PLACE FOR PAPER TREASURES
The Palace Museum’s Hall of Literary Glory reopens with a comprehensive exhibition of the works of Wu Changshuo. Wang Kaihao reports.
First built in 1420, the Hall of Literary Glory (Wenhua Dian) in the Palace Museum in Beijing, China’s former royal palace, also known as the Forbidden City, used to house myriad books during the imperial age.
It was also where emperors of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties reviewed imperial examinations.
In recent years, the hall has been used to present porcelain artifacts before a brief closure.
However, since it reopened to the public on Sunday, the hall will better live up its grandiose name, as the space will now house the museum’s abundant paper treasures — ancient Chinese paintings and calligraphy.
Perhaps an exhibition of works by painting guru, Wu Changshuo (1844-1927), is the perfect way to inaugurate this new era of the hall as he, too, initiated a new era.
About 100 of his works, which were selected from the collection of the Palace Museum, will be displayed for Iron Pens Grow Flowers: Exhibition of Wu Changshuo’s Works, which will run through July 15.
It almost makes for a perfect summer exhibition as the painted flowers make it like a garden on paper.
According to Nie Hui, a researcher of painting and calligraphy at the museum, auspicious flowers are the most recognizable theme in Wu’s paintings.
“Each flower represents a spirit,” Nie says. “He skilfully mixes a common aesthetic with a literati’s taste through the flowers.”
For example, his paintings range from those of plum blossom and orchids — typically embodying the spirit of the Chinese literati — to peonies and wisterias, which are widely favored by the general public.
“Wu is among the peak of Chinese literati painters and the brightest star in recent Chinese painting history,” Nie says.
“Later, people had overwhelming praise for him. It’s just like the flowering world under his paintbrush: It’s a rain of blossoms, and the falling petals are of riotous profusion.”
According to Ren Wanping, deputy director of the museum, who curated the exhibition, some sections are designed for the exhibition to not only display a panoramic review of Wu’s lifetime achievements but also to explore how his artistic styles formed.
In one section, Wu’s paintings are juxtaposed with some ancient painters’ works to trace the origin of his inspirations.
Xu Wei, a Ming Dynasty artist famed for his bird-and-flower paintings, and Zhu Da, an early Qing Dynasty painter better known for his pseudonym Bada Shanren, are among the predecessors who influenced Wu.
“However, unlike the cynical Bada Shanren, Wu treated the real world with a more openminded attitude, and was thus more down-to-earth,” Ren says.
Some of the displayed work proves Wu to be a man who not only observed life, but also fully understood how to enjoy it.
A highlighted scroll painting, A Peach Banquet with an Alcohol Jar, depicts big peaches — in a luster of red colors — with a jar of liquor. In Chinese, both peaches and alcohol are cultural symbols indicating longevity.
“The sharp contrast also mixes traditional folklore and a literati’s philosophical thinking,” Ren says. “It’s not flamboyant, but it touches people’s heart.”
In another scroll painting, Precious Fruits, Wu continues to use sharp contrasts of colors.
“Each fruit in the painting seems like it is edible,” Ren says. “And the words Wu left by the fruit also show he is very knowledgeable about his subject.”
The words to which Ren refers describes characteristics of each fruit, as well as how they taste and where they are produced.
Another section of the exhibits highlights Wu’s influence on the next generation of painters, by displaying masterpieces by followers of Wu, Qi Baishi (1864-1957) and Chen Banding (1876-1970), who became icons of Chinese artistic history in their own right.
Some of Wu’s manuscripts, which were borrowed from the Beijing Fine Art Academy, are also on display to illustrate his recommendations to younger artists, including a handwritten price tag for Qi’s work.
Compared with Wu, who is greatly admired within art circles, Qi, who’s more of a household name, is more widely recognized by the general public in modern China.
However, a humble Qi once said that he only wanted to be the guard dog of three people after reincarnation: Xu Wei, Bada Shanren and Wu.
According to Mao Xiangyu, a researcher of painting history at the Palace Museum, Wu frequently communicated with other artists.
“He was often invited to paint or write calligraphy for friends,” Mao says. “Some works are a reflection of his friendship with other artists.”
Other artists also gave him gifts. For instance, two portraits of Wu at the exhibition — one portraying him in a casual and half-naked lounging posture and one of him wearing a Qing Dynasty official’s robe — were drawn by his tutor and friend Ren Bonian. The two pieces are on loan from the Zhejiang Museum in Hangzhou.
“Other than his excellent skills, Wu’s great reputation and high status in art history are also partially due to such communication with fellow artists,” Mao says.
Ren Wanping adds: “Wu lived in a pivotal time when China made the transition from a traditional to a modern society.”
Therefore, he simultaneously inherited old traditions as well as adopting the spirit of the age.
An independent section of the exhibition also focuses on Wu’s calligraphy and seal-cutting work, which may remind people of an easily forgotten fact: Wu only began to learn painting in his 40s. Before that, he was an established calligrapher.
In one displayed piece, Wu mixes a rubbing of bronze cauldrons, calligraphy and paintings of flowers, which shows his versatility.
“Wu mixes calligraphy techniques into his paintings later on,” Nie notes. “It’s one of the things that give his painting new life.”
According to Shan Jixiang, director of the Palace Museum, much work has been done for the opening of the Hall of Literary Glory as a gallery for ancient paintings.
The original ceilings and floors of the ancient building were kept to maintain a harmony between exhibits and the environment, but extra facilities, including lighting and temperature-control systems, were also added in a “reversible way.”
He also reveals that all of the museum’s major exhibition spaces will be redesigned or renovated within the next three years.