Jinshi·Zen Heart—A Special Exhibition of Wu Changshuo’s Works from the Collection of the National Art Museum of China

Release time:

2023/04/25

“ Gold and Stone ·Zen Heart—A Special Exhibition of Works by Wu Changshuo from the Collection of the National Art Museum of China ” The event will open in Changqi on April 29.

Organizer: China National Art Museum Eight Great Mountains Man Memorial Hall

Exhibition period: April 29, 2023 – July 9, 2023

Exhibition Venue: The Eight Great Mountain People Memorial Hall

Implementation time: 10:00 a.m. on April 29, 2023

Before the Song dynasty, traditional Chinese painting did not distinguish between meticulous brushwork (gongbi) and freehand style (xieyi). It was during the Yuan dynasty that artists began to explore the integration of brush and ink into landscape painting. In the Ming dynasty, Chen Chun and Xu Wei were the first to champion the bold, freehand style in flower-and-bird painting; later, Bada Shanren reached the pinnacle of this style, profoundly influencing subsequent generations of artists. By the late Qing and early Republican periods, however, traditional flower-and-bird painting had begun to show signs of decline and decadence. It was precisely against this backdrop that painters represented by Wu Changshuo employed rich, vibrant, and passionate brushstrokes, while also incorporating the aesthetic of inscriptions on bronze and stone, thus opening a new chapter in the history of flower-and-bird painting.

Although more than two hundred years separate the two artistic masters, Bada Shanren and Wu Changshuo, there exists a remarkable affinity and connection between them. The exhibition is organized by the Bada Shanren Memorial Hall and the National Art Museum of China. The special exhibition “Gold and Stone, Zen Heart—Works by Wu Changshuo from the Collection of the National Art Museum of China” will open on April 29, 2023, at the Ba Da Shan Ren Memorial Hall. The dialogue between the works of these two artistic masters will present a grand spectacle showcasing the pinnacle of traditional Chinese art.

This exhibition On display together 66 works by Wu Changshuo, among which, Held in the collection of the National Art Museum of China 64 works by Wu Changshuo, including his classic pieces such as “Lush Branches and Vines,” “Ink Grapes,” “Ink Lotus,” “Ink-Pen Floral Arrangement in a Vase,” “Orchid in Moonlight,” and “The Three Friends Painting.” 。 At the same time ， Eight Great Mountains Man Memorial Hall Two works by Wu Changshuo from the museum’s collection are being exhibited simultaneously.

Wu Changshuo ( (1844–1927), originally named Junqing, with the courtesy name Changshuo and the sobriquet Ku Tie, was a native of Anji, Zhejiang Province. He was a renowned Chinese painter, calligrapher, and seal carver during the late Qing Dynasty and the Republican era. He was truly a “polymath”: combining poetry, calligraphy, painting, and seal carving into one, blending bronze inscriptions, stone carvings, and paintings into a seamless whole. He was acclaimed as the "first master of seal script in the Stone Drum Style" and the "final pinnacle of literati painting."

It is worth noting that the paintings of Bada Shanren are precisely what the world recognizes as literati painting. “Peak.” Wu Changshuo once wrote in a poem: “Last night, Xuege entered my dream and urged me to pick up my brush and paint lotus flowers.” Here, “Xuege” refers to Bada Shanren. Although the two lived more than two hundred years apart, the word “urge” in this poem clearly reflects Wu Changshuo’s deep respect and admiration for Bada Shanren. Bada Shanren withdrew into the mountains and forests, expressing his spiritual aspirations through Zen-inspired paintings, his hair shaved bald as a sign of renunciation. His brushwork is fresh and refined, exquisitely concentrated and concise; every single stroke and dot aims to profoundly convey his innermost thoughts, transcending mere visual appearances to capture the essence of the universe itself. Wu Changshuo’s own brushwork originates from calligraphy, which in turn draws its essence from inscriptions on bronze and stone. Thus, the brushstrokes in his paintings everywhere reveal the subtle charm and spirit of these ancient artifacts. His unique life experiences enabled Wu Changshuo’s paintings to combine rich ink strokes with vibrant colors, further enhanced by the robust and vigorous brushwork inspired by bronze and stone inscriptions, which imbued his works with both profound artistic charm and dynamic vitality. Thus, he forged a distinctive stylistic hallmark that was entirely his own, reflecting both traditional elegance and fresh, innovative spirit.

