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Qi Baishi: Master of Modern Chinese Painting Exhibition

  • show time：2018-10-30 to 2018-12-25
  • Organizer：Beijing Fine Art Academy and Tokyo National Museum
  • venue：Tokyo National Museum
　　The opening ceremony of the Qi Baishi: Master of Modern Chinese Painting exhibition was successfully held at 2:00 PM on October 29, 2018, at the Tokyo National Museum in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between China and Japan. 
 
　　The exhibition was jointly organized by the Beijing Fine Art Academy, the Tokyo National Museum, the Kyoto National Museum, and the Asahi Shimbun, with strong support from the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Japan, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, and China Arts and Entertainment Group Ltd. (CAEG). A total of 130 exquisite individual- and sets-of artworks by Qi Baishi from the collection of the Beijing Fine Art Academy were displayed at the Tokyo National Museum and the Kyoto National Museum respectively. 
 
　　Representatives of the organizers attending the opening ceremony of the exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum: Mr. Wu Hongliang, Vice President of the Beijing Fine Art Academy; Mr. Masami Zeniya, Executive Director of the Tokyo National Museum; Mr. Johei Sasaki, Executive Director of the Kyoto National Museum; and Mr. Tomokazu Ichimura, President of the Asahi Shimbun. 
 
　　Distinguished guests include: Ms. Guo Yan, Charge d'Affaires of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Japan; Mr. Chen Zheng, Cultural Counselor of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Japan; Mr. Huang Xiaogang, General Manager of China Arts and Entertainment Group Ltd. (CAEG); Mr. Yoshimasa Hayashi, Chairman of the Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians' Union; and Mr. Yoshinori Murata, Vice Minister of the Agency for Cultural Affairs. 
 
　　Mr. Masami Zeniya and Mr. Wu Hongliang respectively delivered speeches on behalf of the organizers. Mr. Yoshimasa Hayashi and Mr. Yoshinori Murata presented congratulatory remarks on behalf of the guests. Ms. Guo Yan expressed congratulations on the exhibition on behalf of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Japan. 
 
　　In his speech, Mr. Wu Hongliang mentioned: China and Japan, neighboring countries separated by a strip of water, have a long history of cultural exchange. The Oriental genes have fostered mutual understanding between the two peoples in ink painting. Qi Baishi was the epitome of Chinese art, excelling in poetry, calligraphy, painting, and seal carving, known as the "Four Arts." His art is powerful in expression. It encompasses the essence of both ancient and modern times, and thus transcends any barriers, be they geographic or temporal. 
 
　　Qi Baishi served as the inaugural honorary president of the Beijing Fine Art Academy, founded in 1957. The academy boasts the largest collection of Qi Baishi's masterpieces in the world, housing over two thousand works. This exhibition was planned in collaboration with the Tokyo National Museum and the Kyoto National Museum, two of the most prestigious art institutions in Japan. The academic team of the Beijing Fine Art Academy carefully selected all the works on display for this exhibition. 
 
　　Qi Baishi's works were exhibited in Tokyo in 1922. The works of this revered artist have once again reached Japanese audiences, creating both a long-awaited reunion and the beginning of a new chapter. In commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between China and Japan, it is hoped that the art of Qi Baishi can inspire the people of both countries to come closer and seek the true essence of beauty together. 
 
　　At the end of his speech, Mr. Wu Hongliang expressed his heartfelt gratitude to all the people from China and Japan who supported this exhibition! It was only with everyone's joint efforts that this exhibition became such a huge success! 
 
　　On the day of the opening ceremony, Ms. Guo Yan, Charge d'Affaires of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Japan, and Mr. Yoshimasa Hayashi, Chairman of the Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians' Union, among others, visited the exhibition. 
 
　　Mr. Cheng Yonghua, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to Japan, visited the exhibition on the morning of October 31. 
 
