“Tide in Qiantang River: Biennial Exhibition of Lanting Calligraphy Association at the Time of the 40th Anniversary of China’s Reform and Opening Up (2018)” Is Opened at ZJAM

pubdate: 2018/8/25   author: zjam  source: zjam  click:

At 3:30 p.m. on August 24, 2018, “Tide in Qiantang River: Biennial Exhibition of Lanting Calligraphy Association at the Time of the 40th Anniversary of China’s Reform and Opening Up” was opened at ZJAM. This exhibition was sponsored by Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture (ZPDC), Zhejiang Federation of Literary and Art Circles (ZFLAC), and China Academy of Art (CAA), and was organized by Lanting Calligraphy Association (LCA) and ZJAM. It is put on from August 24, 2018 to September 9, 2018 at Hall No. 4, 5 and 6 of ZJAM.

At the opening ceremony

The officials and guests attending the opening ceremony were: Lv Zushan, former Governor of Zhejiang Province; Yu Guoxing, former deputy director of the Standing Committee of CPC Zhejiang Provincial People’s Congress; Chen Jiayuan, former vice chairman of Zhejiang Provincial Political Consultative Conference; Xu Jiang, vice chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, chairman of the ZFLAC, and president of the CAA; Diao Yuquan, deputy director of the ZPDC; Xu Shouhong, head of the Discipline Inspection Group of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Finance; Zhao Yanjun, secretary of the Secretariat of the ZFLAC, vice chairman and secretary general of the Zhejiang Calligraphers Association; Sun Yongrong, director of the Hangzhou Cultural, Broadcasting and News Bureau; Wenguang New Bureau; Ying Xuelin, vice chairman of the ZFLAC and chairman of Hangzhou Federation of Literary and Art Circles; Li Gao, deputy editor-in-chief of Zhejiang Daily Press Group and editor-in-chief of Qiantang River Evening News; Dong Liguo, director of the Cultural Division of Zhejiang Provincial Department of Finance; Wang Dongling, president of the LCA, chairman of Hangzhou Calligraphers Association, and professor of the CAA; Ying Jinfei, executive deputy curator of ZJAM. The opening ceremony was hosted by Wang Shuifa, secretary general of the LCA.

At the opening ceremony

Zhao Yanjun, secretary of the Secretariat of the ZFLAC, vice chairman and secretary general of the Zhejiang Calligraphers Association, delivering a speech

At the opening ceremony, Zhao Yanjun, secretary of the Secretariat of the ZFLAC, vice chairman and secretary general of the Zhejiang Calligraphers Association, delivered a speech. He indicated that this exhibition aims to record the road of reform, to celebrate the development, to reveal the feelings of the people, and to carry forward the spirit of the times in calligraphy art. Since the reform and opening up, the “Eight Advantages and Eight Measures for Development” have been earnestly implemented in Zhejiang Province, and the pace of building it into a culturally significant and powerful province is further accelerated. In the future, the economic prosperity of the province will be promoted through cultural development. He also said that the advantage of Zhejiang province as a calligraphy highland would be exploited and that the calligraphers here would stick to people-centered creation, enrich the people’s spiritual and cultural life with excellent literary and artistic works, enhance national and cultural self-confidence, strive to render Zhejiang in the forefront of culture and art, and contribute to the realization of the Chinese dream.

Xu Jiang, chairman of the ZFLAC and president of the CAA, delivering a speech

Xu Jiang, chairman of the ZFLAC and president of the CAA, delivered a speech. He first recalled that Pan Tianshou, Wu Fuzhi, Lu Weizhao, Sha Menghai and other old gentlemen gathered in the same season in 1962 to discuss about the curriculum of Chinese calligraphy art and the syllable of calligraphy art major. He also reviewed the process in which the Calligraphy Department of the CAA was established and developed to be an independent discipline. He said that calligraphy is of great significance to the Chinese nation as it is the carrier of Chinese literature and the banner of oriental aesthetics. The “Yonghe Ninth Year” was a milestone in the history of calligraphy because Wang Xizhi’s masterpiece “Preface to the Poems Collected from the Orchid Pavilion” (《兰亭序》) was created in this year.  This work not only represented a high degree of accomplishment in calligraphy, but also was quite touching in literary sense. Although this work has been so often cited, Chairman Xu did not see it as a cliche but as a good starting point to share his own perception and sensibility in calligraphy.

Wang Dongling, president of the LCA, wrote a work of calligraphy echoing the theme “Tide in Qiantang River” in Chinese characters (“潮涌钱江”) at the opening ceremony and won warm applause from the audience

Finally, Lv Zushan, former Governor of Zhejiang Province, announced the opening of the exhibition.

Lv Zushan, former Governor of Zhejiang Province, announcing the opening of the exhibition

The opening ceremony was hosted by Wang Shuifa, secretary general of the LCA.

General Secretary Xi Jinping once said, “The times set the exam, we (the Party) take the exam, and the people review the exam.” Over the 40 years of reform and opening up, China has undergone profound changes and become a brilliant country. Zhejiang is the forerunner of reform and opening up that always walks ahead and has achieved a great leap from “catching up with the times” to “leading the times”. Calligraphy is pursued in a flourishing era and it, in turn, celebrates the flourishing era. A total of 135 calligraphy works are exhibited in this exhibition. These works are both ideological, artistic and contemporary. They recall the history and inspire the contemporary world from the direct perspective of calligraphers. They vividly show the great changes, both material and spiritual, and fruitful achievements made in Zhejiang and by its people over the 40 years of reform and opening up.

This biennial exhibition of calligraphy under the theme of “Tide in Qiantang River” is launched by the LCA to exert the charisma and influence of the calligraphy circle in Zhejiang. It gathers calligraphers inside and outside the province to participate in promoting and popularizing the calligraphy art. It is a feast of calligraphy art that pays tribute to the 40th anniversary of the reform and opening up, that carries forwards the spirit of the times, that inspires artistic innovation, and that facilitates the popularization of calligraphy to the public.

The exhibition is presented at Hall No. 4, 5 and 6 of ZJAM until September 9, 2018 (closed on Mondays).