丰子恺英文简介-生平及作品鉴赏

Feng Zikai, the Chinese modern painter, writer and music educator, was born in Tongxiang, Zhejiang Province in 1898. He developed a strong affection for art at a young age. In 1914, he entered the Zhejiang First Normal School to learn art under the tutelage of Li Shutong, who was back then an accomplished master but later made up his mind to become a monk. In 1921, Feng went to Japan for further studies. After returning to China, he taught art at several universities, including Fudan University and Zhejiang University. What’s more, he was once the editor of Kaiming Publishing House(上海开明书店). His teaching career came to an end in 1943, from which year he began to concentrate on his own creation. And his creation never stopped until he passed away in 1975.

Among all his works, Feng is best known for his caricature. He put a lot of effort into depicting the innocence of children, because he was to some degree jealous of their positive attitude towards life and wished to learn more about the world in their eyes. He believed that children

possess

the

most

essential

characteristics of human being without yielding to the secular society. By conveying this idea through his paintings, Feng Zikai actually made many adults feel ashamed of themselves for their lack of childlike enthusiasm and simplicity. When we

appreciate his paintings, memories of our lovely childhood come flooding back, and we simply couldn’t help smiling because of all those interesting details.

As far as I’m concerned, Feng Zikai’s caricature is attractive at first

sight. During this year’s winter vacation, I paid a visit to the local museum specially to see the exhibition of his works. The exhibition

consisted of three parts, respectively focusing on childishness, friendship and nature. After viewing all those pictures, I would say his paintings are not elaborate, but he can extrude the artistic conception by merely several lines, and even those most common objects—maybe a dragonfly, a cat or the setting sun—in his paintings can make me feel peaceful and comfortable. Unlike some

Western paintings, his works are not at all difficult to understand, and easily resonate with me.

But this is not the only reason why I admire him. In fact, Feng Zikai not only had a talent for art, but also possessed many good qualities. For one thing, he is a charitable person. One typical example is a series of books called Hu Sheng Hua Ji(《护生画集》), which he produced in memory of his teacher Li Shutong. They two both had sympathy for all the living things and tried to promote the idea of protecting the animals. And art is the best way for them, which can cross the barriers of different languages and cultures. For another thing, Feng was hardworking and diligent. Even during his last days, when he was very sick, he kept drawing as he had regarded this as part of his life. Moreover, he was a tough man. During Cultural Revolution, he unfortunately became victims of oppression, but he managed to live on and didn’t give up his career.

As a productive artist, Feng Zikai left to us a great amount of treasure. As an outstanding man, he set a good example for the following generations.