[Master’s Studio] Liu Guoyu: Poetry, calligraphy and painting, all indispensable for a Chinese painter

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In Wengyuan, a small county in Shaoguan, Guangdong Province, stands a mountain called “Wengshan”. Liu Guoyu, an 82-year-old painter, calls himself a “man of Wengshan”. Except for a brief study trip as a teenager, Liu has never left the land of northern Guangdong.

There is a river running though Wengyuan County, which is called the Wengjiang River. After his retirement, Liu set up the “Wengshan Poem & Calligraphy & Painting Institute” by the Wengjiang River. Ever since then, he has been working on his creation of poetry, calligraphy and paintings while living his daily life in this “ashram”.

Endless enjoyment in classical literature

Liu enjoys a great reputation for his poetry, calligraphy and paintings in the art circle. In his opinion, literature and calligraphy can endow Chinese paintings with the soul. Therefore, to gain admission to the Wengshan Institute, the painters are required by Liu to be not only good at painting, but also have an understanding of calligraphy and poetry.

Despite his old age, Liu persists in reading and writing, and even sets a goal for himself of reading 10,000 words and writing 1,000 words per day. The materials he reads are all from the ancient classics, including “the Book of Songs”, “Complete Tang Poems”, “the Finest of Ancient Prose”, “the Four Books” and so on, some of which he can even recite the whole text.

Reading before bed time is a routine for Liu Guoyu. In his view, reading classical literature always brings him endless joy. “Inspiration comes naturally when you’ve read enough.” He said.

Pursuing the “moistening” of burnt ink landscape painting

Liu is known for his expertise in burnt-ink landscape painting. Burnt inking is an ancient and challenging technique in Chinese painting. In such painting, the ink is used directly without adding water, creating an effect with no other colors except black and white. On a piece of pure white paper, the strong black always strikes people with a sense of solemnity and power. However, the lack of water in the ink also brings extra difficulty in the change of color density.

How to turn burnt-ink painting from being dull to interesting remains a challenge for the painter’s skills and techniques of expression. “It’s easy to end up with a dry painting, and really hard to preserve the ‘moistening’ effect in a burnt ink painting. That has always been the goal of my research for decades.” Liu Guoyu said.

In the north of the Institute is the Wengshan Mountain, while the Wengjiang River is running through by the Institute. Liu often stands at the top of the building to admire the scenery of the mountain and the river. “Landscape and art are both in the mind, but they actually come from the observation of daily life.” said Liu.

The amazing “Wengshan phenomenon”

The Wengshan Poem & Calligraphy & Painting Institute, which has been opened for 14 years, is the largest non-profit art institute funded by the artists in Lingnan area. Being committed to the creation of poetry, calligraphy and paintings, it is used for collection, exhibition, research, communication and other functions about the creations.

“Excellent traditional culture has an imperceptible influence on people. I am delighted to see more and more people are going to the cultural venues and expose themselves to the traditional culture.” said Liu Guoyu. He also mentioned his feeling that the society has been turning towards kindness and virtue in recent years.

Motivated by Liu Guoyu, more and more poets, calligraphers and painters are gathering in the Institute, yielding fruitful results in the process of creation and communication. Such a “Wengshan phenomenon” has thus become a magnificent view.

视频丨刘国玉：诗书画，缺一就不是真正的中国画家【走进名家工作室】

翁源，广东韶关的一座小县城。翁源有山，名为翁山，82岁的画家刘国玉自称“翁山山民”。除了青少年时期曾短暂外出求学，他的足迹从未远离粤北这片土地。

翁源还有一江穿城而过，名为滃江。退休后的刘国玉在滃江边上盖了一座翁山诗书画院，自此之后，他的诗书画创作和生活起居都在这个“道场”中展开。

读经典其乐无穷

刘国玉以诗、书、画享誉画坛。在他看来，文学和书法往往能赋予中国画灵魂。凡是进入诗书画院学习交流的画家，刘国玉不仅要求他们要会画画，还要会写字、懂诗词。

虽然年事已高，但是刘国玉坚持读书和写作，并定下目标：每天读书一万字，写作一千字。他看的都是古文典籍，《诗经》《全唐诗》《古文观止》《四书》……一些经典著作，他甚至能全文背诵。

每天睡前是刘国玉固定的读书时间，在他看来，读经典是一件其乐无穷的事。“当你的阅读量有一定积累后，灵感就会自然而然产生。”

追求焦墨山水的“润”

刘国玉以擅长画焦墨山水画著称。焦墨是中国画中一种古老且难度高的技法，焦墨山水画使用的墨汁，除了黑色，没有其他颜色。洁白的画纸上，浓烈的黑往往能给人以庄严和力量感。然而，由于没有水的勾兑，焦墨在浓淡变化的表现上往往特别困难。

如何将焦墨山水画画得有趣而不枯燥，这非常考验画家的技法和表达。“一不小心就容易画得干巴巴的。焦墨山水画追求‘润’确实非常难，这也是我几十年来研究的目标。”刘国玉说。

依画院北可望翁山，又有滃江绕画院而过。刘国玉常常登楼伫望，看山也看水。“山水是心中的山水，艺术是心中的艺术，但它们都来自于日常生活的观察。”他说。

“翁山现象”蔚为大观

开馆十四年的翁山诗书画院，是岭南地区最大的由艺术家自筹资金建立的纯公益性艺术机构之一。它致力于诗书画创作，兼收藏、展览、研究、交流等诸多功能，故名诗书画院。

“优秀传统文化对人的影响是潜移默化的，越来越多的人走进文化场馆，接受传统文化的熏陶，这是最令我欣慰的。”刘国玉谈到，近年来他切实感受到当地社会风气向崇德、向善逐步转变。

在刘国玉的感召下，越来越多的诗书画家汇聚在翁山诗书画院，在创作和交流中收获累累硕果，“翁山现象”因此蔚为大观。(更多新闻资讯，请关注羊城派 pai.ycwb.com)

文丨羊城晚报全媒体记者 文艺 朱绍杰

视频丨彭灏明 彭泽祥 唐德荣 林丹丹 戚容源 暨晴 陈贤宇

翻译丨洪婷

来源丨羊城晚报·羊城派

责编丨古司祺

校对丨赵丹丹