Introduction to Gao Jian-Fu’s Life and Works

Au Ho-Nien

Gao Jian-fu (real name Luen; other name Zho-ting, Jue-ting and Que-ting) was born in Panyu, Guangong Province in 1879. He joined Dr. Sun Yet-sun’s revolutionary alliance when he was studying in Japan, and later was in charge of the affairs of the alliance in Guangdong and was elected as a leader of Huang Ke-qiang’s Chinese assassination taskforce. He also participated in the Xinhai Revolution and the battle in Guangdong. After the establishment of the Republic of China, he moved from revolution to the arts by establishing Spring Slumber Studio and teaching at Nan-zhong and Municipal Art Colleges. This article provides an overview of Gao Jian-fu’s achievements in three aspects, namely personal merits, artistic accomplishment, and his intellectual legacy.

1. Contribution to the Chinese Revolution in the early twentieth century: Since Gao had been eager to participate in the revolution, he soon joined the revolutionary alliance in Japan after meeting Dr. Sun Yet-sun. Later he was instructed to return to China for revolutionary missions. He had participated in almost all uprisings in Guandong, including the most vigorous battle on March 29, 1911, in which he volunteered to be part of the suicide taskforce. In 1908 he was involved with the logistics in an uprising led by Xu Xue-qiu and others when Dr. Sun instructed a Japanese Kayano to ship weapons from Nagasaki to Shanwei, Guangdong. Despite the failure of this uprising, Gao decided to participate in another attacking task, though the mission was still unsuccessful. In March 1910, the Chinese assassination taskforce was set up and Gao was elected as its leader. He not only covered the revolutionary operations by teaching at Nanwu School in Guangzhou, also the base of the revolutionary alliance, but also opened a framing shop (Treasure Guarding Pavilion) in which the revolutionary journal (The Times Record) were secretly published. When the Qing government assigned Fengshang (ethnically Manzhu) as Commander of Guangdong Province to oppress revolutionary missions, a caricature of Fengshan, painted by Gao, appeared in a issue of the journal. In the caricature the Commander was portrayed with a luggage filled with sharp blades, indicating the forthcoming killings when he takes command. This incident indicated Gao’s boldness and courage through taking such life-threatening risks. Despite his efforts and contribution to the Chinese Revolution, Gao did not claim his merits after the establishment of the Republic of China. Rather, he devoted his whole life to the arts, which was absolutely admirable.

2. Artistic merits: In his adolescence Gao learned painting from the master in his hometown, namely Ju Lian at Hall of the Zither Whistling at the Moon in Geshan, Panyu. Intrigued by  Ju’s focus on sketching, Gao also sought inspiration from nature and established profound skills with sketching flowers, plants and insects. Later when he was studying in Japan he was influenced by the world’s artistic thoughts. He became convinced that Chinese paintings shouldn’t just stick to the old ways but instead, should find new ways to advance forward.   In addition, his close observation of objects in nature enabled him to understand ideas shared by Chinese and Western paintings and the importance of incorporating Western techniques into Chinese painting. Accordingly he joined the White Horse Society, the Pacific Painting Society, and the Water Color Study Society to learn the skills and theories of Western painting. Then he went to India to learn Indian painting, and studied Persian and Egyptian paintings in order to distill the essence of art in various countries and achieve the unity of truth, virtue and beauty. After returning to China, he painted an extensive spectrum of objects, including mountains, rivers, clouds, trees, flowers, birds, insects, fish, figures, animals, and even airplanes, cars,  electric poles and fashion drawings. He was good at dry strokes and bald strokes (without a sharp point), which formed his unique style. Gao Jianfu’s landscape paintings were realistic, including Sunset at Leifeng Tower (Leifeng xizhao) and Sunset at Ganga River (Henghe luori), which illustrated vividly the desolated scenes of historical sites in pervasive smoke. His Poet of the South (Nanguo shiren) depicts, amidst the bold sketch work, the poet’s gentility and sincerity, with genuine worries and anxiety for the nation clearly seen in the facial expressions. Another work of his, Wind in the Pines, Moon Reflected in the Water (Songfeng shuiyue), which entered the Sino-German Exhibition in Berlin, was later purchased by the German government and now in the collection of Berlin National Museum. The painting depicts multiple layers of moon shades overlapping and scattered on the surface of the water, conveying a sense of “floating light of gold and still shade of the submerged jade” in an interesting contrast with the pines facing the wind. Other objects such as the idyllic Pueraria lobata, the strength of old trees, the elegant image of plum blossoms, orchid, chrysanthemums and bamboos and the awe-invoking movement of the animals, along with his free-flowing cursive scripts, formulate an interwoven ideal.

3. Writings and theories: Gao’s writings are mainly on art theories. The core principles of his thought are the promotion of innovation, the emphasis on the spirit of modernity, and the building of exchanges between Chinese and Western arts. In “On Changes in Tradition,” an essay in his book My Views on Contemporary National Painting, he offered a somewhat aggressive yet to-the-point analysis of Chinese painting in the last few centuries; his views are still relevant today. He called for the modernization of Chinese paintings; and even came up with a slogan of “artistic revolution”. As to how the modernization and the revolution should take place, he said, “Contemporary art did not come from a void by magic and without traces of its past. To understand contemporary Chinese painting, it is necessary to understand the development, the ideology and the styles of ancient Chinese paintings. Then it becomes easy to gain an understanding of contemporary Chinese painting.” Further, “The main difference between contemporary and ancient paintings should not just lay in the forms, but also the ideas.” In addition to this book, Gao’s writings include Contemporary Chinese Painting, New Direction of National Painting, A Collection of Frogs’ Songs, Journal of a Trip to Buddha’s Nation, Jianfu Breaking the Gold, A Study of Mount Himalaya, On Revolution of Buddhism, Epilogue of Paintings at Tingqiu Hall and Discussions related to Art at Spring Slumber Studio. Gao spent most of his last years in Macao and died from illness in 1951.