Recently, some notes on the building

Author: Yang Mingyi
Publisher:
Publishing Date: Not available
Features: The Cultural Revolution began, and the revolutionary storm arrived fiercely. The "Four Olds" were to be destroyed, sweeping away all devils and monsters. For someone born into a small business owner family of the exploiting class, I couldn’t help but feel nervous and fearful. The so-called "Four Olds" that were supposed to be destroyed were actually things I deeply cherished in my heart. From Tang and Song poetry to Western novels, as well as the illustrations I had painstakingly cut and collected from newspapers and magazines that depicted "feudalism, capitalism, and revisionism," along with a few scrolls of calligraphy and painting passed down in the family, and art books bought by saving every penny—these were scattered and hidden here and there. But they still couldn’t escape the sharp eyes of the Red Guards who came to raid our home. A full yellow fish cart of books and art books was dragged away to be sealed. Fortunately, a few beloved scrolls were hidden by my mother under the bed, becoming lucky survivors.
The armed struggle began, and with nothing to do, I could only hide on the small rooftop of our house, feeling lost. At night, sporadic gunshots and slogans often echoed. One late night in July, I was woken again by gunshots. But when I opened my eyes, I was struck by the bright, slender moonlight filling the room, and I was instantly moved. I got up in the dark and fetched my painting tools and paper, using ink to paint a picture titled "Moonlight." The next day, my father, who slept in the room next to mine, asked, "What were you doing half the night? Why was there so much noise?" I said, "I was painting." "How come you didn’t turn on the light when you were painting?" My father grew suspicious. You see, if I had turned on the light, it would have chased away this bright moonlight filling the room. The moonlight had made me forget everything around me for a moment, allowing me to immerse myself in the unique artistic realm of the late night.
Later, I left the small rooftop in Maligong Road and moved to a new home. I hung this "Moonlight" painting in the reception room of my new home, forever preserving a wonderful night on the rooftop during the Cultural Revolution.
I enjoy painting sketches and have been influenced by the styles of painters Ye Qianyu and Huang Zhu. However, what truly moved me was the figure sketches of Yu Feng. In the early 1960s, both Ye Qianyu and Huang Zhu were criticized and downgraded during the Cultural Revolution, and one of the most serious accusations against them was being a "counter-revolutionary black guard" of the "Second Flow Hall."
After the Cultural Revolution ended and the sky cleared, in 1979, Yu Feng came to Suzhou with her brother from the United States and his blonde, blue-eyed sister-in-law for a tour. Myself and Elder Gong happily accompanied them for several days. Yu Feng came to my home to see my works—sketches of figures and landscapes—and she was very encouraging and praising. She asked her brother to take many reversal films of my works. Perhaps this is because we both share a special affection for the Jiangnan hometown depicted in the paintings.
Later, when I went to Beijing for further studies, I had more opportunities to meet and seek advice from her. Once, during a class on human figure sketching at our training program...