Selected Exhibited Works

The exhibition is set up. The three major sections—“Xue Ge Dreams, Painting Zen Conveys Intent,” “Poetry Has Its Own Charm, Yet Its Principles Remain Consistent,” and “Creating My Own Style, Passing on the Legacy Through Metal and Stone”—use poetry, calligraphy, and painting as entry points to present, from multiple angles and in a multidimensional way, the artistic worlds of Bada Shanren and Wu Changshuo, enabling viewers to immerse themselves fully and savor the artistic lives of these master artists.

Chapter One Xue Ge enters the dream. Painting Zen, Expressing Intent

Wu Changshuo once had Inscriptions on multiple works by Bada Shanren “Within it lies the soul of snow,” “Who could have painted this donkey in the snow?” and “Eight Great Masters’ paintings are lofty, ancient, and transcendent—free of superfluous strokes, devoid of any wasted brushwork”—all these remarks reveal Wu Changshuo’s deep admiration for the Eight Great Masters. When Wu Changshuo copied the works of the Eight Great Masters, he achieved an astonishingly lifelike resemblance. ， And keenly observe the brush-and-ink techniques of Bada Shanren. Just as Wu Changshuo did. So Say “Painting Zen, conveying thoughts through the first monk’s brush; preaching the Dharma, leaving only you, the noble grandson of the Ming dynasty,”—capturing the spirit of Bada Shanren’s brushwork and infusing it with the charm of inscriptions on bronze and stone. Wu Changshuo did this. Learning On the path of the Eight Great Mountains, he forged his own unique path, established his own distinctive style, and developed a personal calligraphic and ink language. System ，

Some works

Bird Wu Changshuo 30.4 × 35.5 cm, 1927, Collection of the National Art Museum of China

Lotus Painting Wu Changshuo 242 × 60 cm, Collection of the Eight Great Mountainsmen Memorial Hall

Pine branch Wu Changshuo 30.7 × 35 cm, 1927, Collection of the National Art Museum of China

Ink-leaf white lotus Wu Changshuo 108 x 27 cm, Collection of the National Art Museum of China

Ink Lotus Wu Changshuo 141.6 × 70.3 cm, 1920, Collection of the National Art Museum of China

Chapter Two Poetry has a unique charm. Consistent with reason and principle.

Su Dongpo said: “Poetry and painting are essentially one,” a principle deeply rooted in the literati tradition, where poetry contains painting and painting embodies poetry. Yet, even with the same subject matter, different poems accompanying paintings carry distinct and profound meanings. The cryptic and enigmatic inscriptions on paintings by Bada Shanren—so mysterious and elusive that they leave those of us not steeped in Zen Buddhism utterly astonished and baffled—abound with sharp, Zen-inspired allusions. Through his own life experiences, Bada Shanren eloquently elucidates the essence of these inscribed poems: their beauty lies precisely in intuition and inspiration. Similarly, Wu Changshuo’s poetry is deeply expressive of his inner nature. Once, Wu Changshuo personally wrote out a collection of classical poems as a gift to Pan Tianshou, and the couplet he composed—“Heaven is startled, earth is amazed at the brushstroke; alley whispers and street talk all find their way into poetry”—earnestly advised Pan Tianshou to delve deeply into everyday life, drawing poetic inspiration from it, and thus to explore the true depths of art.

Wu Changshuo also expressed his respect for Bada in his inscriptions on paintings, as exemplified by: “Xue Ge paints lotuses—within them resides Xue Ge’s soul.” This chapter takes as its starting point poems inscribed on paintings of the same subject matter, aiming to grasp the distinct and profound meanings embedded in the poetry and prose of Bada Shanren and Wu Changshuo. A comparative study readily reveals that... ， In the paintings of Bada Shanren, there is poetry; in the poetry, there is Zen. The poems composed by Wu Changshuo are imbued with authenticity and a vivid sense of life, expressing the true voice of the heart. Eight Zen-inspired philosophical poems imbued with heartfelt emotion—Wu Changshuo’s colloquial sayings and street talk all find their way into his poetry. Both share a consistent philosophical depth and an unvarnished expression of inner feelings. 、 Poetry has a unique charm.

Some works

Ink-pen floral arrangement Wu Changshuo 112.5 × 38.7 cm, 1890, Collection of the National Art Museum of China

Another Village, a Poetic View of Plum Blossoms Wu Changshuo 62.7 × 33 cm, 1890, Collection of the National Art Museum of China

Moyulan Wu Changshuo 148×40.3 cm, 1921, Collection of the National Art Museum of China

Peach blossoms and bamboo Wu Changshuo 148.4 × 79.3 cm, 1917, Collection of the National Art Museum of China

Wind Bamboo Wu Changshuo 131.6 x 33.3 cm, 1923, Collection of the National Art Museum of China

