Qiandao Lake, the beautiful scenery more than paintings in Gong Qi’s Mind
Abstract: Gong Qi (1912-2005) is a great master in calligraphy and Chinese culture. He is listed on Baidu with a series of titles,“the 9th generation of Yongzheng Emperor, a notable contemporary artist in painting and calligraphy, educator, classical philologist, connoisseur, redologists, poet and...... ”The famed master has never been to Qiandao Lake but he is connected to the resort in many ways.
Suggested keywords: Gong Qi, Qiandao Lake
Gong Qi (1912-2005) is a great master in calligraphy and Chinese culture. He is listed on Baidu with a series of titles,“the 9th generation of Yongzheng Emperor, a notable contemporary artist in painting and calligraphy, educator, classical philologist, connoisseur, redologists, poet and...... ”
The famed master has never been to Qiandao Lake but he is connected to the resort in many ways. As he wrote in poem that “I heard that Qiandao is a famous resort, the very beautiful scenery more than paintings. Do not laugh at me for my envision, as Dongpo also envisions over Westlake far away. ”After viewing the long scroll of Qiandao Lake created by artist Yanggao Zhou, Gong Qi again gasped that “I’ve never been to the well-known Qiandao Lake. I appreciate the long scroll for the vivid picturesque. In the rising peaks, the continuous smoke and rains, the enchanting fog and mists, there comes a new image through the superb painting and poem. ”
Why Qi Gong is attached to Qiandao Lake though he has never went there personally. Let’s find the clues to his stories together.
Precious words“The Memorial Tablet of Qiandao Lake”
In 1996, people set up “The Memorial Tablet of Qiandao Lake”as a landmark for Qiandao county. The tablet was located nearby Iangbin park in the place of the old dock. It was set to memorize Chun’an migrants for their sacrifice for the community of 300,000 people. On the side facing the lake, the inscription is filled with a monumental writing for the great immigration. On the other side is “The Memorial Tablet of Qiandao Lake”, the six Chinese characters inscribed by Gong Qi.
Why it is from Gong Qi? To get the fact, we consulted the staffs who had been in charge of this matter. He recalled that the county government had determined to establish a monument for the large scale migration and planned to invite a great artist to write inscription. As he said Shi Qiao, Puchu Zhao and Gong Qi were the ideal candidates for the inscription at that time.
The president of Beijing Normal University Press called for Gong Qi and acted as liaison. “We took the inscription instructions and design drawings to Beijing. But we didn’t get the chance to meet Gong Qi, all the arrangement was referred to the president. At that time, the inscription by Gong Qi was regarded as highly accomplished work at a price of one thousand RMB for each character. We submitted the fees to the educational foundation of Beijing Normal University that was found in the name of Gong Qi. ”
Thereupon, the six characters has became be the first link between Qiandao Lake and Gong Qi.
The artwork“Praise of Qiandao Lake”by Gong Qi
Once kept in Jingxi Hotel in Beijing
People think that the only connection between Gong Qi and Qiandao Lake is about the six characters inscribed on a memorial tablet. They hardly realize that Gong Qi had created a treasure calligraphy for Qiandao Lake, which wrote “I heard that Qiandao is a famous resort, the very beautiful scenery more than paintings. Do not laugh at me for my envision, as Dongpo also envisions over Westlake far away. ”
Several years ago, an administrator of the county traveled to Beijing and came across to the treasure poem in Jingxi hotel.
Later, he reminded staffs of local Archive Bureau that there was a long beautiful poem of Qiandao Lake by Gong Qi hanging on the wall of Jingxi hotel.
As they arrived the hotel, they were told that the artwork had already been sold at 418,000RMB under the hammer. Thankfully, the hotel provided some photos about the artwork before the auction. So that the trip was not all in vain although they missed the chance the get the authentic work.
The full context of the poem is as following:
The long beautiful poem, a description of the beautiful landscape and culture of Qiandao Lake, has made everyone wonders how could he create the refined poem without being to the resort. If he was around someone who comes from Chun’an? Or if he just perceived the magnificence from television or newspaper?
The long scroll of Qiandao Lake by Yanggao Zhou cause regret for Gong Qi
In recent years, the staffs of local Archive Bureau went hither and thither to collect paintings and calligraphy on the subject of Qiandao Lake. Accompanied with Zhihua Liu who was the previous chairman of literary federation, they searched for artworks about Qiandao Lake in The Palace Museum.
Zhihua Liu found “The collection by Gong Qi” by chance and riffled through it until he read another poem about Qiandao Lake. Unfortunately, he couldn’t recall the complete poem after the hasty reading and failed to borrow the book again as he tracing back. As a result, the local library in Chun’an county added “The collection by Gong Qi”into inventory for the convenience of their editorial committee. According to the studies, this poem was inspired by a long scroll of Qiandao Lake created by Yanggao Zhou.
It was informed that the artist Yanggao Zhou had been guide about a dozen of students from Shanghai to paint from the nature in 1984. In the trip he accomplished The Wonderful Scenery of Hushan by Qiandao Lake in a long scroll of 8.2*0.45m. The art work was exhibited in Bejing after then as it happened to Gong Qi to take full enjoyment in the beautiful scenery of Qiandao Lake through the painting. It evoked Go Qi’s sighing in the poem that “ I appreciate the long scroll for the vivid picturesque, there comes a new image through the superb painting and poem. ”
Afterwards, the staffs of local Archive Bureau paid a visit to artist Yanggao Zhou . They were informed that the scroll had been auctioned off and only left with an official copy for the artwork.
The archive bureau took efforts jointly with related technical department to recover the scroll. At last, they worked out the complete appearance but failed to improve the less clear picture. Gong Qi remarked that both the delicate painting and beautiful poem are expressive portraits in the long scroll. Whereby he cited two sentences from the poem saying“There is the bright scene of one lake and a thousand islands between the heaven and earth, the clear sky after rain and the rising mists gathering from all sides. The thousands of mountains are spreading in the universe, while a hint of sunset is glowing upon the earth. ”and referred them as a typical example in the thorough narration of Qiandao Lake after a rain.