Introduction
Feng Zikai (1898.11.9-1975.9.15), formerly known as Fengrun, also known as Fengren, was a native of Shimen Town, Tongxiang, Zhejiang, and named Ren, also known as Yingxing. my country's modern famous painter, writer, art and music educator, translator, is a literary and art master with many achievements. After liberation, he served as executive director of the Chinese Artists Association, chairman of the Shanghai Branch of the Artists Association, president of the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy, and vice president of the Shanghai Foreign Culture Association. It is praised by international friends as "the most artist-like art in modern China". Feng Zikai's unique comic works have a great influence and are deeply loved by people. His works are profound and thought-provoking.
Having been interested in art since childhood, he entered the Provincial No. 1 Normal School in 1914 and studied painting and music from Li Shutong. In the autumn of 1918, Li Shutong became a monk at Hupao Temple in Hangzhou, which had a great influence on his thinking. In 1917, he organized the Tongyin Painting Group with his classmates. After graduating from the Normal School in 1919, he and several classmates founded the Shanghai Vocational Normal School in Shanghai and served as a drawing teacher. In 1921, he traveled east to Japan for a short-term study trip to study painting, music and foreign languages. In 1922, he returned to China to teach painting and music at Chunhui Middle School in Shangyu, Zhejiang, and became friends with Zhu Ziqing, Zhu Guangqian and others. After returning to China, he engaged in art and music teaching. He served as editor of Shanghai Kaiming Bookstore and art professor at Shanghai University, Fudan University and Zhejiang University. At the same time, we carry out painting, literary creation and compilation work in literature and art. In 1924, he founded Lida Academy with his friends. During the Anti-Japanese War, he traveled around the southwest and taught in some colleges and universities. The April issue of the literary and art publication "Our July" published for the first time his painting "After the people have dispersed, a crescent moon and the sky are like water". Later, his paintings were published one after another in "Literary Weekly" and were titled "Cartoons". Only then did China begin to have the name "comics". The Lida Society was established in 1925, with participants including Mao Dun, Chen Wangdao, Ye Shengtao, Zheng Zhenfeng, Hu Yuzhi and others. In 1926, he taught at Shanghai University of the Arts. In 1929, he was hired as editor by Kaiming Bookstore. In 1931, his first collection of essays, "Yuanyuantang Essays", was published by Kaiming Bookstore. After the July 7th Incident, he led his family to flee. In 1937, it was compiled into "The Comic History of Japan's Invasion of China" and published. In 1939, he served as lecturer and associate professor of Zhejiang University. In 1942, he served as professor and academic director of Chongqing National Art College. He ended his teaching career in 1943 and specialized in painting and writing. He has successively translated and published "Common Knowledge of Music", "Introduction to Music", "Top Ten Modern Musicians", "Children's Music" and other popular books for primary and secondary school students and ordinary music lovers, making contributions to the popularization of modern music knowledge. Lots of useful work. Returned to Shanghai in 1946. Published picture book "Selected Comics of Zikai". After 1952, he successively served as a librarian of the Shanghai Museum of Literature and History, vice chairman of the Shanghai Branch of the Chinese Artists Association, executive director of the Chinese Artists Association, vice president of the Shanghai Foreign Culture Association, vice chairman of the Shanghai Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as president of the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy, chairman of the Shanghai Branch of the Chinese Artists Association, and vice chairman of the Shanghai Federation of Literary and Art Circles. He is skilled in painting and calligraphy, and is also good at prose creation and literary translation.
Feng Zikai is a respected cartoonist and essayist in modern China. His paintings and articles have maintained a consistent style despite decades of vicissitudes: graceful and tranquil, and his comics are even more popular. Mr. Feng's works have been widely circulated, and many of them have been lost. Even the more than fifty kinds of picture albums published together have mostly disappeared from the market, which brings great regret to readers. Among Mr. Feng Zikai's works, comics are probably the most famous. Often, a few strokes can outline an artistic conception, such as "After the people have left, the crescent moon and the sky are like water", a few teacups and a rolling curtain can create a very moody mood. Many of Mr. Feng's cartoons are based on children, such as "Abao Shirtless", "You Peel a Melon for Me, I'll Fan You" and "Meeting". Reading Mr. Feng's children's comics makes us so-called adults feel ashamed. When will our world become less deceitful, less persistent, more natural, and more indifferent.
