Page 53 - Contenporary Ink Chinese Painting Nov 27 2017 Hong Kong

“ M edicine is a risky mix. The relationship between the toxicity and the medicinal qualities is
sometimes contradictory, sometimes collective. They exert mutual promotion and restraint on
each other, nothing collapses.”

“是藥三分毒，毒性和藥性 之間，有時是 對立的，有時是統一的，此消彼長，生生不息。”

Creatively interpreting ancient wisdom while fusing art and between the beautifully painted flowers and the dark and
medicine, Six Flavour Rehmanni is a comprehensive medical sombre pills that we use today provides a point of reflection: in an
manual in the format of a twelve-leaf, traditionally bound album industrialised world removed from nature, the plants that make
of painting and calligraphy. Beginning by outlining the herbal up the medicine have become unrecognisable to us. Through her
concoction itself, Zhang Yanzi elegantly illustrates the herbal fine brushwork, Zhang reinvigorates life through nature and its
ingredients in their floral forms over eight leaves, complemented healing power.
by descriptions from historical medical literature. The album then
ends with the recipe for preparing the medicine and the dosage. Born in 1967 in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, Zhang Yanzi studied
The album’s leaves are delicately stained with the resultant at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and received
recipe, and perforated in an echo of traditional analgesic patches a Master of Fine Art in traditional ink painting in 2007. Her
commonly used in China. Leafing through the album offers a fascination with medicine and the medical sciences began at
multi-sensory experience for the contemporary viewer. an early age. Influenced by her veterinarian father, Zhang was
exposed to medical paraphernalia and the notion of healing at
Since Zhang Yanzi’s Remedy series came into being in 2013, her an early age. Later, medical tools became a theme in her work. In
art and medicine have been closely intertwined: western medical 2018, Zhang Yanzi will present two solo shows in the UK: at the
pills, syringes, Chinese herbal medicine, and gauze bandages are Surgeons’ Hall Museums and the Museum of East Asian Art.
all muses and inspirations. Six Flavour Rehmanni is a prescription Zhang currently lives and works in Beijing.
from traditional Chinese medicine: one that, according to ancient
texts, strengthens the function of the kidney. Now available as 中藥古方向來承載了古人的智慧。受此啟發，《六味地黃丸》以
processed pills, it is a commonly used medicine, not only to heal 十二開冊頁的形式描繪這源遠流長的名藥處方，作品書畫合璧，
but also to nourish. The original prescription was written by Qian 充滿詩意，以富現代性的理解去重新演繹古人對生命的種種態度
Yi, a medical doctor from the Song imperial court. As its name 及歷久彌新的古典理論。章燕紫先描寫六味地黃丸藥方功用，再
suggests, this medical concoction consists of six major herbal 以優雅細膩的筆觸去描繪熟地黃、山藥、茯苓、澤瀉、山茱萸等
ingredients: 五種草藥植物開花結果的形態，輔以《本草綱目》中的文字，最
後以書法寫完整處方結尾。冊頁中，每一頁的背景都經由章燕紫
Herb 草藥 Function 功效 用藥方熬製的中藥渲染著色；紙張上整齊的小孔，又令人聯想起
Chinese foxglove root 傳統中藥的止痛貼。於是對觀者而言，欣賞《六味地黃丸》成為
熟地黃 Clears heat, cools blood, nourishes kidney yin 了一個多感官的嶄新體驗。
and promotes body fluids production
Japanese cornel fruit 滋陰補血，益精填髓 章燕紫從 2013 年開始創作《止痛貼》系列作品，醫藥與藝術亦
山茱萸 在她的創作中愈來愈緊密相連，以膠囊、注射器、中草藥、紗布
Nourishes the liver and kidney, restrains the 繃帶等形象出現。六味地黃丸這一古方現選宋代太醫錢乙所著
Chinese yam leakage of the essence 《小兒藥證直訣》，是一種如今廣泛使用的方劑。中醫學認為，
山藥 補益肝腎，收斂固澀 六味地黃丸有滋陰補腎的功效，藥方由六種草藥組成。

Water plantain Replenishes vital energy (qi), enriches yin, 醫藥，往往令人有守舊嚴謹的印象。在中藥的科學框架下，患
澤瀉 reinforces spleen, lungs and kidneys, and stops 者更需要嚴格遵循千年古老的藥方。然而章燕紫筆下婀娜多姿
excessive essence depletion 的花草，則與現代人意識中的中藥大相徑庭，形成了強烈的對
Tuckahoe mushroom 補脾益腎、養肺、止瀉、斂汗之功效 比：如今工業化的社會中，中成藥丸均為批量生產，往往以膠
茯苓 囊形式出現，令現代人無法想象或還原藥方中的不同草藥的面
Tree peony bark Promotes urination, drains dampness, purges 貌。章燕紫恰是借這一切入點，通過創作去展示藝術治愈心靈
牡丹皮 heat 的深層意義，引人深思。
利水滲濕，泄熱
章燕紫，生於 1967 年，江蘇鎮江人，2007 年獲中央美術學院
Drains dampness from the spleen 碩士學位。幼時受當獸醫的父親影響，在成長過程中經常接觸
滲濕利水，益脾和胃，寧心安神 到不同的醫療用具以及治療、治愈的主題，並開始把醫療工具
和藥品帶入創作。2018 年，章燕紫將於英國愛丁堡外科醫生大
Clears heat and promotes blood circulation to 廳博物館及巴斯東亞藝術博物館舉行個人展覽。章燕紫現居於
dissipate stasis 北京。
清熱涼血，活血散瘀

Medicine often conjures images of rigid adherence to age-old
prescriptions. However, within this thousand-year old scientific
framework, Zhang’s flowers and herbs are fresh, colourful, and
in bloom – something perhaps unexpected in a contemporary
conception of Chinese herbal medicine. The stark contrast

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