　　The exhibition showcased the finest works of Qi Baishi and revealed every facet of his artistic genius, covering a wide range of subjects including flowers and trees, birds, plants and insects, aquatic life, landscapes, figures, calligraphy and seals, and miscellaneous paintings. The exhibition showcased a selection of Qi Baishi's notable flower-and-bird paintings, spanning from the Cottonrose Hibiscus and Duck after Meng Litang in 1919 to the Peace in 1952. These paintings are full of life and convey a unique humanistic sentiment in their inscriptions. The exhibition featured some of Qi Baishi's signature landscape paintings, such as the leaves from the Borrow Mountains from the Nature album. Qi Baishi collected his sketches from his "five departures and returns" journey which was completed in 1910, and used them to create the Borrow Mountains from the Nature album. The Beijing Fine Art Academy has the original and complete leaves of this album, which cover an area of 22 kai (a Chinese unit of area, 1 kai = 787×1,092 mm). The album shows famous places including the Dayan Pagoda on a hill in Xi'an, the Duxiu Mountain in Guangzhou, and the Pavilion of Prince Teng in Jiangxi. While the leaves are based on sketches, they are not limited to specific landscapes. Qi Baishi simplified and refined them, integrating the creations of nature with his inner thoughts, expressing his imaginative images. This album became the foundation of his landscape paintings, giving rise to a large number of works with various themes. Another important landscape painting created in 1938, Utopia, is accompanied by an inscription that says, "Untouched Utopia, I have never trodden upon thy shores; Yet in the realm of thoughts, thy stream eternally pours. With mortal eyes, Utopia's secrets I dare not unveil; Hence, the fisherman's absence in my Utopian tale." It depicts Qi Baishi's yearning for peace and represents his ideal Utopia. 
 
　　Good Fortune Comes in Peace is a figure painting by Qi Baishi. It depicts an old man in a traditional Chinese robe, holding a blue porcelain bottle. A bat is flying towards him from the distance, which is a sign of good fortune in Chinese culture. The painting uses homophonic puns to convey its meaning. For example, the word for "peace" in Chinese, qīng píng, sounds like the word for a "blue porcelain bottle", qīng píng. The old man is holding a blue porcelain bottle, which represents his peaceful and joyful life. The word for "bat" in Chinese, biān fú, sounds like the word for "fortune", fú. That's why the bat flying towards the old man symbolizes his good fortune. This style of humorous depiction is characteristic of Qi Baishi's figure paintings. In Chinese folk art, there is a tradition of incorporating auspicious and blessing homophones into paintings, such as in Chinese New Year paintings, paper-cuttings, sculptures, and other folk arts. Deeply influenced by the essence of folk art from an early age, Qi Baishi often incorporated homophones related to good wishes into his paintings, such as All Is Well, Stronger with Age, Abundance Every Year and so on. The exhibition also showcased two other figure paintings. Stronger with Age portrays a robust elderly man holding a cane in his left hand, effortlessly lifting it without leaning on it, while his right hand rests confidently on his back. This painting expresses a spirit of refusing to grow old. Qi Baishi had a great fondness for this theme. Reminding of Old Friends depicts Qi Baishi's nostalgic longing for his good friend Xu Beihong. It conveys the poetic meaning of "In the realm of sleep, I saw my friend Xu. I was old and frail, leaning on a cane." It was inspired by the friendship between Qi Baishi and Xu Beihong. In 1928, Xu Beihong came to Beijing to serve as the Dean of the Art Academy of Peking University. After a three-month stay, he resigned and went south. Xu Beihong was a keen judge of talent and a great admirer of Qi Baishi's art when he was in Beijing. He wanted Qi Baishi to join him as a teacher at the academy, and he asked him three times, just like Liu Bei did with Zhuge Liang in the famous story. After Xu Beihong moved back to the south, Qi Baishi sent him paintings as a gift. 
 
　　Since the Song dynasty (960-1279), there have been many skilled artists who depict insects and plants. However, Qi Baishi stands out among them, surpassing others in both quantity and quality of his works. He has achieved the realm of "capturing the details and essence while encompassing the vastness." Some of the sketches of insects and plants on display are unsigned and unsealed. This was not an oversight by Qi Baishi, but a deliberate choice. He left some space blank on purpose, so that he could add flowers and plants later, when his eyesight faltered. 
 