Feng Zikai's prose also has a great influence in the history of new literature in my country.
His main works include "Essays of Yuanyuantang", "Re-writing of Yuanyuantang", "Twenty Essays", "Sweet Memories", "Artistic Interests", "Collection of Frankness", etc. Except for some artistic comments, most of these works describe his own personal experience of life and daily contacts with people, showing a strong interest in life.
Biography of Feng Zikai Feng Huazhan (son)
Father was born in Chongde County, Zhejiang Province on November 9, 1898 (the 24th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty). Shimen Bay (now Shimen Town, Tongxiang County). My ancestor opened a small dyeing shop in Shimen Town. My grandfather's name was Feng
Huang (also known as Huquan), who was good at poetry and prose. My father is my grandfather’s seventh child and the eldest son; most of my father’s siblings died young. When my father was eight years old, my grandfather died of lung disease. My father entered a private school when he was nine years old, and entered Shimenwan Xixi Primary School when he was twelve years old. In 1914, when he was sixteen years old, he went to Zhejiang Provincial First Normal School in Hangzhou to study. Mr. Li Shutong, a teacher at Zhejiang First Normal University (later a monk, known as "Master Hongyi") taught him painting and music, discovered his talent, and encouraged him to develop in painting. Mr. Li was not only good at painting and music, but also drama, literature, and calligraphy. He had a great influence on his father's life.
After my father graduated from Zhejiang First Normal University in 1919, he taught at Shanghai College Normal University. In early 1921, he went to Japan to study. Participated in the Western Painting Research Society and the Music Research Society in Tokyo. Returned from Japan at the end of the year.
In 1922, my father taught at Baimahu Chunhui Middle School in Shangyu, Zhejiang. This is when I started making comics. Several paintings were published in Us magazine. In 1924, my father resigned from Chunhui Middle School and founded Lida Academy in Shanghai. In 1925, my father's cartoons were published continuously in "Literary Weekly" edited by Zheng Zhenduo, and were called "Zikai Comics". In December 1925, Zikai Cartoons was published by Literary Weekly, containing 60 paintings. This was my father's first collection of paintings and the first collection of comics in China.
The collections of paintings published successively from 1926 to 1937 include "Zikai Painting Collection", "Nursing Student Painting Collection", "Student Cartoons", "Children's Cartoons", and "Voice of the City" ", "Yun Ni",
"Human Appearance", etc. In addition to paintings describing the artistic conception of poetry, children's life and student life, there are a large number of paintings that reveal the darkness of the old society and the suffering of working people. During the same period, my father published essay collections "Essays of Yuanyuantang", "Rewriting of Yuanyuantang", "Car Society", etc. He also published a large number of music books and art theory books, such as "Music into the Book", "Chinese "Fifty Famous Songs", "Top Ten Musicians of Modern Times", "Twelve Lectures on the Western Painting School", "Artistic Interests", "Art Talk", etc.
The Anti-Japanese War broke out in 1937. In November, my father fled with his family. Starting from my hometown, I passed through Jiangxi and arrived in Changsha, Hunan. Later he moved to Guilin, Guangxi. In the spring of 1939, my father was hired by Zhejiang University to teach at Zhejiang University in Yishan, Guangxi. Later, he moved to Zunyi, Guizhou Province with Zhejiang University. In the autumn of 1942, my father arrived in Chongqing, Sichuan, and taught at the National Art College. He resigned after a year and made a living by writing at home.
During the Anti-Japanese War, my father's collections of paintings published in various southwestern provinces include "The True Story of Ah Q Comics", "Big Tree Picture Album", "Kechuang Comics", "Poems in Paintings", etc. The Complete Collection of Zikai Comics was drawn in Zunyi in 1941 and published in Shanghai by Kaiming Bookstore in December 1945. The Complete Works is divided into six volumes and contains 424 paintings.
The Anti-Japanese War ended in 1945, and my father returned to Hangzhou the following year. While living in Hangzhou from 1946 to 1948, the collections of paintings published include "Yousheng Painting Collection" and the color version of "Selected Cartoons of Zikai".
