CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Monday, February 1, 2021 | 17 LIFE girl named He Xiangning Japan, He attended women’s was born to an affluent schools to study natural sciences family in Hong Kong in and fine arts. She achieved excel- 1878. lence in classical ink painting, a tra- AHer parents had no expectation dition in both China and Japan. She that she, their ninth child, would was especially adept at portraying become an accomplished person. natural landscapes, flowers and ani- They only wanted her to be obedient mals. and quiet, like other women were He’s paintings present an accu- expected to be during China’s feudal mulation of Chinese cultural tradi- era. tions and a scholarly temperament. Decades later, He rose to fame as a They also express her desire for revolutionary, social activist and social reform and her devotion to avid advocate of women’s rights. She raising the profile of women. served in a number of high-ranking Lion, an iconic work in He’s oeu- governmental positions after the vre in which she painted on silk in founding of the People’s Republic of 1914, has been exhibited widely and China in 1949, and today she is is part of the current display at the recognized as one of the nation’s Beijing Fine Art Academy’s muse- greatest women of the 20th century. um. He’s achievements as a gifted and Yu Feng, a painter and essayist, well-trained painter, however, are said He created “smooth, delicate less well-known to the public. drawings of the beast’s loose hairs, The New Paintings of Flowing its bone structure and muscles, giv- Water and High Mountains, an ing the work a lifelike, three-dimen- exhibition at the Art Museum of Bei- sional feel”. jing Fine Art Academy running “She presented the imposing through Feb 28, reveals her diverse manner of lions and tigers to sym- craftsmanship and extensive con- bolize the awakening awareness of a nections in cultural circles. nation,” Yu said. The exhibition showcases He’s In addition, pine trees, bamboo, paintings and works she collabo- plums and chrysanthemums were rated on from the collection of the recurring objects both in the works He Xiangning Art Museum in He made on her own and in land- Shenzhen, Guangdong province. scapes she collaborated on. The institution, which opened in Paintings she produced in the 1997, is dedicated to the research 1910s and the early 1920s are highly and display of He’s work. The photo taken in 1963 shows He Xiangning jointly creating a painting with prominent artists Fu Baoshi (left) and decorative, featuring vibrant colors, Also on display are paintings Pan Tianshou (center). PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY meticulous brushwork and full- offered by the academy that were bodied composition. created by noted artists whom He After Liao was murdered in 1925, got on well after she relocated to Bei- He’s paintings gradually took on a jing in 1949. She resided in the capi- calm, reserved style. tal until her death in 1972. Yu said He then began to adopt a The exhibition offers a distinctive reduced color palette and sought to perspective into the extraordinary showcase varied presentations by life of a woman whose commitment An activist’s art layering shades of ink. to the progress of modern China Yu said the change in He’s works complemented her artistic evolu- displayed simplicity and were indica- tion over the course of more than Revolutionary leader He Xiangning was well­known for standing up for women’s tive of a manner unique to the tradi- seven decades, says Xue Liang, a tion of classical Chinese literati senior curator of the academy’s rights in China, but less well-known for her progressive paintings, Lin Qi reports. paintings; her brushwork expressed museum. her anger over the setbacks in the rev- olutionary cause and the concerns A girl of ideals have their feet bound so as to stop she had about her country. The works being exhibited date them from growing. It was a popu- He’s vivid palette returned in the back as early as the 1910s, during lar practice because a woman’s 1950s and ’60s to reflect her joy at a which He depicted ferocious ani- small feet were considered a symbol booming scene of socialist construc- mals, such as tigers and lions, and of beauty and of a higher social tions across China. plants that symbolize integrity in standing. Yi E, a senior researcher at the the Chinese cultural tradition, such She defied her parents, who National Art Museum of China in as plums and chrysanthemums. insisted on binding her feet. Each Beijing, says He’s collaboration with He’s paintings convey a coura- time they did it, she would use a pair established painters, including geous, heroic spirit rather than the of scissors, which she had hid in the those working at the Beijing Fine gentle, lovely feminine tempera- family altar, to cut the tight ban- Art