A Vivid Lesson in Chinese Painting

By He Sai, Bo Ning & Zhang Yiqiu

Photos by Song Dezhi & Cai Jun

Painters from Hubei Academy of Chinese Painting and international students with their impromptu painting各國(guó)留學(xué)生在湖北省國(guó)畫院合影留念

Chen Dihe, president of the academy, demonstrating for International students 國(guó)畫院院長(zhǎng)陳迪和向留學(xué)生示范如何繪制中國(guó)畫

SFSecond Class Second Class is an extra-curricular cultural activity organized by the Special Focus Multilingual Publishing Center for international students in China.The main purpose is to integrate resources, cooperate with colleges of international education to enhance the understanding of Chinese culture through various cultural experiences, promote cultural exchanges, and help Hubei become known to the outside world.

What is Chinese painting like? What's special about Chinese painting?

On the afternoon of December 26, 2019, more than 20 students from over 10 countries attending Central China Normal University came to the Hubei Academy of Chinese Painting (HACP) with a long list of questions, looking forward to unveiling the mystery of Chinese painting.

This time, Special Focus had its “second class” activity at the art gallery on the second floor of the HACP, where the finished works of trainees who have learned Chinese painting were on display.Big scrolls of Chinese paintings glittered and shined in the brightly lit room.As painter Liu Xiaogang explained, the students moved slowly around the works and took photos with the paintings, marveling from time to time.

“Traditional Chinese painting falls into three categories according to its content: landscape painting, figure painting, and paintings of flowers and birds.If judged by the artistic genre, there is freehand brushwork and meticulous painting.” Surrounded by international students, Mr.Chen Dihe, president of the academy, delightedly introduced different styles of Chinese painting.Some works have soft lines and a unique style； some contain majestic mountains and amazing views.The varied images and styles have sparked heated discussions.“This composition is very interesting,” commented Retselisitsoe Khitsane from Lesotho.“My perspective here is like that of the gods, I can see mountains far away and a cityscape even further.”

New Spring, an impromptu painting by Mr.Chen Dihe陳迪和院長(zhǎng)現(xiàn)場(chǎng)繪制作品《春氣圖》

SF第二課堂第二課堂是特別傳媒多語(yǔ)種出版中心為在華留學(xué)生組織的課外文化實(shí)踐活動(dòng)。主旨是整合各方資源，聯(lián)合高校國(guó)際教育學(xué)院，通過(guò)各種文化體驗(yàn)活動(dòng)，增進(jìn)留學(xué)生對(duì)中華文化的了解，促進(jìn)文化交流和湖北對(duì)外開放。

中國(guó)畫是什么樣的？中國(guó)畫有什么講究？

12月26日下午，帶著一串神秘的問(wèn)題，來(lái)自十多個(gè)國(guó)家的二十余名華中師范大學(xué)留學(xué)生來(lái)到湖北省國(guó)畫院，期待在這里一探究竟。

活動(dòng)從國(guó)畫院二樓的美術(shù)館開始。這里正展出研修班學(xué)員半年學(xué)習(xí)成果，一幅幅巨幅中國(guó)畫在明亮的燈光中，格外新穎奪目。留學(xué)生們隨著畫家劉小剛的講解移步慢品，紛紛與畫作合影留念，不時(shí)發(fā)出由衷的驚嘆。

“傳統(tǒng)國(guó)畫按內(nèi)容大致分為三種，山水畫、花鳥畫和人物畫；按藝術(shù)風(fēng)格來(lái)分，分寫意畫和工筆畫?！北涣魧W(xué)生包圍著的陳迪和院長(zhǎng)向大家介紹。畫作有的線條柔美，風(fēng)格文氣；有的高山巍巍，凜然大氣。多變的風(fēng)格和畫面引發(fā)了大家的熱烈討論?！斑@幅畫的構(gòu)圖非常有趣，”來(lái)自萊索托的何山這樣評(píng)價(jià)道，“我的視角就像神仙一樣，能看到很遠(yuǎn)的山林和更遠(yuǎn)的城市高樓?！?/p>