My father has been living in Shanghai since the founding of the People's Republic of China. He serves as Shanghai Municipal People's Representative and member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and also serves as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He serves as executive director of the Chinese Artists Association, chairman of the Shanghai Artists Association, vice chairman of the Shanghai Writers Association, and vice chairman of the Shanghai Federation of Literary Artists. In 1960, he was appointed president of Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy. Most of the time I write at home.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, my father was mainly engaged in translating literary works from Russian and Japanese. Translations include "Hunter's Notes", "Selected Works of Natsume Soseki", "The Tale of Genji", etc.
Published collections of paintings include "Paintings of Lu Xun's Novels", "Selected Cartoons of Zikai" (1955), "Selected Cartoons of Feng Zikai" in English and Indonesian (1956), and the color "Feng Zikai". Collection of Zikai's Paintings" (1963).
My father wrote a lot in his life, including more than 150 kinds of works. He has made contributions in various aspects such as painting, literature, music, calligraphy, art theory and translation. He has a great
influence at home and abroad.
During the ten years of catastrophe, my father was brutally persecuted by Lin Biao and the Gang of Four on trumped-up charges, and was tortured both physically and mentally. In early 1970, he became seriously ill and was bedridden for half a year. After recovering from his illness, he continued to paint and translate despite the persecution of Lin Biao and the Gang of Four. But due to long-term torture, he contracted lung cancer. On September 15, 1975, my father passed away with great regret in the gloom and darkness.
On June 28, 1979, a grand ashes placement ceremony was held in the hall of Longhua Cemetery in Shanghai. In his eulogy at the ashes laying ceremony, the leading comrades of Shanghai City pointed out: My father hated the reactionary rule of the old society
and used artistic creation to express his sense of justice and fighting spirit; after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he devoted himself selflessly to the cause of socialist literature and art. Carry out labor, enthusiastically praise the Communist Party of China and praise
socialism. The decision of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China to completely rehabilitate his father was read out.
Feng Zikai's works
He is the author of: "Essays of Yuanyuantang", "Feng Zikai's Calligraphy", etc.
Bibliography of works:
"Zikai Cartoons" 1926, Kaiming
"Zikai Painting Collection" 1927, Kaiming
"Western Art" "History" 1928, Kaiming
"Yuanyuantang Essays" (collection of essays) 1931, Kaiming; revised edition, 1957, humanities
"Collection of Zikai's Essays" 1933, Kaihua, Shanghai Bookstore
"Twenty Essays" 1934, Tianma
"Artistic Interest" (Collected Essays) 1934, Kaiming
"Painting and Literature" (Collected Essays) )1934, Kaiming
"Outline of Modern Art" (essay) 1934, China
"Train Car Society" (collection of essays) 1935, Liangyou
"Art Series" "Words" (Collected Essays) 1935, Liangyou
"Selected Creations of Feng Zikai" (Collected Essays) 1936, Shanghai Antique Bookstore
"Art Talk" 1936, Shanghai Renjian Bookstore
p>"Yuanyuantang Rewriting" (Collected Prose) 1937, Kaiming
"The True Story of Comics Ah Q" 1939, Kaiming
"Collection of Zikai's Recent Prose" 1941, Chengdu Puyi Library
"Fundamentals of Artistic Cultivation" (Collected Essays) 1941, Guilin Cultural Supply Co.