Academy, reached its peak in the ment that can be found in many dages. She was so insistent that her 1950s. And when she traveled south works painted by women in Chinese parents finally gave up the practice. to Shanghai, Nanjing in Jiangsu art history. As He grew up, her family worried province or Hangzhou, capital of During her girlhood, He showed that her normal-sized feet, which Zhejiang province, to escape the intelligence, distinctive determina- were considered big and not good winters in North China, she would tion and a fighting spirit. looking at the time, would frighten co-create paintings with artists He’s father, He Zai, a successful away possible suitors. there, including Huang Binhong, business owner and a follower of But at age 19, He married Liao Pan Tianshou and Fu Baoshi, which feudal thoughts, established sishu, a Zhongkai, an American-born Chi- brought her great delight. traditional home-schooling struc- nese from the United States study- He was elected chairperson of the ture popular among well-off fami- ing in Hong Kong who aspired for China Artists Association in 1960. lies more than 100 years ago. But he social transformation and who had Her passion for painting lasted until excluded his daughters from attend- said he wanted to wed a woman late in her life. ing it, for he believed women were who was free of foot binding. “It (painting) won’t tire me,” He inferior to men and need not learn. In 1902, He sold her dowry items, once said to her family. “I’ve been He Xiangning, who received a including jewelry and furniture, to painting all my life. I feel happiest considerable allowance from her raise money for her and her hus- right now.” parents, had little interest in luxury band to study in Japan. Yu said every time she visited He spending. Instead, she saved the After arriving there, the couple met Xiangning, she would show paint- money to buy books that were used revolutionaries including Sun Yat- ings she coproduced with promi- at the home school. When she had sen and were inspired by their ideas nent artists. questions, she turned to her broth- to end feudalism in China. The cou- “There were always half-done ers for help or asked servants to seek ple were among the earliest members paintings on her desk which depict- answers from the sishu tutors of the Tongmenghui (China Revolu- ed a pine tree, a stone or a plum behind her father’s back. tionary Alliance), an antimonarchist branch,” Yu said. Self-learning planted the seeds of society Sun founded in Tokyo in 1905 “She said, ‘I’m too weak to finish He’s independence and gave her the The Beijing exhibition features which became a predecessor of the (the paintings). I will be happy if will to stand up against the oppres- works by He Xiangning, includ- Kuomintang. other painters could complete them sion of women. ing Chrysanthemums (above), for me.’” He was strongly opposed to foot Plum (top right) and her iconic Revolutionary path binding, a practice in feudal China work, Lion (right). While Liao studied political and Contact the writer at in which young girls were forced to PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY economic sciences at university in [email protected] What’s on A bullish display ancient Silk Road. The exhibition, 9 am-5 pm, Tuesday to Sunday. 251 7:30 pm, Feb 4 to 6. National Center China, showing around 87 fine of flowers of various species and through March 20, uses nearly 300 Huanhua Nan Lu, Chengdu, Sichuan for the Performing Arts. No 2 West examples of the craft from the depictions of literary classics, artifacts to reflect the diversity and province.028-6552-1888. Chang’an Avenue, Xicheng district, museum’s collection and which which depicted the leisurely lifes- dynamics of these cultures. The Beijing.010-6655-0000. dates between the Song (960-1279) tyle of scholars. objects on display are largely from Swanning around and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. 9 am-5 pm, Tuesday to Sunday. 25 the collection of the Hirayama Ikuo A well-polished history The show begins with a prosperous Gushan Lu, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Silk Road Museum, which was scene of lacquering in Jiangsu and province. 0571-8601-3085. built by Ikuo Hirayama, the late China’s long history of using natu- Zhejiang provinces, two major pro- ral lacquer to make objects for daily Japanese painter and collector of duction hubs in the Song era. By Musical airs antiquities related to the Silk Road. use more beautiful and durable is then, the industry had developed a There are also collections from the evident in the lacquerware of Neo- variety of delicate carving and Under the baton of conductor Hong Sichuan Museum, the Shaanxi His- lithic relics discovered around the embellishing techniques for lac- Xia, the Traditional Orchestra of the tory Museum in Xi’an and the Gan- country.