Foreword
By Huang Xiangming
Artist and
Calligrapher Guo Xiuyi (1911 – 2006) was my Mother. I am
well acquainted with many details of her personal life
and artistic career.
Guo Xiuyi was
born in Shanghai. She had an
interesting dual career -
being dedicated to Social Reform and promoting Democracy
and Women’s rights in China -
all in addition to her being a productive Artist. Coming
of age during an important time in China, Guo was drawn without hesitation into
the Chinese Patriotic Movement during 1930s.
In 1934 Guo
married Huang Qixiang(Huang
Chi-hsiang), a renowned patriotic general against
Japanese invasion, and my Father. General
Huang Qixiang fought with American alliance in the war
and Guo Xiuyi was with her husband at the
front of the battle fields.
As the
leader of the Women’s Work Team of the 11th
Army Group, Guo risked her own life to save the lives of
wounded soldiers and civilians. In 1938, she joined with
Madam Song Meiling(Soong May-ling) and Madam Deng
Yingchao to found the China War Time Children
Care Association, which rescued, cared and educated for
more than 30,000 orphans of the War.
With a
Chinese victory after eight years of hard war, Guo
Xiuyi, together with her husband, were recognized for
their dedication and outstanding contributions. Both of them
were awarded the Medal of Victory. Husband Huang Qixiang
was awarded the Medal of Freedom by the American
President Harry Truman.
With
the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, and
in the years that followed, Guo Xiuyi subsequently
served as a Member of the Standing Committee of the
National Chinese People’s Political Consultative
Conference, as Honorary Deputy Chairwoman of the Central
Consultative and Control Committee of Chinese Peasants
and Workers Democratic Party, as a Member of the
Standing Committee of Women’s Federation, and as
Executive Director of the China Council for Promotion of
Peaceful Unification.
In
1951 at 40 years of age, a dramatic change
took place all of a sudden in her life. One
day, at the
house of Lao She, a well-known writer, a scroll of
painting by the elder artist Baishi drew her attention
by accident.
After admiring in front of the painting, she was
profoundly inspired and decided to get apprenticed to Qi
Baishi, one of the greatest master in traditional
Chinese painting.
Together with Madam Hu Jieqing, the wife
of the writer Lao She, Guo Xiuyi approached Qi Baishi
and asked him to take them on as his disciples. Although
Qi Baishi was no longer taking students, he was
persuaded, and Guo and Hu began class with the aged
Master – the last two disciples of his school.
The elderly master
earnestly instructed: “Painting is a very lonely job.
While painting, you have to purify your heart by
discarding any ideas of seeking fame or wealth.
When you see some merits in paintings by others,
either ancient or contemporary
artists, you should learn it and make your work
truly like it but never brag about it. While learning
from someone you may see their shortcomings,
and then of course you would ignore it- but you should
never talk derogatorily about him. Observe closely
the natural wonders around you. Only by
doing so can you achieve supernatural power in
your
own hands
while painting.”
“The
trick lies between likeness and unlikeness.
Making your work too
much similar to a master is to please the vulgar
taste, while
too
much unlikeness is actually deceiving the world.”
“One lives (succeeds) by learning
from me. One dies (fails) if he makes his work too much
like mine.” Guo bore
the master’s teachings in mind, devoting all her
energy to diligent studying and learning the craft. As a
result she made marvelous progress and gradually brought
into full play all her talent in the art of painting.
Besides concentrating her effort
on grasping the quintessence of the Qi School and
learning the master’s skills the hard way, Guo also
learned and integrated the merits of other schools of
painting: learning the
style of Master
Pu
Xuezhai for
rockery, orchid
and bamboo, how
to paint flowers and plants from Master
Wang Xuetao, still life sketching from Master
Huang Yanghui. Studying and contrasting the styles and
methods of the various schools of painting, Guo was able
to bring them together in a comprehensive manner for her
use, thus forming her own unique style.
Everything painted by Guo seems
alive on paper: human figures, landscapes, birds, and
other animals, fish and shrimp, plants and flowers.
All
her paintings are true to life, full of vitality,
showing inspiration and creativity. Other disciples of
Qi Baishi praised her: “Should her work be put next to
our teacher’s best examples, who can tell which one is
the Master’s?”
Master Qi Baishi was
overjoyed to see his disciple’s success. He would
smile and take up his brush to add some
fascinating touches on her painting. Once he wrote: “The dark ink color was
added by
Baishi to the cat painted by my disciple Xiuyi.”
Another: “My disciple Xiuyi painted seven chicks and
me,
the meddlesome old man, added five more.”
Master
Qi Baishi wrote such words of encouragement on nearly a
hundred pieces of Guo’s
paintings within just a few years. Such rare action
could only express his praise
and his fondness for his favorite
disciple.
Five more such examples:
His inscription on “Crabapples in
Autumn”: “With the autumn breezes coming back the
crabapple tree has come to fruit. In this school of mine
Xiuyi is the only disciple who has made such
incomparable
progress.”
For
“Liu Hai Teasing the Gold Toad”:
“The folds in the figure’s clothes painted by the author
are not in the least different from what I did. No
wonder people in the capital thought it was my work with
her signature on it. Even myself could not tell the
difference.”
For “Butterflies Lingering around
Flowers”:
“Life-like over the treetops they fly together.
The painting by my disciple Xiuyi would fly together
with her teacher’s”
On “A Rooster in the Morning” is
“Xiuyi’s painting is as brilliant as mine.”
On “The Last Lotus
Leaves in Autumn Rain”: “My disciple
Xiuyi is quite accomplished in the art
of painting.”
In 1953, The First National Art
Exhibition and Sales was held in Beijing. The first piece
of work for which there was an offer to purchase
was Guo Xiuyi’s “Playing Chicks”. Guo, however, refused
the offer, being
embarrassed by the attention. She had always kept
a humble attitude
and she had no desire, after less than three
years’ study of the art, to stand out so conspicuously
among the famous masters by having her work sold before
any other.
It was only at the encouragement by her
respected teacher, the persistence of the buyer, and the
persuasion of the sponsors of the exhibition that she
reluctantly agreed to accept the offer – thus selling a
work for the first time and having become a Professional
Artist.
Guo Xiuyi’s works have been
exhibited many times and several were acquired by the
Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
Paintings have been previously catalogued in two
published albums: “Art Treasures Collected by Mao
Zedong” and also “Elegant Paintings Collected and Stored
in Zhongnanhai”. Guo
Xiuyi also served as the Vice
President of The Beijing Research Society of Qi Baishi’s
Artistic Works.
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