Tradition Sustained in Painting Brushes—Birds and Flowers in Tan Shengqiang’s Paintings

By Han Xiaoling & Sun Qiaoyan

In his studio in Wuhan on June 11, 2019, the 65-yearold Tan Shengqiang indulged himself in painting. With a few strokes of his brush, two giant bamboos and a brood of chickens appeared on the paper, adding a sense of coolness to the hot summer.

He has dedicated his life to his beloved art of traditional Chinese painting. Most of his works are brush paintings of birds and flowers, and occasionally portraits.

Tan Shengqiang was born in a well-educated family and learned to paint under the influence of his uncle Zhou Tianlin. Tutored by Mr. Xu Song’an, a prominent Chinese painter, Zhou Tianlin pursues the art of implanting tradition into daily life. Both Zhou Tianlin’s hard work and the innovation of “depicting the view in your mind by drawing inspiration from nature and tradition” have been engraved on the heart of Tan Shengqiang. In 2014, Zhou Tianlin and Tan Shengqiang had a joint painting exhibition, a valuable memory for the two artists.

Another important person who influenced Tan Shengqiang was his aunt, a famous Han Opera performer. Consequently, Tan Shengqiang loves traditional opera and has been a loyal opera fan for many years. He believes that there is some connection between Chinese painting and traditional opera, and thus often integrates operatic elements into his paintings.

Tan Shengqiang shared one of his anecdotes with us during the interview. He once attended an activity organized by Beijing Opera Club. He completed an ink painting of peony while the opera fans were performing on the stage. The fans praised his painting, and he replied in a humorous way, “It’s the wind not me that draws the painting. A painter’s heart should be dancing with the wind while drawing; otherwise the painting would be a lifeless item.”

在筆墨之間接續傳統——談盛強的中國畫藝術

文/韓曉玲 孫巧巖

6月11日，在中國武漢市的一間畫室里，65歲的談盛強揮毫潑墨。寥寥數筆，兩竿勁竹、一群小雞便躍然紙上，為夏日增添一抹清幽之意。

這位勤奮的畫家，將半生時光托付給了自己鐘愛的國畫藝術。他的作品，多為寫意花鳥，有時也畫人物。

談盛強幼承庭訓，舅舅周天林對他的影響至為深刻。周天林是著名國畫家徐松安的弟子，在老師的言傳身教下，一直堅持繼承傳統、深入生活的藝術創作思想。周天林“以自然為師，以傳統為基因，寫胸中丘壑”的藝術追求，使談盛強從小受到潛移默化的影響；舅舅深夜在燈下勤奮作畫的背影，也令他一生難忘。2014年，周天林、談盛強還舉辦了水墨聯展，成為舅甥倆藝術生涯的珍貴記憶。

身為漢劇演員的一位姨母，對談盛強也影響頗深。他因此熱愛傳統戲曲，多年來不僅是一名忠實票友，藝術創作中也時常融入戲劇藝術的元素。在他看來，國畫和戲曲在藝術上有著相通之處。

談盛強為記者講述了一件趣事。2017年，在一家京劇社的活動中，票友們吹拉彈唱，而他現場揮毫畫下一幅水墨牡丹。眾人稱贊牡丹畫得好，他風趣地說：“不，是風畫得好。心要靈動起來，否則畫的就是死物。”

講到得意處，這位花甲老人哈哈大笑，竟有幾分孩童般的純真。

正是這樣的純真，使他在幾十年的藝術生涯中，一直保持著年輕的心態，以及不為世俗所動的堅定。

A Childhood Memory by Tan Shengqiang 談盛強畫作《為君記取少年時》

The old artist laughed cheerfully as he recalled the scene.

It’s the pure-mindedness of his heart that sustains his young mind and his passionate pursuit of art over the decades.

Tan Shengqiang started his career at Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Institute of Wuhan and was responsible for drawing the Chinese paintings which were exported to the foreign market. His experience of copying famous traditional paintings enabled him to learn the masters’ skills in sketching, inking, coloring and framing. While copying the paintings, he was also mentored by several notable painters, such as Mr. Liu Zizhu in portrait, Mr. Xin Shi in landscape, and Mr. Tang Dakang in birds and flowers.