　　The inscription for the painting Rake in the exhibition: "With teeth like talons, but not of dragons or eagles; A humble rake, worth seven coins, combs the earth and leaves. (Back when I was young, I bought a rake with seven teeth for seven coins from the eastern neighborhood.) I groom the mountain greens with my rake; Not harming them, but helping them grow. Pine needles carpet the path to Mount Heng; Maple leaves grace the pavilion at the foothill. Children gather here to play; Compete for rides on bamboo horses." It is not difficult to picture that while painting this trivial object that seems to lack "sense of form," Qi Baishi must have filled it with his longing and deep nostalgia for his homeland. 
 
　　The exhibition showcased two calligraphy pieces and 30 stone seals by Qi Baishi. They included the Ma Shiqi's Words in Seal Script created in 1937, and a couplet in four-character phrases in seal script from 1951 that says "Full moon and heavenly treasure; Beautiful flowers and abundant year." The exhibition showed Qi Baishi's calligraphy and seals side by side, letting the visitors see how his "seals came from calligraphy, and calligraphy came from seals." The seals featured the Seal in Relief: San bai shi yin fu weng, meaning a rich man with three hundred stone seals, the Seal in Relief: Hui wu tang, meaning the Huiwu Studio, the Seal in Relief: Ren chang shou, meaning people's longevity, the Seal in Counter-relief: Zhong guo chang sha xiang tan ren ye, meaning he was from Xiangtan, Changsha, China, the Seal in Counter-relief: Da jiang zhi men, meaning the gate of master, and other seals that showed his unique style. 
 
　　The exhibition ran for almost five months in two Japanese museums. The Chinese and Japanese curators changed some of the artworks halfway through the exhibition at each museum. This let the Japanese and international audiences fully enjoy the beauty and depth of Qi Baishi's poems, calligraphy, paintings, and seals. They could also taste the Oriental aesthetic in Chinese art. 
 
　　Along with the exhibition, Beijing Fine Art Academy has published a book in Chinese and Japanese called Qi Baishi: Master of Modern Chinese Painting. The book  has research articles by scholars, pictures and details of all the artworks on display, and a timeline of Qi Baishi's artistic journey. It helped visitors learn more about Qi Baishi's art and enjoy his works better. 

Works Picture

Locale Picture

  • Ribbon-cutting cerem...

    Ribbon-cutting ceremony at the opening ceremony

  • Speech by Ms. Guo Ya...

    Speech by Ms. Guo Yan, Charge d'Affaires of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Japan, at the opening ceremony

  • Speech by Mr. Wu Hon...

    Speech by Mr. Wu Hongliang, Vice President of the Beijing Fine Art Academy, at the opening ceremony

  • Speech by Mr. Yoshim...

    Speech by Mr. Yoshimasa Hayashi, Chairman of the Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians' Union, at the opening ceremony

  • Speech by Mr. Masami...

    Speech by Mr. Masami Zeniya, Executive Director of the Tokyo National Museum, at the opening ceremony

  • Ms. Guo Yan, Charge ...

    Ms. Guo Yan, Charge d'Affaires of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Japan, and Mr. Yoshimasa Hayashi, Chairman of the Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians' Union, visited the exhibition.

  • Mr. Cheng Yonghua, A...

    Mr. Cheng Yonghua, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to Japan, visited the exhibition.

  • The poster for the Q...

    The poster for the Qi Baishi: Master of Modern Chinese Painting exhibition

  • Exhibition poster

    Exhibition poster

  • Exhibition venue

    Exhibition venue

  • The cultural and cre...

    The cultural and creative merchandise designed by the Beijing Fine Art Academy for this exhibition

  • Qi Baishi: Master of...

    Qi Baishi: Master of Modern Chinese Painting
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