A Cave in the Painting Room

A Cave in the Painting Room

Feng Jicai

The Writers Publishing House

February 2022

72.00 (CNY)

This book is a collection of essays by Feng Jicai. The author， taking his studio as a launching site， wrote a series of essays about people and events， the past and the present， and the unique and the innermost， recording his artistic career and spiritual life as well as exposing the mysteries of his soul. The content is rich and thick， the words are rigorous and sincere， and the articles are both interesting and sentimental， expressing the author’s mind， while showing his insights on literature and art in a precise way.

Feng Jicai

Feng Jicai is a writer， painter， and cultural scholar. He has published nearly one hundred collections of his works， including The Divine Whip， The Three-Inch Feet， and An Eccentric in the Secular World. He has published many large collections of paintings and held solo exhibitions at home and abroad. He has been called “the representative of modern literati painting” by critics for his painting skills that connect the East and the West and his literary conceptions that are subtle and profound.

“Literature and painting have accompanied me for half a century， and they have become part of my life. My life， my spirit， my emotions， and even my senses， all but carry the qualities of literature and painting.” Mr. Feng Jicai said， “I like painting by nature. For me， painting comes before writing.” From his house， he expressly spares two rooms， one for reading and writing， the other for painting， in which he can be sheltered from the wind and rain and cultivate his mind and in which he can indulge himself and feel at ease. After his work A World in the Study， Mr. Feng recently published his companion book， A Cave in the Painting Room， to express his love for painting.

If the meaning of “a world” is rich and profound， broad and wide， then Feng Jicai’s interpretation of “a cave” seems to be more internal， deep， and self-contained: “A cave is a hiding place， a private space， a world of oneself， secluded and safe.” In the “private territory” of painting， he does whatever and however he wants， without fear or hesitation. Painting is what settles him， as well as what frees him. Dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage， he travels among the mountains and rivers during the day and returns to his studio， called the Night Chamber， at night， feeling invigorated， relaxed and liberated when he picks up his brush. The studio is a small patch of the world to relax in peace and a wild field for him to roam at will.

To paint is to live， and Feng Jicai has a thorough and distinctive understanding of painting. He inherits the tradition and has acquired solid basic skills， but also values individuality， intuition， and inspiration， following the trajectory of his heart to “break out of his cocoon” and find his own self. Mr. Li Keran once said， “Get in with the greatest strength， and then come out with the greatest courage.” For this， Mr. Feng Jicai has his own comprehension: “The deeper you get in， the harder it is to come out; while without getting in deep enough， one can hardly grasp the essence of tradition. This is the most difficult aspect of Chinese painting.” He imitates the ancients while preserving his self-identity. Before painting， he constructs them with the most care， and when he does paint， he takes it leisurely， creating works that are unique and cannot be reproduced or copied.

As his two natural hobbies， literature and painting are inseparably intertwined in his life. In this book， he wants to “confront his half literary self with his half painting self.” He says， “Literature is a kind of painting that stretches on， and painting is a kind of literature that is transient and still. Literature is painting with words; painting is writing with ink and brush.” His landscape painting Collecting the Four Seasons is so chaotic and embracing that “it is hard to say whether it is an article of ink and wash or a wash painting of words and sentences.” These two are no longer distinguishable for him， being two indispensable brushes to express his life， thoughts， and feelings. Usually， he paints with the style of prose and writes prose with the language of painting， and the moment he puts his brush to paper， there also emerges the ideas and imagination of novels. That is quite an enjoyable process.

Words and paintings reveal one’s true self. You can see that Feng Jicai has a warm heart. The garcinia and vermilion in The Golden Wedding appear from time to time in his improvised paintings， forming the base color of his life and the general tone of his ink and wash. He says he prefers the colors of autumn， and his Stepping into the Golden Yellow and Autumn Ramblings depict autumn scenes， with no trace of bleakness and coldness in his autumn， nor is there any inherent decay and depression. He says that he likes the scenery and flavor of late autumn， but after the years have passed， today， he has an entirely different understanding and feeling about autumn. “Decades later， when I was running around the fields and countryside with a sense of sadness， offering a helping hand to those endangered folk cultures， the autumn that emerged from my brushes had changed， becoming" nothing but the eye-catching splendor of autumn.” This “eye-catching splendor” is exactly the feeling conveyed to me by the illustrations in the book， allowing me to share his exact joy and excitement. For example， in the painting I Can’t Bear to Step on This Path Whenever I Pass by which was inspired by an occasional walk， there is a striking touch of light yellow and vermilion among the melodious branches， which should give the scattered leaves on the street a warm and bright implication.

Painting is the image of one’s heart. Compared to ink and wash， Feng seems to favor colored ink， for it is the color of his heart. The painting Into the Golden Yellow is about late autumn， also an autumn which is brilliant and transparent. “I have left the swelling， competitive， possessive summer and entered a mature autumn.” Calm， composed， and self-sufficient， he feels that “there is a fullness， maturity and stability in self-sufficiency， with also a kind of splendor.” When painting Autumn Ramblings， he used large abstract brush strokes and wielded them with readiness and smoothness， in which you can perceive the natural energy， yet are unable to grasp it substantially， for that represents the overflow of life， the contribution of mystery， the great harmony and guidance from heaven and earth. With the world being infinite and the human heart even more vast， what we can exert is ultimately limited， and painting gives him the impulse and possibility to express an infinite world.

Life is neither changeable nor irrevocable， so when Feng paints， he often follows the feeling of “the moment” to preserve the sincerity of “the moments” in life. “When you paint， the paper before you is blank， expecting your new imagination. At the same time， what is being painted and what has been painted are related and echoed， as if interlinked through breathing， such a process is similar to writing a novel.” As a painting of the sky kissing the earth， what The Kiss captures is the touch of that one moment. In Painting the Flying Waterfall， the wild brush strokes that rushed down with the rapid torrent made him experience the supreme realm and the supreme pleasure of “having nothing in mind” when painting. And what is in the dense ink and brush strokes of Thoughts Like Smoke? It seems it can only be sensed by by the heart and not not expressed in words. Behind the Tree is the Sun shows another kind of conception， clear and lonely， clean and bright， during the painting of which， Feng Jicai felt “open， liberal and transparent.” In short， it was a different state， mentally and emotionally.

Painting is a comprehensive art， and Feng Jicai is not only skilled in painting and calligraphy. When the mood strikes him， he writes poems on his paintings at will， having fun with poetry， calligraphy， painting， and seals. He also likes to extract his favorite passages from his novels and put them down in handwriting for enjoyment， which he calls “the most self-contained sketches” in his studio. There are also times when the handwriting changes with the heart， from the joyful “smile to welcome the blessing” to “sending away winter in snow” during the pandemic， presenting different mental and emotional states， situations， and moods. The journey of writing and painting is also the journey of the heart and life， “to write and to paint is to live. ”

The painting studio is like an amazing cave， holding so much sentiment and producing so much joy.