Blooming Chrysanthemum at the Double Ninth Festival by Tan Shengqiang談盛強畫作《花開正重陽》

Tan Shengqiang also followed Zhou Tianlin and his other teachers to do outdoor sketches in Three Gorges, Guilin, Huangshan Mountain, Lushan Mountain and other scenic locations. Where the nature became an open studio, he appreciated and depicted its beauty in a poetic manner.

For years, Tan Shengqang has been committed to the brush painting of birds and flowers. His works are clear and elegant. He is good at painting plum blossom, bamboo, lotus, chrysanthemum, peony and wisteria, as well as chicken. Under his brushes, even the simple chicken becomes vibrant and delightful; presenting a unique painting with the decoration of blooming peony and swaying bamboo leaves.

Professor Lou Yu from the School of Fine Arts, Central China Normal University, once commented on Tan’s paintings that, “In terms of tradition and artistic feature, Tan Shengqiang’s painting style is more like the literati painting of Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasties (1644-1912), which places emphasis on personal expression and sketching skills. While the fellow painters try to innovate and modernize the landscape painting, he reserves the traditions and borrows techniques from past painters from the Five Dynasties (907-960) to Song (960-1279), Yuan (1271-1368), and later dynasties. He is good at drawing inspiration from nature and life, and has established a fresh and free personal style.”

Li Shoukun, a Chinese calligraphy and painting master, said that Tan Shengqiang constantly improves himself while staying true to tradition, untarnished by fame or material gains. He attributed Tan’s progress to his modest attitude in artistic learning and practice. Only by working hard and persevering can one truly benefit on the long and arduous path of art.

Despite of the old age, Tan Shengqiang is still passionate about his painting. He values traditional culture and is worried about the trend of panentertainment in society. He’s afraid that some people have confused entertainment with art, fearing such confusion will become a social problem which needs to be discussed. And he believes that real art makes people feel noble and pleasant.

(Translation: Li Li)

青年時代，談盛強進入原武漢市中國書畫院，從事繪制中國畫出口工作，大量臨仿歷代名畫。這段特殊的工作經歷，使他得以在反復臨摹中，向古人“學習”筆法、墨法、用色、構圖等。其間，他還求教于名家，向劉子鑄學習人物畫，向辛石學習山水畫，向唐大康學習花鳥畫。

談盛強曾經隨諸師和周天林，多次赴三峽、桂林、黃山、廬山等地寫生，在大自然的“畫室”里，感受和描繪自然詩意之美。

多年來，談盛強醉心于寫意花鳥，作品多清潤雅致。他擅長畫梅、竹、荷、菊、牡丹、紫藤等，以雞為主角的花鳥畫也不少。在他筆下，小雞筆墨雖簡，形態卻富有靈動感，憨態可掬，往往與怒放的牡丹、搖曳的墨竹等相映成趣。

華中師范大學美術學院婁宇教授曾這樣評價：“從傳承的角度和畫藝的特質看，談盛強的畫風接近于追求意趣、講究筆墨的明清文人畫。在水墨畫不斷求新求異的當代實驗格局中，他甘于守望傳統，廣泛汲取自五代至宋元以來的諸家之長。他善于擷取豐富的自然生活，直通寫意的境界，建立了清新雋逸的個人風格。”

A Peaceful Lotus Pond by Tan Shengqiang 談盛強畫作 《清氣滿乾坤》

書畫家李壽昆感慨地說，談盛強在藝術追求上，不慕時利，不求虛名，堅持在繼承傳統的基礎上穩步前進。他的虛心學習，使得他能夠不斷進步，這是可喜的。藝術道路是漫長的、無止境的，只有勤奮努力才能有所收獲。

談盛強年逾花甲仍充滿激情，孜孜不倦地創作。熱愛傳統文化的他，對近年的泛娛樂化現象表示憂慮。他說，社會上有些人把娛樂和藝術混為一談，這值得討論。真正的藝術是能夠使人高尚、感到愉悅的。