"Poems in Paintings" (Poetry with Paintings) 1943, Guilin Wenguang Bookstore
"Teacher's Diary" (a collection of diary prose), 1944, Chongqing Chongde Bookstore
"Art and Life" (a collection of essays), 1944.1, Guilin Minyou Bookstore
"Ancient Poems and New Paintings" (Part One of Zikai's Complete Comics), 1945, Kaiming
"Children's Pictures" (Part Two of Zikai's Comics), 1945, Kaiming
"Student Pictures" (Complete Collection of Zikai Comics, Part 3), 1945, Kaiming
"Folk Pictures" (Complete Collection of Zikai Comics, Part 4), 1945, Kaiming
"Urban Pictures" (Complete Collection of Zikai Comics, Part 5), 1945, Kaiming
"War Scenes" (Complete Collection of Yu Kai Comics, Part 6), 1945, Kaiming
"Frank Collection" (Collection of Essays), 1946 , Shanghai Manyo Bookstore
"The Adventures of Small Bills" (Fairy Tale) 1947, Shanghai Manyo Bookstore
"Selected Zikai Comics" 1955.11, People's Fine Arts Publishing House
p>"The Complete Works of Zikai's Comics" 1962.11, Hong Kong Lingnan Publishing House
"The Collection of Yuan Yuan Tang Collection" Ming Chuan, 1979, Hong Kong Cultural Society
"Selected Essays of Feng Zikai" 1982, Shanghai Literature and Art
"Collection of Essays of Yuanyuantang" 1983, Zhejiang Literature and Art
Translation bibliography:
"The Depressed" "Symbol" (theoretical collection) written by Hakumura Shirakawa, Japan, 1925, business
"Introduction to Art" written by Hōnobu Kuroda, Japan, 1928, enlightenment
"First Love" (novel) Turgeny, Russia Husband, 1931, Enlightenment
"The Suicide Club" (novel), written by Stevenson, UK, 1932, Enlightenment
"Hunter's Notes", written by Turgenev, Russia, 1953, Vincent
Preface to "Selected Cartoons of Zikai"
When I painted these paintings, I was a twenty-seven or eight-year-old young man with two or three children. Like any other young father, I love my children. I love them sincerely: when they laugh, I feel happier than when I laugh; when they cry, I feel sadder than when I cry; when they eat, I feel that it is more delicious than when I eat by myself. I feel the pain is worse than my own fall... I could be said to have "love" for my children at that time. This love was the original motivation for making these paintings.
My children were born close together and there were few helpers at home, so I had to help take care of the children besides teaching, just like the "Father and Mother" in one of my cartoons at that time.
I often hold the child, feed the child, pack diapers for the child, sing songs to make the child sleep, and draw pictures to make the child laugh; sometimes I use building blocks to build a car with the children, or sit on a small stool. "Take the train".
I am very close to them and often live with them. This "closeness" is also the origin of these painting materials. Because of "love" and "closeness", I deeply understood the psychology of children and discovered a children's world that is completely different from the adult world. Children are full of emotions but lack reason; children are full of desires but cannot suppress them. Therefore, the children's world is very vast and free, and they can make all their wishes and requests as they please: the roof of the house can be removed so that they can watch airplanes; the bed can be filled with flowers and butterflies for fun; the legs of stools can be worn. Shoes; railways and train stations can be built in the room; brothers and sisters can be new officials and brides; the moon in the sky can be asked to come down... Adults laugh at them as "silly", call their lives "child's play", often call them "naughty", and forbid them from being "noisy". This is the subjectivist view of adults and the crude attitude of those who do not understand the psychology of children. I can love them and be close to them, so I can deeply understand their psychology, and I am convinced that their behavior is sincere and noteworthy, so I paint these paintings excitedly and seriously.
Furthermore, I often "put myself in their shoes" to experience the lives of children; in other words, I often become children and observe them. I remember once making a picture of a room with an unusually tall table, chairs, and bed. An adult is trying to climb up on a chair to sit, but the seat of the chair is higher than his chest. He tries hard to climb up, but it is obviously not easy for him to climb onto the chair. If he wants to climb onto the bed to sleep, it is obviously not easy for him to climb up either. Because the bed was as high as the chair; if he wanted to drink tea from the teacup on the table, it was obviously impossible because the table was almost as high as his head and the teacup was placed in the center of the table and was much larger than his hand. The title of this painting is "Put yourself in the shoes of a child". This is an expression of my feelings at the time: I saw that most adults thought that children were preparing to become adults, and they only wanted them to become adults, but ignored their life during this preparation period. Therefore, furniture and utensils are all based on the body size of adults and are designed to facilitate adults' lives. Therefore, it is very inconvenient for children to live in adult families. Similarly, the spiritual life is also based on adult thoughts and perceptions. Therefore, children's spiritual life is very painful in adult families. In the past, I have seen: a six- or seven-year-old boy being put on a small robe, a small mandarin jacket, and a small copper basin hat by his parents to teach him to walk like his father; a six- or seven-year-old girl being taken to a barber shop by her parents to have her hair permed. Hair, put makeup on his face, lipstick on his mouth, teach him how to communicate like his mother. I also made a painting for them, titled "Little Adults". Now when I imagine what those two children look like, I still feel terrible. They are simply freaks with abnormal development! I thought that changing from a child to an adult was like changing from a caterpillar to a butterfly. The life of a caterpillar is very different from the life of a butterfly. The above-mentioned adults put wings on the caterpillar and taught it to fly with the butterfly, but I, the butterfly, gathered my wings and crawled with the caterpillar. Therefore, I can understand children's moods and lives, and describe these paintings excitedly and seriously.
