhi also sprouted an apprentice who made gadgets, so Qi Chunzhi embarked on the road of wood carving again.

The turning point of Qi Chunzhi's life was that after learning wood carving well, he once went with his master to make a dowry sculpture for Cai's family. The main family conditions are both beautiful and long-faced.

The Chua family is a big family in the local area, with a scholarly family. In order to meet the requirements, Qi Baishi finally took the initiative to ask the Cai family if there were any samples for reference.

In this way, "Mustard Seed Garden" entered Qi Baishi's life, that is, this book also changed the fate of Qi Baishi's life.

Qi Chunzhi, a 26-year-old, has taught herself to paint by studying Mustard Garden with her eyes and dexterous hands, and is still famous in the local area. At the age of 27, Qi Baishi officially joined Hu Qinyuan as a teacher and began to embark on the road of painting. Hu Qinyuan arranged a culture teacher for him and led him into the circle of intellectuals and artists.

Since then, the young carpenter has embarked on a bright road, and more possibilities of life are extending a friendly little hand to him, opening the foundation for him to become a world-renowned artist in the future.

Qi Baishi's mental journey from carpenter to painter tells us that "a person must rely on perseverance, perseverance, persistence and hard work to do one thing." Nothing is difficult in the world, I am afraid that there is a will. "

Qi Baishi is very famous in the local area. He never left Hunan before he was 40 years old. Until the age of 40, with the encouragement of his fellow villagers, he finally went to a wider world, met the great rivers and mountains of the motherland, visited old friends, made new friends, and enriched his knowledge and horizons with poetry and painting as the spiritual direction.

During his travels around the world, Qi Baishi saw the original works of many famous literati. Through constant appreciation, evaluation and copying, he gradually changed the direction of painting with complicated styles in the past and turned his attention to the famous literati painters in China.

Through the accumulated experience and skills in recent years, Qi Baishi has finally changed from a folk painter to a real literati painter.

02

19 19 is Qi Baishi's third visit to Beijing. It's a pity that no one here cares about his paintings. Even reduced to the point where his painting can't even change a cabbage. It's hard to feed yourself by painting here. In order to survive in Beijing, Qi Baishi changed his direction and took out seal cutting work to set up a stall.

Speaking of seal cutting, I have to tell the story that Qi Baishi learned seal cutting when he was young. Qi Baishi painted in a large family in Hunan and met a seal engraver from Changsha, who is said to be the most famous seal engraver in Changsha. To this end, Qi Baishi also prepared money and stones to find the master to engrave the seal.

Because the sculptor's business is too hot, he often has to wait in long lines. Qi Baishi waited patiently for several days and finally met the sculptor. He thought his seal was engraved. I didn't expect the master to let him take it back and smooth it. After grinding for a few days, he gave it to the sculptor. I didn't expect the other party to say that the stone had not been polished. At this time, Qi Baishi realized that the other party even disdained carpenters and painters, so he deliberately embarrassed himself!

Qi Baishi, who understands, is very sad. In a rage, he went home and took a knife and carved it himself. From then on, he made up his mind to learn seal cutting well. After the "lettering refused" incident, Qi Baishi really has a spirit of grinding an iron pestle into a needle, not afraid of hardship and fatigue.

The teacher who taught Qi Baishi to learn seal cutting is very humorous. He said to Qi Baishi, "Go to the back hill and pick a stone to carve at home, and then try to carve a few snack boxes, and it will be carved!" Although it's just a joke, the truth in this sentence is actually who makes perfection.

Qi Baishi carved more than 3,000 words in his life. They are all carved and grinded. While learning to carve, he shouted "diligence", which was both encouraging and urging himself. It can be seen that his serious attitude towards things is also a portrayal of his paintings!

When Qi Baishi first came to Beijing, he suffered the most cold eyes and ridicule in his life. Due to the surprise of regional culture, Beijingers just can't appreciate his paintings. The nutrition of his paintings mainly comes from three aspects.

First, he was born and raised in the countryside, which is a natural and sincere place in his paintings.

Secondly, the literati painters he made introduced him to the world of painting.

Third, the influence of the ancients, through learning to describe the paintings of the ancients to innovate their own painting skills.

Qi Baishi has his own set of copying methods, mainly in three ways, namely, front copy, back copy and front copy three times. In a strange and turbulent Beijing, with these perseverance, Qi Baishi gradually changed from a small painter to a famous painter.

1In the winter of 926, Qi Baishi bought a quadrangle in Beijing's cross-car hutong for 2000 yuan from a eunuch in the former Qing Dynasty. Since then, I finally have my own home in Beijing.

At 57, Qi Baishi went to Beijing for the third time. Here, he took a girl of 18 years old, Hu Baozhu, to support a large family in Beijing and a large family in his hometown in Hunan.

It is in this extremely embarrassing situation that Qi Baishi came up with the theory of "similarity and dissimilarity", which is the impulse to change the painting method. Qi Baishi emphasized that painting should be between "likeness and dissimilarity". It is vulgar to pursue too much, and it is not a painting if it is not like it.

This summary runs through Qi Baishi's long creative career and his cognition of painting spirit.

Encouraged by Chen Shiceng, Qi Baishi was not confined to his past painting habits, that is, after he was 60 years old, he formed his own style.

03

If Hu Qinyuan and Chen Shiceng are Qi Baishi's teachers and friends, then Xu Beihong who appeared in 1928 is undoubtedly his noble person.

Xu Beihong is keenly aware that Qi Baishi is a mountain on the road of China painting development.

It is precisely because Qi Baishi has no orthodox education, no prejudice and dares to challenge and change that he has found his own artistic world in the new era.

Xu Beihong hired Qi Baishi as an art professor twice. During his teaching in the university, Xu Beihong treated him with great respect and special treatment.

193 1 year Japan invaded China, 1937 Beijing was occupied by Japanese troops. At that time, the Japanese were bullying and doing evil in Beijing.

After learning of Qi Baishi's status and fame, the Japanese invited Qi Baishi to paint for Japan, and also repeatedly asked traitors to lobby. Qi Baishi is arrogant and unmoved.

However, the Japanese had to imprison Qi Baishi by force, forcing him to submit to the end, and because of Qi Baishi's status and reputation, they had to go away.

1948 Qi Baishi intended to leave Beijing, but was dissuaded by the visiting Xu Beihong couple and stayed. From 65438 to 0953, after being elected as the chairman of the first Council of China Artists Association, Qi Baishi also served as a deputy to the National People's Congress. On Qi Baishi's 93rd birthday, his gift was awarded the honorary title of "People's Artist" by the Ministry of Culture.

What a person insists on in difficulties must be what he loves. Qi Baishi pursued art, beauty and perfection all his life.

This is also the reason why Qi Baishi can change from a carpenter to a master of Chinese painting. His paintings always maintain the innocence of children. As a university professor said, "innocence can avoid greasy, kindness can ward off evil spirits." We can learn from Mr. Baishi. If we want to express our creations sincerely, we must really love them and regard them as a part of our lives, thus extending our lives to our works. With a pair of eyes that are good at observing, a pair of eyes and hearts that discover beauty, and hard-working hands, we will certainly be able to reach the realm of self-study of Qi Lao!