Afro-Asian Art Traces

Author: Hua Fei
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-12-01
Features: At the age of over seventy, Hua Fei is a renowned seal carver, calligrapher, painter, and ceramic artist in Tianjin. He is also an accomplished collector, appraiser, and researcher of cultural relics. His collection is extremely diverse, encompassing calligraphy and paintings, seals, ceramics, ancient zithers, ancient books, steles and rubbings, stationery, insect-related artifacts, clay molds, and tile eaves, nearly covering all traditional Chinese collecting fields. His collection has attracted attention both domestically and internationally, with media coverage in Taiwan and Singapore. On June 15, 2005, Hong Kong's Dai Guang Bao published a full-color, full-page feature on his collecting achievements. Hua Fei has three major characteristics in his collecting: a large quantity, high quality, and significant. He has collected over 300 rare books and steles from the Ming and Qing dynasties. His collection includes multiple works by Guo Moruo, Mao Dun, and Zhao Puchu, each with more than one piece; dozens of artworks by Hua Shi-kui, Deng Sanmu, and Ning Fu-cheng; over 50 calligraphy works by Wu Yu-ru; and over 100 paintings by Liang Qi. One of his collected Song Dynasty zithers was purchased during the Cultural Revolution by squeezing money from the family's monthly living expenses, and its value is now considerable. A Qing Dynasty "Man Sheng Teapot" in his collection represents the highest level of purple clay culture. Based on his collection, he wrote the book Ancient Chinese Tile Eaves, published in 1983 by the People's Fine Arts Publishing House, which is the first academic monograph in China to systematically elaborate on the history and forms of tile eaves. He also compiled the book Clay Mold Art, published in 1986 by the Yangliuqing Fine Arts Publishing House, filling the gap in the documentation of clay mold patterns that circulated in Hebei Xincheng. In his efforts to collect, protect, and organize national cultural heritage, Hua Fei devoted himself wholeheartedly, even at the expense of his own comfort. His close friend, the renowned Tianjin collector Zhang Zhong, once wrote an article recalling: "About twenty years ago, as the winter ended and spring returned, the painter Hua Fei suddenly dropped by my humble home. I saw him carrying a bundle of old newspapers wrapped around something. He said he had bought hundreds of yuan's worth of hanging money and window paper designs, which were the paper-cut works wrapped in the newspapers. At that time, it was the early days of reform and opening up, and Chinese culture had just shed the 'Four Olds' label. Hua was delighted to see these folk handicrafts and felt as if he had heard the music of Shao Xiang, so he collected a large batch. The cost at the time was also considerable." However, Hua Fei did not treat these precious collections as private property. He donated Liang Qichao's calligraphy works to the Tianjin Liang Qichao Memorial Hall and provided artifacts related to Li Shu-tong for public display by relevant organizations, earning widespread respect from the collecting community. Ultimately, Hua Fei's collecting serves his artistic creation. From his collection, he draws inspiration from the calligraphy and paintings of ancient masters, learns from their ceramic designs, innovates, and shapes his own style. Even from his fish-themed works, such as the porcelain sculpture Long Yi Zi Sun, the clay art wall hanging fish vase, the finger painting Caiping Eight Great Mountains Fish, the Chinese painting Purple Belt Gold Seal, Fish Joy in Peace, Autumn Lotus Floating Brocade, as well as his seals, one can see the breadth and depth of this versatile artist's collecting spirit and comprehensive expertise. Hua Fei's Artistic Footprints is a three-volume work, consisting of the Calligraphy and Painting Volume, Seal Carving and Ceramics Volume, and Treasures and Artistic Writings Volume. It includes Hua Fei's lifetime creations in calligraphy, painting, seal carving, ceramics, and collected art treasures, as well as his major written works. The book is beautifully designed, rich in illustrations, and is suitable for art lovers to study and collect.