The above are the trivial matters and random thoughts I had when I made these paintings thirty years ago. It can also be said to be my creative motivation and creative experience. However, this is nothing more than an expression of "deep affection". What benefit does it bring to readers? Where is the reference value for readers? How can we help them discover painting materials in their lives?
Undoubtedly, these paintings themselves are trivial and insignificant. There is just one sentence that I can tell readers: I "love", "get close" to, and "understand" the subjects I depict, and "put myself in their shoes" to experience them.
If a painter can use this attitude to create paintings with cuter, more valuable, and greater objects, I think he may be able to achieve success in life-especially in today's New China. In a vibrant life - discover more painting materials and make more beautiful paintings. If this sentence is correct, then these paintings finally have the function of indirectly helping readers, so let them be published.
Interesting Facts about Feng Zikai's Life Release
Mr. Feng Zikai is a famous cartoonist in my country. He has passed away many years ago and left a rich artistic legacy to future generations.
Feng Zikai's comics have a unique style. He has a deep foundation in traditional Chinese painting and can outline vivid images with just a few strokes. In particular, most of his comics are based on the bitter things in the world and express the injustice of the hard-working people. Therefore, his comics are very popular among people.
Humanity is that Feng Zikai has the heart of a Bodhisattva, and this is true. Feng Zikai believed in Buddhism and was a devout layman. Throughout his life, he earnestly advised people to protect their lives and abstain from killing. He also caused an interesting incident because of his release.
Before the Anti-Japanese War, during his stay at Yuanyuantang in Suzhou, Mr. Feng Zikai once brought a chicken from Shimen Bay to be released in Yunqi, Hangzhou. But he also felt compassion for the chicken. He couldn't bear to tie up the chicken's feet and carry the chicken upside down like ordinary people. So he lifted up his robe and put the chicken inside and carried it with his hands outside. Take a boat from Shimen Bay via Chongde and transfer to a train in Chang'an Town. Because there was a bulge in the cloth robe he was carrying in his hand, his strange appearance looked suspicious. Therefore, he aroused the suspicion of a plainclothes detective at the Chang'an Town Railway Station. He followed him until he arrived in Hangzhou in the same car. The plainclothes detective caught him as soon as he left the station. It happened that someone had already greeted Hou Feng Zikai outside the station, so they explained the whole story to each other, and the detective realized that he had followed the wrong person. Feng Zikai held the hen to be released, which made everyone present laugh.
Why does Feng Zikai believe in Buddhism? He was not only influenced by Master Hongyi, but more importantly, he was influenced by his father. His father, Feng Huquan, passed the imperial examination in 1920, but for some reason he did not go to Beijing to catch up with the last imperial examination. Seeing that the Qing Dynasty was in turmoil and his official career was hopeless, he had to set up a private school at home to teach students and make ends meet. Fenghuquan is approachable and helpful. Neighbors, relatives and friends would ask him to write a joint letter whenever there was a wedding or funeral. He also ghostwrote letters or contracts for others, never caring about remuneration.
Feng Huquan once ghostwritten for a fisherman. Knowing that the fisherman was poor, he did not accept the reward. One day, the fisherman brought seven large and small water fish, which are also turtles. Fenghuquan always believed in Buddhism sincerely and was fond of doing good deeds. That night, he dreamed that seven women in skirts knelt down and begged him for help, shouting, "Master, help, master, help-" Feng Huquan woke up suddenly and felt that the dream was strange. He thought about it over and over, but could not explain it. He looked at what he did on a daily basis and found nothing he felt guilty about, but the dream made him restless all day long. Suddenly he realized that there was a circle of soft skin around the aquatic fish, commonly known as a "skirt". Therefore, he believed that the seven aquatic fish were asking him for help in a dream, and he immediately released them all.
Feng Zikai was taught by his family at a young age. After becoming a Buddhist layman, he became more interested in freeing animals. He painted six volumes of "Painting Collection of Nursing Students", which are popular in the world. Every year on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, it is said that it is the birthday of Sakyamuni. Buddhists are accustomed to release animals on this day. On this day every year, Feng Zikai bought snails, lions, clams, fish and shrimps, and took his children to release the animals together. Even on weekdays, he would release the animals himself from time to time.