Fan Niu Cang Tang: Tian Yuan Calligraphy and Painting Collection

Author: Zhang Xichang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-12-01
Features: The Fan Niutang Collection houses Tian Yuan's four exquisite arts—calligraphy, painting, calligraphic seals, and prints—with 150 original works of art, books, and seals on display, as well as 102 ox-shaped handicrafts collected throughout his life, including pottery, porcelain, jade, ivory, bronze, wood carvings, and stone carvings. These are the crystallization of Tian Yuan's life's work and are of immense value. Now, Southeast University has published a photolithographic book of these exhibits, a cause for celebration. One of Tian Yuan's major artistic characteristics is the combination of classical content with popular form. This contradiction is harmoniously resolved in his 80-year artistic life. Popular forms are naturally appealing to the masses, while classical content embodies a noble national sentiment and a humorous spiritual influence. Tian Yuan's life has been one of steady progress, step by step, driven by a pragmatic optimism. His hopes have been realized one after another, with the establishment of Fan Niutang being one major success and the publication of the exhibition pieces being another. His glowing hope motivates him to "keep the ox moving" in cultivating the fertile ground of life and art. Tian Yuan is prolific—before the Cultural Revolution, he published nearly 10,000 works of calligraphy and painting, and after the Cultural Revolution, he has published over 70 books of calligraphy, painting, and essays. He does not publish books for the sake of publishing them; he publishes them to promote the value of life and national culture. Therefore, the depth of this book's content is truly profound.