THE SEMINAR FOR FILM GONG QI WAS ORGANIZED
On the theme of “Creating a great figure, Passing on the culture”
By Kai Gao in Beijing (China News) on 12th August
China Association of Literary Critics, jointly with Chinese Calligraphers Association and Chinese Literature and Art Foundation, convened the seminar for film Gong Qi in Beijing on 12th August.
This year marks the tenth anniversary of Gong Qi’s death, the eminent artist in Chinese painting & calligraphy, educator, classical philologist, connoisseur, redologists and master of Chinese culture. Master Qi has been one of the greatest contributors in spreading and carrying forward excellent Chinese traditional culture.
The film tells a series of life stories about Mr. Qi based on his biography. It is a biopic film directed by general director Yinnan Ding and his son director Xia Ding. In the cast list, Enran Ma takes the leading role, and Bili Wang, Xiangyu Kong, Shaogang Zhang, Weixun Zhang, Lin Liu and Junshan Xie performs main roles in the film.
It wins high praises from the experts and scholars at the seminar owing to the true and touchable stories, vivid performance and impressive plots, taken as a full display of Mr. Qi’s life journeys and his persistent in pursuing the truth of art.
Hong Ying, a well-known film critic states that, “The work reproduces the features of Mr. Qi to life by combining the master’s form and spirit through the performance of posture, appearance and exterior characteristics.” He notes that this is a great material for film. “We used to say culture is meant to convey ethics in cultural movies, but this time we create a figure to convey culture in reverse. Mr. Qi is a typical example of culture built in character, who mainly reflects the elements of Chinese culture and somewhat of Chinese philosophy. ” He adds, “The details in the play are excellent. For example, when Mr. Qi found so many fake works of him were selling in the street, he was still permissive and would rather to leave the seller a chance to earn living as long as no reactionary slogan was found around them. Such kind of details are accurate indications to tell the typical personalities of Mr. Qi. ”
Hong Ying says: ”In my opinion, the creation of certain character is also a means to convey culture and ethics embedded in the culture. I believe this is an excellent character, perspective and material for film.”
The screenwriter named Baohua Zhan says that ”We can say that Mr. Qi has pledged his life to watch over classical Chinese culture and diffuse excellent Chinese culture. During the mission, he is proved as a broadminded, vigorous and real character as he always acts as an exemplary person in the manner of a teacher. ” He points out, ”The film Gong Qi is valuable and totally different from prevailing entertainment carnivals. This is not to blame the audience. Because for a decade, our cultural films have brought the audience over to different aesthetic tastes and ideals. It’s our responsibility and we do that because of the market demand. The cultural works have to cater to the market and as a result the market element outweighs the mission of leading. Now the audience are tend to entertainment carnivals in keeping with their aesthetic tastes and ideals but less likely to accept profound works.”
Baohua Zhao also says that, in the category of culture, film is ought to convey ethics and values in spite of following the marketing rules and targeting to make profit. “This is the missing element in current circumstance. I can’t imagine what will happen when cultural film is presented without any cultural value. ”
Professor Qing Dai from Drama, film and television institute of art department in Communication University of China, states that this film is superior not because of the dramatic effect. Among many biopic for politics like Sun Zhongshan, Deng Xiaoping, Chou Enlai, it’s easier to perform the explicit dramatic and conflict stories of politics, but more hard to bring the still water running deep to the surface for a great master of Chinese culture. “Mr. Qi doesn’t go through big fluctuations in his life except of the only suffering period for general intellectuals at that times. ” Professor Dai considers that, it’s really difficult to present the biography on this occasion, but the film Gong Qi has made breakthrough through difficulties. The narration is built at a proper tempo, making the appealing and flexible arrangement based on the history. That’s the the significant achievement of a artistic film as itself.
However, Yunju Xiang, the vice-president of China Association of Literary Critics, says: ”Mr. Qi is a renowned calligrapher. I think the film has past the test and taken an overall showcase about the art of calligraphy. The camera is focused on details that are hardly perceived by the audience, such as the sound when a pen is soaking into water. The expression of pen, ink and tools is amazing along the presentation of art in Chinese painting and calligraphy. It a an uncommon expressing device when it is concerned to previous similar movies or displays of art variety. ”
It is reported that, film Gong Qi are due to hit the cinemas recently.
(Original headline: THE SEMINAR FOR FILM GONG QI WAS ORGANIZED, on the theme of “Creating a great figure, Passing on the culture”)