Friendship in art : Fou Lei and Huang Binhong

This book charts a special friendship between two creative individuals who helped shape Chinese culture in the twentieth century - the revered traditional painter Huang Binhong and the young, cosmopolitan critic Fou Lei. This book documents in letters, photos, and paintings a special friendship between two highly creative individuals who helped shape Chinese culture in the twentieth century—the revered traditional painter Huang Binhong (1865-1955) and the young, cosmopolitan critic and translator Fu Lei (1908-66). As one of China's oldest and most distinguished artists in the 1940s and 1950s, Huang Binhong was committed to artistic continuity and the reinvigoration of brush-and-ink painting. Fu Lei was a child of the New Culture Movement that repudiated many literati traditions, but reached out to Huang Binhong to discuss the possibilities for contemporary Chinese art amid the tides of war and Communist dictates of socialist realism as the guiding priority for cultural workers. Both were cultural mediators and translators of ideas and cultural expressions. Both had a deep appreciation of the common origins of calligraphy and painting, rendering complex feelings with brush and ink. Their intimate artistic conversations over more than a decade depict their alienation and uncertainty amid China's turbulent cultural politics This book documents in letters, photos, and paintings a special friendship between two highly creative individuals who helped shape Chinese culture in the twentieth century—the revered traditional painter Huang Binhong (1865–1955) and the young, cosmopolitan critic and translator Fou Lei (1908–66). As one of China's oldest and most distinguished artists in the 1940s and 1950s, Huang Binhong was committed to artistic continuity and reinvigoration of brush-and-ink painting. Fou Lei was a child of the New Culture Movement which repudiated many literati traditions, but reached out to Huang Binhong to discuss the possibilities for contemporary Chinese art amid the tides of war and Communist dictates of socialist realism as the guiding priority for cultural workers. Both were cultural mediators and translators of ideas and cultural expressions. Both had deep appreciation of the common origins of calligraphy and painting, rendering complex feelings with brush and ink. Their intimate artistic conversations over more than a decade depict their alienation and uncertainty amid China's turbulent cultural politics. Contents 8 List of Illustrations 9 Acknowledgements 12 A Note on Romanization and Translation 16 Introduction 18 1 - Fou Lei: Shanghai and Paris 28 2 - On Art: Fou Lei’s Early Writings 44 3 - Huang Binhong and Fou Lei 66 4 - Huang Binhong’s First Solo Show Curated by Fou Lei 92 5 - Artistic Conversations 118 6 - Politics and Culture: China in the 1950s 152 7 - Huang Binhong: The Artistic Legacy 176 8 - Friendship in Art: Fou Lei and Huang Binhong 212 Notes 220 Glossary of Chinese Names and Terms 230 References 236 Index 244 This text charts the friendship between literary translator Fou Lei and scholar artist Huang Binhong, two towering creative individuals who played very different roles in the evolution of Chinese culture in the 20th century