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Introduction
Lingnan' or 'South of the
Ranges' refers to that part of China to the south of the 'Five Ranges'
which are Tayu, Qitian, Dupang, Mengzhu, Yuecheng. These ranges separate
the river basin of Changjiang, or the Yangzi River, in the central part
of China fr'om that of Zhujiang or the Pearl River, in the south. In the
Tang dynasty (618-906) Lingnan was the official name for the area
covering the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi as well as Annan. The
region covered by the name Lingnan has changed with time. Today, 'Ling"'nan'
aod 'Guangdong' can almost be treated as synonyms.
Thus when we speak of
'Lingnan painting' today, we are referring to the work of painters in
the Guangdong province in general. Strictly speaking, the two terms
'Lingnan painting' and 'Lingnan School painting' are not
interchangeable. The 'Lingnan School' is only one of the many schools of
painting in Lingnan, or Guangdong, and it should not be used to refer to
painting of the Guaiigdong province as a whole.
Since late nineteenth
century, the Lingnan School of painting has exerted tremendous influence
on the painting development of the Lingnan area, so much so that it
brought forth a new movement in Chinese painting in the first half of
the twentieth century. This was the result of the heroic effort of Gao
jianfu (1879-195 1), Gao Qifeng (1889.-1933) and Chen Shuren
(1883-1948). The success of these three painters was so prominent that
they are hailed,as the 'Three Masters of Lingnan'. To trace the early
styles of the painting of the Lingnan School, we shall have to study the
work of the famous flower painters, ju Lian (1828-1904), ju Chao
(1811-1865), Song Guangbao (19th century) and Mengjinyi (19th century.
It
is interesting to note how these masters were related to one another.
Gao Qifeng learnt the art of painting from his elder brother Gao Jianfu.
Two of the 'Three Masters of Lingnan', Gao Jianfu and Chen Shuren, were
the students of ju Lian. Chen Shuren wasrecorded to be the last student
of ju Lian, and their relationship was later further strengthened by the
marriage of Chen
Guangbao and Meng jinyi and
sought compromise between the opposite styles of the two masters. If Gao
jianfu, Gao Qifeng and Chen Shuren were the major exponents of the
Lingnan School, thenju Chao, ju Lian, Song Guangbao and Mengjinyi were
the forerunners.
Both Song and Meng were not
natives of Guang- dong. Song Guangbao, alias Outang, was a native of
Changzhou district injiangsu province. He was noted for his painting of
flowers and plants in a near-to-realistic manner in the style of Yuri
Shouping (1633-1690), one of the Six Great Masters of Early Qing. Meng
jinyi, alias Litang, was a native of Yanghu district, also in Jiangsu
province. His bird-and-flower paintings were modelled after those of
Chen Shen (1483-1544) of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Song and Meng
were invited to Guangdong 4 painting teachers by Li Bingshou, a native
of jiangxi,.-W!*,@ was appointed to an official post in Guangdong during
the reign of Daoguang (1821-1850). These two masters soon established
themselves as the leading bird-and-flower painters in the Lingnan
district. Among those who followed their style of painting based .on the
study of plant forms were the ju cousins.
Ju Chao, alias Meisheng,
pseudonym jinxianzhu, was a native of the Panyu district in Guangdong
province. He was a versatile scholar noted for his painting, poetry and
calligraphy. He was proficient in the painting Of birds, flowers,
inscects, fish, landscapes and human figures. In the field of
bird-and-flower painting, he was a master of the 'boneless technique'.
His paintings on floral subjects have a touch of refine- ment which
reveals his full mastery of his brush-work and colouring techniques, and
his understanding of the system of growth of flowers and plants. with
the niece of his teacher. On the other hand, ju Lian was the younger
cousin ofju Chao. While ju Chao followed the painting style of Song
Guangbao, ju Lian studied the paintings of both Song
ju Lian first learnt the art
of painting from his cousin Ju Chao. Later he learnt from the works of
Song Guangbao and Meng jinyi and those of earlier masters. He loved to
paint flowers, plants and particularly insects which he kept in his
garden. His. love- for painting insects made him the greatest insect
painter in Guangdong. Although he took Song and Meng and other masters
as his models in painting, he was not bound by the styles of anv of
them. He succeeded in establishing a style of his own. His special
colouring technique in which water and powder colour were skilfully
applied to enrici tonal gradation and textural feeling of leaves and
flower petals, and his emphasis on the importance of detailed study of
objects in life laid down the basis on which the Lingnan Scho6i painting
later developed. Among the early masters of the Lingnan School, ju Lian
was by far the most influential of all.
The significance of the
contribution of Lingnan School painters in the development of Chinese
painting in the 20th century cannot be over- emphasized. To promote a
better understanding of the work of this important school of painting,
the Hong Kong Museum of Art of the Urban Council has engaged herself in
a long term exhibition project beginning with the presentation of the
exhibition of 'Kwangtung Painting' in 197 3 when a general survey of the
different schools of Guangdong paintings from the Ming dynasty to
mid-20th century was made. A similar exhibition called by the name
'Lingnan Painting' based on the recent acquisitions of the Hong Kong
Museum of Art to supplement the 1973 survey was staged in 1976. It was
followed by a series of three one-man shows introducing the 'Three
Masters of Lingnan School', Gao jianfu, Chen Shuren and Gao Qifeng, in
1978, 1980 and 1982 respectively. To bring our survey of Lingnan School
masters up-to-date, two contemporary painters of that Scitool in Hong
Kong were introduced in out exhibition series under the title 'The Art
of Chao Shao-an' in 1979, and 'The Art of Yang Shen-sum' in 1981.
This is the tenth year since
we first presented the 'Kwangtung Painting' exhibition in our gallery,
and we take delight to mark our decade's effort in tracing the work of
the Lingnan School by this exhibition which, we hope, may bring to light
the artistic achievements of the forerunners of the school.
More About Lingnan
School of Art Please go to
www.lingnanart.com
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