Rongbaozhai Huapu. 165, Landscape Section: Landscape Section

Author: Dong Shouping
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-05-01
Features: A renowned contemporary painter and calligrapher. Originally named Dong Kui, he later changed his name to Shouping. Born in Du Shu Village, Hongtong County, Shanxi Province. He came from a family of poets and scholars. His great-grandfather, Dong Jitang, was a famous calligrapher in the mid-Qing Dynasty, and his grandfather, Dong Zhihuan, was a Hanlin scholar of the Qing Dynasty, renowned for his poetry and calligraphy. The Dong family collected a vast amount of cultural relics and paintings, which were famous throughout the country. Influenced by his family from an early age, he developed a love for painting and calligraphy. He particularly admired the character of Yuan Shouping, a painter from the early Qing Dynasty, and thus changed his name to Shouping. At the age of 16, Dong Shouping entered the Beijing International Language School, later transferring to the Department of Economics at Tianjin Nankai University. In 1926, he graduated from Beijing Dongfang University and settled in Beijing in 1928. He began selling paintings for a living in 1931 and moved his family to Xi'an in 1938, later relocating to Chengdu. There, he was recognized and praised by Lin Shanru, a literary giant of Sichuan, who helped promote his reputation and organized his first solo exhibition in Chengdu. In 1939, he moved to Yu Lei Pass in Guanxian, Sichuan, where he lived for 12 years. In 1941, he donated the proceeds from his exhibitions to support the war effort. After the liberation, in 1950, Dong Shouping returned to Beijing and worked as an editor at Rongbaozhai. In 1952, he donated all his collected books to the Shanxi Provincial Museum. He then traveled to various parts of China, continuously creating art. In 1979, he went to Japan as an advisor to Rongbaozhai and lectured at Tokyo University of the Arts, demonstrating painting techniques. He is currently a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a council member of the China Calligraphers Association, and the honorary president of the Beijing Chinese Painting Research Association. In 1979, Renmin Fine Arts Publishing House published "Dong Shouping Painting Anthology."
Dong Shouping excels in painting plum blossoms and bamboos. His red plum blossoms in cinnabar are considered a masterful technique. His plum blossoms are complex yet simple, simple yet complex, orderly in complexity and logical in simplicity. When painting bamboo, his brushwork is concise yet vigorous, with an elegant and lofty composition, executed with the precision of calligraphy, embodying a profound and ancient charm. His ink pines are full of vitality, with vigorous brushwork and a balance between complexity and simplicity. His landscape paintings often feature the extraordinary peaks and ancient pines of Huangshan Mountain. He does not the literal resemblance of the peaks and rocks but seeks the unity of the entire composition's artistic spirit. This is why Dong Shouping is affectionately known in the art world as the "Dong Plum," "Shouping Bamboo," and the "Giant of Huangshan."
Dong Shouping possesses comprehensive skills and profound cultivation, making him a master of Chinese painting. His style is vigorous and ancient yet fresh and elegant, inheriting the fine traditions of Chinese painting while innovating. His brushwork is lively and natural, inspired by the laws of nature, starting with sketches and enriched with artistic generalization. He seeks both resemblance and spiritual essence, placing greater emphasis on expressing the spirit of his subjects. The saying goes, "To have a fully formed bamboo in one's mind before painting," and Dong Shouping has his own unique interpretation. He believes that at the beginning of creation, one looks at a blank sheet of paper with a preconceived layout in mind—this is "to have a fully formed bamboo in one's mind." However, once the brush touches the paper, the artist should "have no fully formed bamboo in mind." From then on, one should guide the flow naturally, unrestrained by preconceived ideas, and freely express the inner meaning, completing the work in one breath.
Since his youth, Dong Shouping has developed the habit of studying half a day and painting half a day. He is well-read and possesses extensive knowledge, adept at combining the profound and vast artistic system of ancient China with modern expressive techniques. His paintings not only embody the poetic essence of painting but also the scholarly temperament of literati, with compositions rich in philosophical thought. He has also mastered the extraordinary skill of hanging calligraphy, which is highly regarded by artists both at home and abroad.