Before 2000, there were three most popular figures in the cultural circle in Shanghai, known as "two Chens and one Yu": Yu Qiuyu , Chen Danqing , and Chen Yifei.
The three of them are all celebrities in the fields of literature, art, entertainment, etc., and they are like the three representatives of the exquisite culture of "Shanghai School". Once upon a time, the appearance rate even exceeded that of many first-tier stars. can be said to be like a fish in water gained both fame and fortune. The reputation of has made the youngsters in Shanghai Han Han jealous. He once publicly joked that always messed up, "I don't know why, but my mind looks the same", which triggered a verbal war in the literary world.
is just a big dream in the world, life has cooled down several times, and the "three horses" in Shanghai that once joined forces, have already become famous in secret in just over 10 years: the first two people in are still domineering, and are the favorites of the public and countless fans; is the only one who is also famous for a while, Chen Yifei, seems to be just a flash in the pan. In the past 10 years, whether it is the elite circle that claims to be a taste or the omnipresent new media, the number of mentions of "Chen Yifei" should be reduced.
Chen Yifei. 2003
The years passed quietly, and I didn’t know each other again. This once famous cultural star seemed to be gradually forgotten by the public, interpreting a kind of tragedy of “people leave and tea is cold”.
Ironically, before falling on the set of the movie "Barber" in April 2005, Chen Yifei was clearly an internationally renowned "sea legend", "the most familiar oil painter among the Chinese people", and even a "big signboard" in the contemporary Chinese cultural circle. On the day of his death, a famous colleague posted an interview with the title "The saints are exhausted on the way to preach", which is extremely high.
1972, Chen Yifei and Wei Jingshan took a photo in front of the painting
Chen Yifei was indeed the first in his life in terms of achievements. As early as the 1991 Xiangjiang Taichung Christie's autumn auction, his famous work "Xunyang Legacy" set a record for the highest price of Chinese oil paintings at that time with a transaction price of HK$1.37 million. As a Chinese, he was the first to stand alone in the United States with oil paintings and was awarded as a gift from international tycoons such as Armand Hammer as a gift. His fellow Muxin , Chen Danqing, and Shi Guoliang were in the era when he was lonely and ups and downs overseas. His solo exhibitions were constantly in New York, Tokyo, Washington and other places. 1. Among the Chinese painters who went abroad after 1980, he and Ding Shaoguang should have made a name for themselves.
Chen Yifei's "The Rhyme of Xunyang".1991
First of his death, his famous work " Ode to the Yellow River " was also sold for more than 40 million yuan, making it the best in the history of Chinese oil painting. You should know that before and after this, , which was known as the "peak of Chinese painting", , Song Huizong, , Zhao Ji's "Sketching Rare Birds", finally won the finale at the Jiade International Auction with 23 million yuan. It was already the "sky-high price" of , which made people at that time shocked people. was the biggest news in the art world that year. discusses the wide influence, and there are not many Chinese contemporary painters who can compare with each other. Chen Yifei's ancestral home is Ningbo, and the one who is in Shanghai is very tough and hard-working.
After he became famous as a "painter", he contacted colleagues and made friends in various ways and was able to cross-border areas with ease in the intersection of culture and business: engaged in "big art", advocated "visual art", published magazines, designed clothing, formed model companies, and filmed a series of movies, showing the talent, elegance and shrewdness of "Shanghai literati". When he was in a prime time, he was famous and friends all over the world, Yu Qiuyu was his "best friend", Chen Kaige was his "brother", Chen Danqing was his "buddy", and even Zeng Li, Chen Kun, Zhao Wei followed the stars and the moon. Nowadays, there are many particularly beautiful large sculptures on the streets of Shanghai, which are left by Chen Yifei.
1980s, Chen Yifei was in the United States. From left to left: Chen Danqing, Zhang Hongnian, Bai Jingzhou, Chen Yifei
He had enough efforts to fulfill his childhood dream and went to film and act as a director. He was once popular and became a turning point in his artistic life.Starting from 993, films such as "Old Dreams on the Sea" and "People Make a Convoy at Dusk" have been released one after another. They are all high-scoring films on Douban, and the title of "Hou Xiaoxian from the Mainland" spread like wildfire. Even the Jiangnan water town Zhouzhuang can become an internet celebrity destination because of his own success, and the "ancient town tourism craze" kicked off. Chen Danqing and others followed suit, and Wuzhen’s “limited bargains” became bigger.