大家被一幅主題為小女孩伏案學(xué)習(xí)的作品《四二班日志》吸引過(guò)去，它的畫面構(gòu)思精巧而有想象力：近處的香案上煙霧繚繞；遠(yuǎn)方層巒疊翠，崇山峻嶺在云朵間時(shí)隱時(shí)現(xiàn)；天上幻化出仙境，能看到端坐的菩薩和低語(yǔ)的仙女。小女孩低著頭，在山間專注地寫字，柔和的氛圍更添一絲靜謐。大家仔細(xì)地觀察畫中的細(xì)節(jié)，紛紛上前拍照記錄，感嘆東方藝術(shù)的魅力。

為了讓留學(xué)生們更多地了解中國(guó)畫，畫院專門安排了座談會(huì)，由陳院長(zhǎng)向大家詳細(xì)講解中國(guó)畫特色：“中國(guó)畫主要工具有五種：筆、墨、宣紙、水、顏色，蘊(yùn)含著中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)文化獨(dú)特的哲學(xué)思想。”陳院長(zhǎng)把國(guó)畫和中國(guó)哲學(xué)結(jié)合起來(lái)，以此詮釋各種繪畫工具所深藏的哲理。

說(shuō)起毛筆，“毛筆由一根筆桿和千百根獸毛組成，一硬一軟、一多一少，寓變于不變，剛?cè)嵯酀?jì)，陰陽(yáng)相生。毛隨桿動(dòng)，筆法千變?nèi)f化；一筆在手，描繪出大千萬(wàn)象來(lái)?！标愒洪L(zhǎng)邊說(shuō)邊向大家展示不同筆法及效果。

提及墨，他舉著瓶子告訴大家，陽(yáng)光由赤、橙、黃、綠、青、藍(lán)、紫組成，如果把這七種顏色混和起來(lái)，就是黑色。所以，中國(guó)畫的墨與水相和后，可以分為無(wú)數(shù)層級(jí)，具有無(wú)比豐富的表現(xiàn)力。

“一般的繪畫是用眼睛觀察某個(gè)物體，再用工具描繪。中國(guó)畫不描繪具體物體，而是將景物內(nèi)化于心，融入天道與人道兩個(gè)方面的規(guī)律，再創(chuàng)作。天道即自然規(guī)律，人道是為人的規(guī)矩和社會(huì)規(guī)律?！?/p>

“中國(guó)畫只能用黑色的顏料嗎？”來(lái)自斯里蘭卡的安吉娜用流利的中文問(wèn)道。

International students taking photos of their favorite paintings留學(xué)生拍下喜愛的國(guó)畫作品

The international students were attracted to the paintingLog of Class 2 Grade 4, in which a young girl is studying at her desk.The painting is delicate and imaginative: smoke from the incense burner on the altar table is vaguely fainting nearby； green mountains loom through the clouds far away.The sky is transformed into a fairyland where sitting bodhisattvas and whispering nymphs can be seen.The little girl lowers her head and writes intently somewhere in the mountains, which adds a sense of serenity to the soft atmosphere.The visiting students carefully observed the details in the painting, went forward for photos, and were moved by the charm of oriental art.

In the later symposium, Mr.Chen explained the characteristics of Chinese painting in details: “Five main tools are commonly used in Chinese painting, that is, brush, ink, xuan paper, water, and color.” Mr.Chen then combined traditional Chinese painting with Chinese philosophy to explain the hidden truth of the painting tools.

Speaking of the brush, “The brush is made up of a pen holder and hundreds of animal hairs.One end is hard and the other is soft.One is single and the other is plural.The hair moves with the holder, and the brushwork changes constantly.With one brush, I can paint everything.” He said while showing different brushwork and their effects.

Speaking of ink, he held up a bottle and told everyone that ink color, like sunlight, consists of red, orange, yellow, green, brown, blue, and purple—if you mix them up you will get black.Therefore, the mix of ink and water can yield countless layers with extremely rich expressiveness.

