Page 74 - Modern Chinese Paintings, Hk Nov. 27,2017

A rainstorm sweeps down on the northern land, 大雨落幽燕，白浪滔天，秦皇島外打魚船。
White breakers leap to the sky.
No fishing boats off Qinhuangdao 一片汪洋都不見，知向誰邊？
Are seen on the boundless ocean.
Where have they gone? 往事越千年，魏武揮鞭，東臨碣石有遺篇。

Nearly two thousand years ago 蕭瑟秋風今又是，換了人間。
Wielding his whip, the Emperor Weiwu
Rode eastward to the rock; his poem survives. - 《浪淘沙·北戴河 》
Today the autumn wind still sighs,
But the world has changed!

- Beidaihe (to the melody of Langtaosha)

Fu Baoshi’s use of poetry to complement paintings was an idea he used frequently from the early 1940s to the end of his life. Fu’s early study of Chinese
art history put him in good stead in borrowing poetry from Shi Tao, Du Fu, Bai Juyi and others to inspire his artistic direction, a particular well-known
one being The Song of the Pipa Player executed in 1945 (Lot 8801). Owing to the new political atmosphere in the 1950s, Fu shifted his literary inspirations
from old masters to new leaders, taking inspiration from Mao Zedong’s charged, evocative poetry and creating masterpieces such as the large joint work
with Guan Shanyue Such is the Beauty of Our Rivers and Mountains.As Fu’s works began to mature and his skill continued to develop, the 1960s saw further
development in parallel with Mao’s increase in his compilation of poetry.

The poem Beidaihe (to the melody of Langtaosha) was created in 1954 by Mao during the second Five-Year Plan, and Fu’s interpretation of the poem in
the present painting is thought to have been created in 1960. To the modern artists of the 1960s, the notion of transformation involved not only artistic
innovation but also ideological change as reflected in the artist’s conception, in turn serving contemporary political needs. Similar works were created
during this time period, such as Autumn Breeze (Fig. 1) at the Nanjing Museum, as well as a piece by the same name dated 1965 (Fig. 2).

Fu was charged with the mission of “painting our rivers and mountains with meticulous care”, and in this instance, the foliage and rhythm of falling
leaves, faint marks of rain, together with the simple placement and expression of fishermen catching shrimp and crab all aptly express the artist’s idea and
feelings evoked through Mao’s poetry.

Using a “high-distance” gaoyuan view of the riverscene, Fu freely applies light washes, accentuating the subtle veil of rain, and the dancing movements
of Fu’s brush gives an essence of lightness and poise to the shimmering river forms and boats that stretch beyond the horizon.The subtle gradation of
ink washes effectively convey light, atmosphere and moisture. Significantly, the falling autumn leaves are reminiscent of the falling leaves in many of Fu’s
female potraits of Lady Xiang, such as TheTwo Goddesses of Xiang River, where the falling leaves and hint of a light breeze further accentuate Fu’s originality
in composition, and ingenuously conveys a moment in time on Beidaihe.

以詩詞入畫意，是傅抱石一直以來的創作追求。傅抱石早年研習中國美術史，即創作過一批以石濤、杜甫、白居易等古人詩意為題材的作品，
典型者如1945年所作《琵琶行》即取自唐代詩人白居易名篇（拍品編號8801）。1950年代，在全新的政治環境下，傅抱石開始實踐以毛澤東詞意
入畫創作，其巔峰則是1959年與關山月合作、為人民大會堂創作的《江山如此多嬌》。毛澤東一生創作大量詩詞，多表現政治家的視野和氣魄。
本作品取詞意自毛澤東1954年創作的《浪淘沙·北戴河》。當時是國民經濟基本恢復後開展第一個五年計劃，進行大規模經濟建設的第二年。中
國的社會面貌相比於1949年已產生明顯起色。“蕭瑟秋風”源於曹操《觀滄海》“秋風蕭瑟，洪波湧起”。當時曹操有雄心統一中原，但終究未
果。而此時，毛澤東來到曹操曾經到過的地方秦皇島，眼前已是全新社會。雖詞句表面含蓄，但在兩者對比之下，毛澤東的自信與興奮之情溢於
詞面。

此作比照原詞，畫家以俯視的角度將海岸線盡收眼底。漁船星星點點綴於海面，一直綿延至遠方。紛紛紅葉落下，正應和“蕭瑟秋風”意境。
又使人聯想到其名作《湘夫人》中紅葉落下的效果。在創作之前，畫
家以清水融合極澹的墨汁在紙面刷過，營造出一種朦朧的煙雨效果，
這已成為傅氏標誌性山水創作技法。

傅抱石以《浪淘沙·北戴河》一詞入畫，大約肇始於1950年代末。同題
材類似作品可見現藏於南京博物院之《蕭瑟秋風》（圖1），按年款同
為庚子年。同一畫題作品亦可見1965年作《毛澤東浪淘沙·北戴河詞意
圖》（圖2），以橫幅作畫，視角不同，畫面重點放在左下赭色秋林之
上，應為畫家後期之另一嘗試。同一詞意作多種嘗試，可見傅抱石對
此詞意入畫創作之執著。

Fig 1 圖1 Fig 2 圖2

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