Guo Xu Pipa Line Chart Axis

[Guoxu Pipa Painting Axis]

Pipa Painting Axis, Ming Dynasty, Guoxu painting, paper edition, ink pen, 154 cm vertically and 46.6 cm horizontally
This book is the full text of Pipa Xing by Bai Juyi, a famous poet of the Tang Dynasty. The signature of the note: “Qing Kuang drew and wrote.” The next seal was “Ren Hong”, and another seal was indistinct
This picture is a freehand figure painting created according to the poetic meaning of “Pipa Xing”, which shows Bai Juyi’s encounter with the singer girl. The singer stood on her side, with her head in a high bun, and her face was beautiful and sad. She holds a pipa in her arms and wears a long skirt, with a graceful and handsome posture. The poet sat with his hands on his knees and looked intently at the singer. He seemed to be listening to the singer’s story of his unfortunate life
The composition of this painting is novel and strange. The poem “Pipa Xing”, which accounts for two thirds of the painting, is written in cursive style. It takes the vertical direction, and the white cloth is uneven, with great changes in width and length; The characters and strokes of the knot are horizontal and unrestrained, either broken or connected, dry and glossy, all in the rules and regulations. The picture is cut down to be tedious, without any halo. It only outlines the poet and the singer in distress with simple and clear and mellow lines. The image is highly refined, and the ink is bold and concise. However, the “listening” and “speaking” expressions of the characters in the painting are vivid and appealing, showing the author’s profound skills in the creation of figure paintings
The poem title on this picture is of great significance in the painting. It shows the style of calligraphy art beyond painting. Abundant calligraphy ink rhyme and simple painting style form a harmonious echo relationship and achieve a perfect unity in art, reflecting the artistic characteristics of Chinese painting that pays attention to the combination of poetry, calligraphy and painting. The content of the poem title is the most direct text supplement to the picture. The blending of poetry and painting deepens the creative theme of “the same fallen people in the world”. In addition, the poem title plays a role in enriching, balancing and perfecting the layout of the picture, just like the background of the characters’ activities, filling the large blank space above the characters, and expanding the depth of the picture through many changes in the font spacing and font structure. The magnificent momentum of flowing straight down and flowing thousands of miles also adds vigor and strength to the elegant artistic conception of the picture, thus enhancing the artistic appeal of the whole picture.