“When painting, it is quite normal to observe one object with your eyes and then paint it with some tools.However, Chinese paintings do not depict specific objects, instead, you need to internalize what you see in your heart, into the Dao of nature and the Dao of humanity, before you compose a picture.The Dao of nature means natural laws.The Dao of humanity covers the nature of humans and the laws of society.”

“國(guó)畫色彩通常點(diǎn)到為止，它可以有很多顏色，但畫家通常用得不多。我一般是用三種顏色，用得多的也不會(huì)超過(guò)四五種，有時(shí)候一種就夠了?！标愒洪L(zhǎng)解釋道。

來(lái)自印度的孟妮緊接著問(wèn)：“現(xiàn)代的中國(guó)畫與傳統(tǒng)的中國(guó)畫是一樣的嗎？”

國(guó)畫院專業(yè)畫家胡智勇教授介紹說(shuō)：“中國(guó)畫是一脈相承的。無(wú)論哪個(gè)朝代，國(guó)畫都是主流，只不過(guò)各個(gè)朝代的畫有各個(gè)朝代的烙印。因?yàn)樗囆g(shù)是時(shí)代的文化，它總是在繼承和創(chuàng)新中反映時(shí)代?！?/p>

Students trying Chinese painting 留學(xué)生紛紛提筆嘗試?yán)L中國(guó)畫

來(lái)自孟加拉的易卜甚至問(wèn)了一個(gè)十分尖銳的問(wèn)題：“中國(guó)畫這么出名，為什么現(xiàn)在很多人都去學(xué)西方的油畫呢？”

陳院長(zhǎng)說(shuō)：“鴉片戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)以來(lái)的100 多年，中國(guó)經(jīng)歷了一個(gè)特殊時(shí)期。西方油畫也就是在這個(gè)時(shí)期進(jìn)入中國(guó)，崇尚者不少，但這并不意味著中國(guó)畫被冷落。相反，中國(guó)畫同樣備受世界藝術(shù)愛好者的喜愛，對(duì)中國(guó)畫的收藏一直是一大熱門。很多世界級(jí)的博物館都收藏有中國(guó)歷代名畫。中國(guó)文化是包容的，中國(guó)藝術(shù)也是包容的。世界藝術(shù)是個(gè)大家庭，藝術(shù)愛好者自然有自己的審美取向。喜歡油畫也好，喜歡中國(guó)畫也好，江山代有人才出，層出不窮的藝術(shù)人才必將為中國(guó)的未來(lái)創(chuàng)造出一個(gè)色彩繽紛的藝術(shù)大家庭來(lái)?！?/p>

一番了解后，大家對(duì)親手創(chuàng)作中國(guó)畫躍躍欲試。留學(xué)生們紛紛操起毛筆，模仿著陳院長(zhǎng)的筆法在宣紙上勾畫起來(lái)，在場(chǎng)的中國(guó)畫家老師們也耐心指點(diǎn)起留學(xué)生，時(shí)不時(shí)還親自提筆示范。

白紙上的內(nèi)容漸漸豐富起來(lái)，留學(xué)生們畫出了角落里的小孩、肅穆的男人側(cè)面像、枝頭停歇的小鳥、山林里升起炊煙的小屋、別具情趣的涂鴉大雜燴……體現(xiàn)留學(xué)生對(duì)中國(guó)畫元素的模仿，融合了他們各自的文化背景。

易卜是專業(yè)學(xué)習(xí)油畫的，他即興繪制了一枝綻放的梅花，得到了畫家們的贊賞。這也正好說(shuō)明，雖然技法有所不同，藝術(shù)的底色是相通的。

學(xué)生們興奮地和畫家們交流，一撥撥在畫前合影留念，意猶未盡。許多學(xué)生表示，這是第一次進(jìn)入專業(yè)殿堂進(jìn)行繪畫交流和親身實(shí)踐，如果有機(jī)會(huì)，希望能更深入地學(xué)習(xí)和了解中國(guó)畫。

