Illustration Book: Gao Shi Zun Paints Roosters

Author: Gao Shizun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: "When the rooster crows, the world becomes bright," the rooster is majestic and colorful, while the hen often accompanies it and stays close to the chicks. People raise and love chickens, and the painter also loves to depict chickens, giving them humanistic connotations: the chicken is one of the twelve zodiac signs and a symbol of auspiciousness, such as "the golden rooster heralds dawn," "big rooster (jí) brings great fortune," and "rooster crowing signifies wealth." Ancients also used the chicken to symbolize the five virtues of literature, martial arts, courage, benevolence, and trustworthiness. In China, there have been many skilled chicken painters throughout history, such as Tang Bohu, Li Fuchang, Qi Baishi, Xu Beihong, Chen Dayu, and Wang Xue. The theme of chickens is particularly suitable for expressing the brushwork and paper qualities of Chinese painting, especially for showcasing the fluidity of brushwork in freehand painting. Through painting chickens, one can practice brush techniques and improve their ability to shape. Learning to paint chickens can start with copying, through which one can learn how predecessors observed, wrote, selected, transformed, and exaggerated the natural chicken to create painted chickens. Furthermore, one must personally observe nature, feel society, and reflect on the times to create an artistic language rich in contemporary and individuality, truly mastering the skill of painting chickens.