Orchid Moonlight Wu Changshuo 132.3 x 65 cm, 1899, Collection of the National Art Museum of China

Chapter Three: Creating One's Own Legacy Passing on the legacy of gold and stone

Wu Changshuo said: “Painting should express one’s own intent; imitation plunges one into the mire of mediocrity.” To “express one’s own intent” means possessing a spirit of creativity and boldly transcending the ancients. At the same time, it opposes certain practices that use “creativity” as an excuse while neglecting solid foundations and straying beyond established norms. Instead, it calls for exploring nature’s inspiration, learning from the ancients yet drawing freely from one’s innermost feelings to create original innovations. For instance, such distinctive artistic expressions as “The Spirit of Plum Blossoms—Their Life and Essence,” “Capturing the Dignity of Chrysanthemums by Embodying Their Frost-Resistant Bones,” and “Fiercely Embracing Seal Script and Bronze Inscriptions to Create Wild Cursive” tap into the latent potential of traditional Chinese art and awaken new possibilities. Open The spirit of exploration has ensured that the freehand style of painting on metal and stone has permeated the entire 20th century—representing both a continuation of traditional culture and a reflection of the times. Wu Changshuo was adept at employing a simple, robust, and aged aesthetic. Gold and Stone Using a brush, depict robust and archaic floral forms, advocating... “To capture the ‘qi’ rather than the ‘form’”—the so-called “qi” refers to the profound, vigorous inner vitality and power that permeates a work, embodying the intrinsic spiritual essence of art. Wu Changshuo took seal carving as his starting point, infused it with the strength of calligraphy, and nourished it with poetry and prose, thus bringing together poetry, calligraphy, painting, and seal carving in a masterful synthesis. As a result, his freehand style of painting inspired by bronze and stone inscriptions acquired a distinct sense of the times.

Some works

Cold posture Wu Changshuo 105.9 × 49 cm, 1916, Collection of the National Art Museum of China

Bamboo and Plum Wu Changshuo 140.9 × 30.6 cm, 1910, Collection of the National Art Museum of China

Iron-Bone Red Wu Changshuo 107.2 × 51.1 cm, 1918, Collection of the National Art Museum of China

Fragrant Flowers on the Cliff Wu Changshuo 106.4 × 53.7 cm, 1912, Collection of the National Art Museum of China

Picture of Pride in Frost Wu Changshuo 104.9 × 48.3 cm, 1915, Collection of the National Art Museum of China

Pot chrysanthemum Wu Changshuo 136.8 ×68.2 cm, 1904, Collection of the National Art Museum of China

Ink Chrysanthemum Wu Changshuo 107.2 ×50.7 cm, 1927, Collection of the National Art Museum of China

Three Friends Painting Wu Changshuo 101.9 × 48.2 cm, 1914, Collection of the National Art Museum of China

Branch-cutting diagram Wu Changshuo 122 ×48 cm, 1914, Collection of the National Art Museum of China

Wu Changshuo was an outstanding representative of the late Shanghai School. After the age of forty, he began to study painting, initially seeking guidance from Ren Boyan. Later, he drew extensively from the styles of Zhao Zhiqian, Bada Shanren, Shitao, Chen Chun, and Xu Wei, incorporating calligraphic brushstrokes into his work. Boldly transcending the conventions of his predecessors, he developed his own distinctive style of freehand brushwork. Bada Shanren is a world-class cultural icon of Nanchang—a true artistic superpower. IP. This exhibition brings together two giants of Chinese flower-and-bird painting from history. The Eight Greats Memorial Hall and the National Art Museum of China are committed to making this exhibition a landmark event of exceptional artistic, scholarly, and cultural value.

The Eight Great Mountains Man Memorial Hall, in collaboration with the National Art Museum of China, is jointly presenting an exhibition of works by two great artistic masters. This initiative will further explore, preserve, and showcase traditional culture as well as the historical and cultural resources associated with the Eight Great Mountains Man, thereby promoting the organic integration of urban development and cultural heritage preservation. It will also help establish the Eight Great Mountains Man as a leading center for cultural research and contribute to the overall development and enhancement of the quality of the Eight Great Mountains Man Memorial Hall.

The duration of this exhibition is: From April 29 to July 9, the exhibition will be open to the public free of charge, allowing Nanchang residents to enjoy authentic works by Wu Changshuo right on their doorstep and indulge in a cultural feast.

Eight Great Mountains Man Memorial Hall

Academic Chief Host Wu Weishan

Chief Curator of the Exhibition Zhou Xiaojian

Planning An Yuanyuan, Zhang Qing, Pan Yikui, Zhang Baicheng, Hu Linghao Lü Soar Wu refining