寫意悠遠(yuǎn)的畫作、詳實(shí)獨(dú)到的講解、新奇有趣的嘗試給大家留下了深刻的印象。今天，中國(guó)畫以他的獨(dú)特魅力收獲來(lái)自世界各地的粉絲。

中國(guó)畫的一個(gè)重要流派——荊楚畫派，既有悠遠(yuǎn)的荊楚文化淵源，也有深厚的歷史底蘊(yùn)。以藝術(shù)作為連接?xùn)|西方文化的橋梁，所有在場(chǎng)的留學(xué)生對(duì)于中國(guó)畫這一中國(guó)優(yōu)秀傳統(tǒng)文化有了更深入的理解。

Mr.Chen Dihe illustrating the art of Chinese painting to the students陳迪和院長(zhǎng)為留學(xué)生講解國(guó)畫藝術(shù)

Monika Sethuraman from India raising a question to the painters印度學(xué)生孟妮現(xiàn)場(chǎng)提問(wèn)

“Do traditional Chinese paintings only adopt black color?” Asked J.A.Anjula Keshani, from Sri Lanka, in fluent Chinese.

“There is usually not much color in traditional Chinese painting.It could have many colors, but normally Chinese painters do not use that many.I usually use three colors, and no more than four or five.Sometimes one color is enough.” Mr.Chen explained.

Monika Sethuraman from India then asked, “Is modern Chinese painting the same as traditional Chinese painting?”

Professor Hu Zhiyong, a professional painter from the academy, answered: “The inner spirit of Chinese painting is the same.No matter in which dynasty, Chinese painting has been the dominating art genre, but the paintings of each dynasty have their own features.Art is the culture of the times, which always reflects the times in its inheritance and innovation.”

Ibrahim MD, from Bangladesh, even raised a quite surprising question: “Chinese painting is so famous, but why there are so many people learning Western oil painting now?”

“Over the past centuries since the Opium Wars, China has experienced a special historical period,” Chen said.“This is when Western oil painting entered China and attracted many admirers, but it does not mean that Chinese painting was ignored.On the contrary, Chinese painting is also admired by art lovers all around the world, and collections of Chinese paintings have always been a big hit in museums.Many worldclass museums have collections of famous Chinese paintings.Chinese culture is inclusive, and so is Chinese art.Global art is a big family, and art lovers naturally have their own aesthetic orientation and preference.Whether you like oil painting or Chinese painting, there are talented people from different generations and countries.This will surely create a colorful art family for the future of China.”

After the discussion, the students were all eager to try their hand at Chinese painting themselves.The international students took the brush, imitating Mr.Chen's brushwork and sketching on the xuan paper fixed on the wall.Some other Chinese painters in attendance also gave them some advice, and demonstrated proper techniques.The pieces of blank paper gradually became full and enriched by the attempts of the students.There were children, a solemn profile of a man, a few birds resting on branches, a cottage in the forest with a rising smoke, and some interesting calligraphy in their paintings.All these reflected their initial imitation of Chinese painting, with a blend of their own cultural backgrounds.

Ibrahim has majored in oil painting for years.He improvised a blooming plum blossom, which was much appreciated by the painters.It just showed that one form of art interlinks with others even with different methods.

The students were excited to talk with painters and took a group photo in front of the paintings.Many students said that this was the first time they had had the opportunity for hands-on Chinese painting practice.They hoped to learn Chinese painting more deeply another time.

They were impressed by the amazing works, detailed explanations, and interesting attempts.During this event, Chinese painting gained new fans in those international students.

Jingchu Painting School, an important school of Chinese painting, has long been associated with Hubei culture and has profound historical heritage in the region.With art as a bridge linking Eastern and Western cultures, all students present gained a deeper understanding of Chinese painting, an excellent symbol of traditional Chinese culture.

Students taking a selfie in front of the painting Log of Class 2 Grade 4留學(xué)生們?cè)谧髌贰端亩嗳罩尽非芭恼樟裟?/p>