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Lotus, especially its white flowers, is a symbol of beauty and purity in Buddhism and in Chinese culture, because it rooted in the mud, its stem grows up through murky water, and the pristine blossom rises above the water, basking in the sunlight. It is said that "This pattern of growth signifies the progress of the soul from the primeval mud of material world, through the waters of experience, and into the bright sunshine of enlightenment." This is the same as Buddhist practice.

Lotus grows well in quiet water, so they are often seen in Chinese gardens or local lakes. I especially like the big green flower-like leaves of lotus because of their beautiful shapes and quietness, especially when in the rain, we call them "rain lotuses" (雨荷).

Here in this post are two pieces of "ink lotus" works by master painter Zhang Daqian (张大千), one can see how he used the big ink leaves to express the beauty of lotus. Zhang Daqian said that lotus is an ideal subject for practicing Chinese paintings. He painted thousands of them throughout his life in very different styles, not only so, he also planted lotus at his home garden. He loved lotus because he had a special connection with Buddhism since his early life.

P.S. One might note that Chinese brush painting not only conveys the objects but also expresses the mood and the spirit of the subject, like calligraphy it reveals the painter's personality as well. Zhang Daqian said he used different calligraphy styles to draw lotuses: seal script style (篆书) for the stems, clerical script style (隶书) for the leaves, regular script style (楷书) for the braids and cursive script style (草书) for the water grasses. This explained well why we say Chinese brush painting and calligraphy share the same techniques and from the same origin. (书画同源)

Note: 击图看大图。 Click on the pictures to see the larger version.

荷花, "出淤泥而不染，濯清涟而不妖", 为世人颂扬。 在我眼中荷叶也很美，因为她素，大大的绿油油的叶子，像花，而不张扬； 雨天里捧起串串水珠，是静静的雨荷。前些天偶然撞上张大千的墨荷，非常喜欢，很欣赏其荷叶之笔，于是在网上翻看起来。原来，张大千不仅画荷，还爱种荷，年年画荷，画过成千上万的荷。

荷又称莲，是佛之花，象征极乐净土和再生，也自然成为绘画中禅,超脱和空寂的寄托物，想必张大千与佛有缘，据说，张大千早年出家，晚年又再度隐居山林，可见国画大师寻求和理解自然山水意境之功底。

张大千说“中国画重在笔墨，而画荷是用笔用墨的基本功。” 据说， 他年轻时临摹，取八大山人之韵，石涛之气，再将其气韵融于一体； 中年开始吸收宋代绘画的特点，手下的荷千姿百态，“无骨荷花清妍秀丽，写意荷花水墨淋漓，而钩金荷花则富丽堂皇。” 他说：“画荷需要正、草、篆、隶四种书法技巧，字写不好，荷也画不好。.....画荷花的干子要用篆书，叶子则是隶书，瓣子就是楷书，水草则用草书。” 鲜活地展示了书画同源的道理， 据说，张大千画的水草依据重心所在以草书几笔构成，凡水草无层次、无力度的“大千荷”，皆为赝品； 晚年的张大千开始了泼彩、泼墨写荷，不仅把荷带入了新的境界，也从此拓展了中国泼墨山水画的新天地。

这就算是读书笔记吧。

文章: 张大千画荷散论, 试析张大千与其荷画创作

余则成: "我没什么信仰，如果说有的话，我现在信仰良心，赶走日本人以后，我信仰生活，信仰你，就这样。"


余则成: "让悲伤来的更猛烈些，但是要尽快过去。"







翠平: "余则成，大鸡(笨)蛋， 我煮(爱)你。" (翠平不识字)


翠平: "你为什么不早告诉我，左蓝知道我们是假的，你心里只有她，让她有个名分，她心里会美的。"

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Qingming

Du Mu

A drizzling rain falls like tears on the Mourning Day;
The mourner’s heart is breaking apart on his way.
Where can a winehouse be found to drown my sadness?
A cowherd points to Almond Flower Village in the distance.




The Qingming Festival (清明节), meaning Clear and Bright Festival, is a traditional Chinese festival on the 15th day from the Spring Equinox, usually occurring around April 4th or 5th of the Gregorian calendar. There is a long history behind it. Qingming was frequently mentioned in Chinese literature. Among them, the most famous one is probably Du Mu’s poem, simply titled “Qingming”. Du Mu was a Tang Dynasty poet who lived between 803-852AD. In China kids learn to recite this poem in elementary schools so we all remember it on this day.