In the early 1980s, a small boat in Zhouzhuang carried Chen Yifei, achieving his "Memories of Hometown" series
In my opinion, Chen Yifei's "lifelong achievements" were mainly to make Zhouzhuang and Zhang Da Chinese paintings famous, and his spiritual heritage constantly inspire latecomers; and the point of his " Xishi's special appearance" is that when people stubbornly think that the four words "China" and "tradition" refer to "backward" and "ugly", and " is in love with its treasures and is fascinated by its country", He has a unique vision to discover beauty, discover China's beauty, and discover Chinese classical beauty, and then jump into the representative of "the ultimate of Chinese aesthetics". If you are easy to engage in but miss the situation, can you be said to be wise? Chen Yifei takes the lead.
As a painter, Chen Yifei's complexity lies in: on the one hand, his artistic works are very "retro", from form to content to subject matter, they are nothing more than those connecting "classical" things; but on the other hand, his vision is actually very "advanced", and I will take it first. He is better than Chen Danqing and others in this regard. At least he found a sense of direction and set goals as soon as he debuted, and was persistent and stable.
Chen Yifei took a picture before his "Playing" in the 1970s
People said that Chen Yifei was a well-deserved "Shanghai-style boss" in the cultural circle around the 1990s. The size of this "big boss" is certainly not about who is richer or who has a higher status, but the main thing is the "big" talent, mind and vision.
In the last century, unlike the average Chinese artist who liked to "draw ugly" and "expose ugly", and tried to expose all kinds of filth and ugliness in his hometown, and used this to attract foreigners' attention, Chen Yifei always sought beauty. "Chen Yifei's legacy" is actually "rediscovering the beauty of China."
This "" Lao Kele " is a new aestheticist in Shanghai. Looking at his paintings, he doesn't look like a person who has been abroad for many years. Old Shanghai, old ladies in the old era, and small bridges and flowing waters in Jiangnan are always his artistic themes. Although this is an oil painting, it ultimately made him famous internationally like an unusual number, which is both a special case and an expectation. Humans can share the appreciation of "beauty". Where can we divide blue eyes and black hair?
"Chen Yifei is almost well-known in Zhouzhuang and is regarded as a great benefactor."
just says that this very deliberate formal beauty and the limitations of the subject matter are indeed easy to attract "complaints". While this made Chen Yifei famous as a "shanghai tycoon" and a "cultural leader", he was also frequently questioned by "making a false reputation", believing that he just happened to discover and sell the Chinese symbols needed by the international market, and that the kitsch was following the crowd, which was "Yu Qiuyu in the painting world". Of course, such accusation is not completely unreasonable. In my opinion, Chen Yifei's art has at least two shortcomings:
First, whether it is his paintings or movies, he is just constantly beautiful, nostalgic and realistic, and he is still pursuing visual pleasure and interest. He is strong in decorative and has insufficient artistic impact; second, he is very knowledgeable about operation, very "appreciation between the elite and the masses", very commercial, and even a little "vulgar". For a long time, his "base camp" - his hometown in Shanghai, the art museum refused to show him, because he thought he had over-camerized the market and had become entertaining. Shortly after Chen Yifei passed away, industry insiders began to discuss whether his oil paintings have room for appreciation, which is obviously related to this doubt.
Early entered the clothing industry, and the company was once prosperous.
A few years ago, a senior painter gave a lecture and said openly that "Chen Yifei's paintings are very assembly line." The point of criticism is that Chen Yifei's paintings are too formal and monotonous. To this day, there are many fake Chen Yifei in the auction hall, precisely because of its relatively strong "replicability".It is said that local industry painters or painters liked the most imitation of "Chen's paintings" back then, and they could print dozens of paintings every half month, and they were vivid. They were so happy to sell a 80X100cm "Xunyang Legacy" after selling it for one or two thousand. "The Shanghai school is close to the Shang Dynasty", and Chen Yifei, the "leader", could not escape the disadvantages. The sons of this gene seem to be perfectly "replicated".
