In memorial of Qi Baishi’s 150 anniversary, the exhibition is one of Beijing Fine Art Academy’s Collection of Qi Baishi Series Exhibition, and it will be opened on 1st Oct. and will last to 18th Mar. 2014. In Beijing Fine Art Academy’s collection letters is the most various and most comprehensive both in domestic and foreign institutions. Diary, letters, poems etc. are all included in the exhibition; these materials not only cherish documents for future study but also can be admired as calligraphy.

       I. Guide viewers appreciate the exhibition by following

       Once entering the exhibition hall, visitors will catch sight of swaying trees on the theme wall. Without preface, opening ceremony or seminar, visitors can walk through the exhibition by following Autotypography of Qi Baishi. In this way, we can have a glimpse of his hard but brilliant life. Through such exhibition method, visitors cannot only have access to abundant historical documents, but also understand simple and pure temperament of Qi Baishi. By carefully displaying his excellent paintings together with vertical traditional Chinese descriptions, the organizer expects to cultivate cultural atmosphere then. At the exhibition halls from the ground floor to 4th floor, the account of Qi Baishi goes together with his collections, his preface and postscript correspond to verse manuscript, and his calligraphies correlate seals. In addition, there are several interactive parts during the exhibition, including multi-media, IPAD and readable copied manuscript, thus bringing to the visitors a unique exhibition. With special account and exhibition method, the organizer hopes to draw visitors closer to the artist in terms of time and space by offering an experience of mutual communication in the same context.

       II. Chinese 12 Zodiacs Painting donated by Guan Weishan exhibited for the first time

       Chinese 12 Zodiacs Painting by Qi Baishi donated by Guan Weishan was exhibited for the first time. Among the works donated by Guan in 1959, the most precious one was this 12 Zodiacs Painting. As Qi’s paintings are mostly centered by the themes of landscape, flower, bird and figure, it is quite uncommon for him to create this 12-animal zodiacs painting. In the preface of this painting, Qi once wrote, “Mr. Weishan collected many paintings of mine and he wanted to request for another painting of 12-animal zodiac. Given that I had never seen the dragon, I could not paint it well and turned down his request. Therefore, he claimed 2-3 animal paintings of mine within one year and had a good collection in four years. Now he is a good friend of mine and requested me to write the preface. I was finally touched by his perseverance. Baishi aged 85 in the year of Yiyou.” As could be seen from the date on different paintings, Galloping Horse was painted in 1940, while Peach Monkey was completed in 1944. Just as indicated in his own account, “it took four years for him to have a good collection”. At that moment, they became close friends in ink and painting. To complete the process, Guan asked Qi to write the preface for the painting and the elderly artist happily agreed to do so. This became a good episode in the art circle. As such, we are lucky to witness 12-animal Zodiac Painting of Qi Baishi.

       III. KuiMao Diary— the earliest diary of”first excursion and first return” kept so far

       On the back side of the theme wall on the 2nd floor of exhibition hall, there was computer animation vividly depicting the excursion (Xi’an – Beijing – Xiangtan in Hunan Province), comments, social intercourse and artistic activities of Qi Baishi from March 1 to June 29, 1903. In the autumn of 1902, Qi Baishi received a letter from Guo Baosheng, a friend in Xi’an. The letter said that, to paint and engrave seals well, one should pursue progress in arts, instead of merely staying at home. Under the encouragement of Xia Wuyi and Guo Baosheng, Qi happily accepted their advice to have an excursion. He arrived at Xi’an in the middle of December that year. While studying the arts of painting, he visited many historical sites and get acquainted with Fan Zengxiang, a famous poet Nietai in Shaanxi Province. In the next spring, that was early March Kuimao year, XIA Wuyi went to Beijing to hunt for a job. Qi escorted him and stayed there for more than 3 months. By the end of June that year, he returned to Xiangtan in Hunan Province via waterway in Tianjin, Shanghai and Wuhan. This was the first excursion made by Qi. KuiMao Diary gave a detailed account of this excursion. Through animation depicting the excursion experience made by Qi, we can understand how he appreciated the ancient Chinese paintings and calligraphies, how he interacted with celebrities in cultural circle then. Visitors can have better and direct understanding of how important the excursions are to his achievements in arts. 

IV. Way of loneliness – summary of experience in arts for half a century 

       Except a few chapters and paragraphs on painting, Qi’s diaries and articles have rarely published widely. Considering art as a way of loneliness, Qi had never tried to promote himself by publishing his diaries and articles. After his death, his family members donated his posthumous works including manuscripts to Qi Baishi Memorial Hall proposed for construction. However, the hall was not completed due to many reasons. Therefore, these works were delivered to Beijing Painting Academy. Today, these manuscripts are presented to you all in the form of exhibition so that you can get access to the first-hand materials to understand Qi’s life, thinking, sentiment, character, social intercourse, growth and artistic creation. This is of great significance for the academic research on Qi Baishi and the Chinese painting history in the 20th century. Compared with Autotypography of Qi Baishinarrated by Qi Huang and recorded by Zhang Cixi, the diaries in his manuscripts are fragmented and scattered. However, they are continuous, detailed and true to life as original account for researchers to understand his life closely. 

       The exhibition with the theme of “Men's life is like boarding in this world – reflection on Qi Baishi’s manuscripts” is meaningful in that it is exhibited by following the frame of Qi’s own account and using collected paintings and manuscripts, without more preaching and explanation. His great achievements in poetry, calligraphy, painting and seal carving lie in his hardworking and sentimental artistic talent, “favor from best friends” like Hu Qinyuan, Fan Fanshan, Wang Kaiyun, Xia Wuyi, Guo Baosheng, Lin Fengmian and XU Beihong, as well as good health and longevity. Among all these success factors, visitors will probably most impressed by his hardworking. As can be sensed in many displayed diaries, poetry manuscripts and letters, Qi Baishi in his 50s painted and wrote what he saw and thought in courier station, boat and post kiosk during his five excursions, including some trivial affairs in life. With all this accumulated throughout long period displayed in this exhibition, we can get better understanding of Qi Baishi and his life in arts in a lively way from the perspective of the artist himself.

       Contributed by Zheng Zhiwei