Now walking in the streets and alleys of Xi'an, the popular photo studios and wedding studios in the 1980s and 1990s seemed to have disappeared. The subways, shopping malls, city walls, parks, especially the area of Datang Furong Garden , with the rise of smartphones and drones in the digital era, the photos seem to disappear without a trace. The few I saw occasionally were also for the needs of ID photos. Stores are often in narrow alleys, and it is difficult to see the heat and scenery of the past, which made people born in the 1950s and 1970s inevitably feel a little lost and confused.
One afternoon in the autumn of 2022, Mr. Zhao Jinhu, a calligrapher from Shangluo Luonan County, Shaanxi Province, said that he would introduce to me a famous cultural scholar and director of Chang'an Laozi Cultural and Chinese Studies Institute Li Zui. He was holding a celebration ceremony for the Han Li Culture Elegant Collection of Students (Ru Chu) who cultivated morality and righteousness, respected culture and transformed people. So I hurried to the Guangcheng Hotel in Xi'an. In fact, as early as a few years ago, the organizer also invited Mr. Zhou Ming and me to shoot in Guangdong and Guangxi , but because I was busy shooting in Guangdong and Guangxi , I refused. I didn’t want to finally meet one of the guests, Mr. Li Zui, on my day back to Xi'an. His Laozi's cultural research is profound, and the scene is constantly shooting. It is Mr. Hongli, who records this precious shot. What I never expected was that the next day Mr. Hongli invited me to visit his studio. A small alley located across from the north gate of Lianhu Life's home was an inconspicuous four-story building that made me deeply feel the meaning of a sparrow that is small and has all the internal organs for the first time.
The so-called Fenghe Photography Studio, the first floor consists of a blue studio of more than 40 square meters and a editing studio of more than ten square meters. A series of lights and several professional cameras on the left and right front and back cleverly focus on the three-person table in the center. When the interviewed characters look up, they can see their own videos being recorded by the director. Every action is in sight. The second to fourth floors include almost all kinds of equipment, information and clothing guides that wedding photographers can use. Although the day was in a hurry, two celebrities from the cultural and artistic circles in Shaanxi came. One was Mr. Wu Zilin, a famous cultural relics and archaeologist, calligrapher, and former director of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum, and the other was Mr. Liu Sikai, a famous calligraphy critic who was born in Xingping, Shaanxi in 1962 and graduated from the Chinese Department of Xianyang Normal University.
Mr. Liu Sikai is currently a member of of the Chinese Calligraphers Association, a member of the archive of young and middle-aged theorists of the Theory Research Department of the Chinese Calligraphers Association, the academic committee of Shaanxi Calligraphers Association, Yu Youren’s Distinguished Professor of Calligraphy School, and a signed expert of the Xianyang Staff Cultural and Art Creation Innovation Studio. He is a calligrapher and calligraphy theorist who has worked in a state-owned enterprise for a long time but devotes his spare time to calligraphy creation and theoretical research, and has gradually become a well-achieved calligrapher and calligraphy theorist in the country. His calligraphy works are classic and are straightforward. He has been selected for mainstream exhibitions such as the "Eighth National Calligraphy and Seal Carving Exhibition" held by the Chinese Calligraphy Association on . At the same time, with his keen observation and thinking, he has published more than 80 papers in professional media such as "Chinese Calligraphy". Many papers were selected for the "National Calligraphy Symposium" held by the Chinese Calligraphy Association and won the first, second and third prizes. In October 2019, his collection of calligraphy essays "Theory of Contemporary Calligraphy Phenomenon" was officially published by Shaanxi People's Publishing House . Zhang Hai said in his congratulatory letter that Liu Sikai is a very accomplished contemporary calligraphy theorist and calligrapher. His calligraphy theory research is problem-oriented, distinctive and practical, and focuses on calligraphy criticism. While enriching the research results of contemporary calligraphy theory, it is of reference significance for the construction of contemporary calligraphy criticism standards.
What I can remember is that as early as two years ago, the "Spiritual Depth - Liu Sikai Calligraphy and Theoretical Expert Symposium" co-organized by Shaanxi People's Publishing House, Shaanxi Chengde Academy, and Xianyang Yuandao Calligraphy Research Institute was held at Shaanxi Chengde Academy in Xi'an. Zhang Hai, honorary chairman of the Chinese Calligraphers Association, and Wang Chunxin, director of the Chinese Calligraphers Association, respectively sent letters to congratulate him. Wang Chunxin pointed out: "Liu Sikai's theoretical research based on "Theory of Contemporary Calligraphy" reflects a relatively solid academic foundation and good artistic philosophy thinking training . His distinctive problems and sense of responsibility have clear and targeted ideas for some phenomena and root problems that are not harmonious with the ontology of calligraphy culture in the development of contemporary calligraphy. Especially as an academic criticism of theoretical research, it has a special practical significance in the current sluggish state of art criticism."
Unfortunately, the meeting that day was in a hurry, and Mr. Liu Sikai hurried to another place because he had something to do temporarily. What stayed behind was Mr. Wu Zilin and I talked about everything.
Mr. Wu Zilin, born in Cili, Hunan in 1936, is 86 years old this year, with a strong body, clear mouth and quick thinking. He said that after graduating from the History Department of Northwestern University in 1959, he has been engaged in cultural relics and archaeology for more than 40 years. He has served as the captain of the field archaeology team of the Shaanxi Institute of Archaeology, the director of the Qin Shihuang Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum, the director of the Office of the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Management Committee, the director of the Xi'an Banpo Museum, the consultant of the Xi'an Beilin Museum, the editor-in-chief of the magazine "Favorites" and the director of the expert committee of the magazine "Favorites" and the director of the China Museum Society, the director of the Chinese Cultural Relics Society, the director of the Chinese Cultural Relics Society, and the executive director of the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeology Society. He is currently a member of Shaanxi Calligraphers Association and an art consultant of Shaanxi Charity Calligraphy and Painting Research Association.
Mr. Wu Zilin has been fond of calligraphy since childhood, and has been copying calligraphy works such as Huang Ziyuan , Deng Shiru , Yan Zhenqing , Liu Gongquan , Ouyang Xun and other calligraphy works. In his long-term practice of cultural relics and archaeology, he has studied the bells and tripods, steles and stone tombstones, cliffs and scriptures, and bricks and tiles inscriptions. He has immersed himself in it, absorbed the past and blended the present, and benefited a lot, and his calligraphy skills have been continuously improved. His works have participated in provincial and municipal calligraphy exhibitions and have won many awards. They have been published in newspapers and magazines across the country. They are often invited to write store names, book titles and various inscriptions. The author has been briefly included in the classics such as "Chinese Expert Talent Base", "Proud of China", " Who's Who in the Contemporary Art World in Chinese ".
Because it was the first time to meet, although Mr. Chongli was very follow-up, I was indeed a little nervous when I saw the four calligraphy banners written by Mr. Wu Zilin personally and the four big words "The Way is Simplicity" written on the spot. Fortunately, Mr. Wu Zilin's demeanor and humble and easy-going spirit were deeply engraved in my mind. I was moved again and again and again, thinking, thanking me for being worthy of this era, thanking the Sanqin land where I raised me, so many outstanding figures in the cultural and artistic circles emerged, such as Zhang Yimou, Liu Wenxi , Lu Yao , Chen Zhongshi, Jia Pingwa, Zhao Jiping, Zhang Jiayi, Yan Ni, etc., which shine brightly, nourishing this hot land, giving us a role model to learn from, and inspiring us to move forward forever.
Li Changzheng
September 28, 2022 in Qujiang
in Xi'an
