Person of the day, week, month, year...

[SB Wang]

China held a musical performance Beijing on Tuesday night to mark the centenary birth anniversary of Ren Bishi, a former prominent leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Ren Bishi and Lei feng are the only two persons, to whom Mao wrote inscription in a highest level, followed by the other leaders of China. Both are Hunanese, were born in the year of dragon, died in the year of tiger.

Ren Bishi was called "the mother of CPC", for he charges interal affairs and his high prestige. He would be Mao's successor. Ren has a talent for portrait, since one of our SOG members is his grandnephew, his torch will be carried on even in this field.

We will see some paintings about Ren Bishi later. For his wife's story see: http://www.press.uillinois.edu/epub/...young/ch2.html

[Allan Rahbek]

Hi SB,

You are related to the giant country of China, with a culture longer than most countries in the world.

I live in Denmark and I have had invaluable inspiration from the ink drawing tradition of China, and would like to see some of the present portraiture as it is done by portraitists.

Do you know any Chinese painters who have adopted the western style?

I once saw a landscape painter who exhibited in Denmark. He painted in a mix of western style an Chinese, which was fascinating.

Allan

[SB Wang]

Hi Allan:
Thanks! The earliest stories I read is Anderson's fairy tales.
For a brief review of modern Chinese art, please look at
http://kaladarshan.arts.ohio-state.e...ew/newoil.html

[Allan Rahbek]

Thanks for showing us the paintings.

Are you one of those Chinese who have learned danish to read H. C. Andersen in his mothers language? I am told that he is well known i both China and Japan.

"The Nightingale" ?

Allan

[SB Wang]

Hi Allan:
You started a very good topic: western and eastern art, that we'll discuss at another section.
I love Denmark no less than my homeland. Many oriental girls read "The Nightinggale", only one can become princess of a northen Europian country, maybe Denmark, years ago.
"The Nightingale" is a lesson for all our artists.

See Ren's commemorative stamp issued 20 years ago, he looks 20 years older than his age: http://www.stampconnections.com/hostimages/12636.jpg
and http://www.stampconnections.com/hostimages/7344.jpg
Three years later, added three more images for he was one of the top five leaders.

[Allan Rahbek]

Hi B S

Do you say that artists have to read H. C. Andersen

[SB Wang]

Hi Allan:
Yes, remember "The nightingale" and Sorolla's words:
Get out and get busy!

The great poet Qu Yuan
http://home.att.net/~bobcindy/Qu_Yuan.html
was killed himself at the same place called Miluo where is Ren Bishi's hometown. A giant statue to Ren Bishi is there.
There are at least three statues are to my family connection:
One of the best known heroines, Zhao Yiman
http://www.marxists.org/glossary/peo...um/index39.htm
is Ren's sister-in-law. A 1950's movie is about her. Sadly, her son was severely persecuted in the Cultural Revolution, at the land his mother fought for.
Xiang Jingyu, the best feminist of revolution, treated my grandmother as her sister.

[SB Wang]

Another Dragon--Ostrovsky:

"By Dec 1926 polyarthritis deprived him of almost all mobility and be became virtually bedridden. Nonetheless, in December 1927 he began a correspondence course at the Sverdlov Communist University in Moscow and he completed it in June 1929. In August, he lost his vision.

In 1930, undaunted by his paralysis and blindness, in Sochi, he began work on first novel, How The Steel Was Tempered. He also wrote articles for newspapers and journals and spoke often on the radio. In April 1932 he became a member of the Moscow branch of the Association of Proletarian Writers and in June 1934 he joined the Union of Soviet Writers. On October 1, 1935, he was awarded the Order of Lenin".
http://www.sovlit.com/bios/ostrovsky.html

[SB Wang]

I remember beautiful illustrations of his novel "How The Steel Was Tempered". Wish I could find later.

Honoring the centennial of Ostrovsky's birth
"Remebering Nikolai Ostrovsky"
by Anna Karavaeva

The editor who helped Ostrovsky prepare his proletarian masterpiece How the Steel Was Tempered recalls her first meeting with the writer, his struggle with illness, his fierce determination, love of life, and the great plans left unfulfilled by his death.

http://www.sovlit.com/thin/remembering_ostrovsky/[/QUOTE

[Allan Rahbek]

To be frank with you Schubert, I don