To be fair, Chen Yifei's spirit of seeking and professional attitude may not be able to achieve it today. But the "Chen Yifei's myth" is ultimately unreplicable.
The most worthy of "gossip" in Chen Yifei's life is, in addition to paintings, movies, making money, and marrying a beautiful model Song Meiying, who is 29 years younger than her at the age of 54, it is the old year grudge with director Jiang Wen .
Until now, there have been rumors that the reason why Chen Yifei died young and died on the set is that on the one hand, he has become sick by overwork, and on the other hand, he is stimulated by Jiang Wen. Many commemorative texts repeatedly reminded that if Chen Yifei ignored filming, "The Barber", and did not encounter such entanglements, he might not have died early.
Jiang Wen
Chen Yifei was a famous "kind gentleman" during his lifetime, gentle and elegant, friendly to others, generous and wealthy, and has a great reputation. Yu Qiuyu and Chen Danqing, two famous people in Shanghai, have always been "kings but not kings". They can make friends with each other, so they can still miss them many years later. This is a sign of it. But his grudges with Jiang Wen were indeed beyond the expectations of most people.
Chen Yifei has had a "movie dream" since he was a child. When he was famous and rich, he immediately started to implement the test of the two films "Old Dreams on the Sea" and "Appointment to the Dusk" made him more confident. After he was 50 years old, he was ambitious to make a great movie, and this was his last work "The Barber", which ultimately failed.
"Barber" Stills
But he is an amateur after all, and he is a painter cross-border. To make such an ideal perfect movie, he must rely on the help of professionals. The first thing he thought of was Jiang Wen. He is a high-quality, educated, able to direct, understand scripts, and act. He is so versatile, but there is no second person in the entertainment industry. More importantly, Jiang Wen has a wide connection and strong ability. It is said that as long as he can convince Jiang Wen to join, the funds, actors, props, and relationship network can all rest assured, and he can bring you a crew alone.
But the problem is that Jiang Wen is generous and heroic, heroic and serious. He is both a meticulous idealist and a strong person who never regresses. If you want to enjoy the convenience he brings, you must be able to withstand his "dominant" style. Chen Yifei and Jiang Wen, one in the south and one in the north, are soft in the front and hard in the back. They are very different in dealing with the world, and they are both perfectionists. They can be called brothers at the dinner table. How can they share the beauty when they really reach the cooperation stage? So, the tragedy and comedy opened and ended like this.
Chen Yifei's widow Ms. Song Meiying
On May 15, 2002, Chen Yifei announced that the filming of "The Barber" began and invited Jiang Wen to serve as the male lead. On October 26, it was reported that there was a problem with the script and the startup was postponed. The two continued to discuss and the two resumed cooperation. But just a few months later, rumors broke out in the newspapers, "Chen Yifei and Jiang Wen had a serious disagreement, and Chen left the crew angrily." On January 23, 2003, Chen Yifei finally couldn't help it and publicly said that "Jiang Wen had a problem with his character" and that filming must be stopped. The conflict between the two became fierce and they could no longer sit together.
Now it seems that Chen Yifei's "accusations" against Jiang Wen are mainly these: 1. He is uneasy about the leading role and excessively interferes with the crew arrangements. For example, he insists on letting Zhou Yun be the heroine; 2. He changes the script casually, and changes it 8 times in one month, and it is repeatedly difficult to produce; 3. The use of funds is not standardized, resulting in a "financial black hole", but the total investment of 14.5 million yuan has been spent in a few months 9.42 million yuan. The situation is different, and the two of them are constantly on the entertainment version of the media post.
At the filming site
On January 14, 2003, Chen Yifei held a press conference in Shanghai to announce the "Six Points Statement". "The Barber" entered a dormant period of more than a year.
Chen Yifei was exhausted by this. After two years of silence, on December 20, 2004, he completely got rid of Jiang Wen and announced that the crew of "Barber" was replaced and the crew was restarted, and the male and female protagonists also locked in Chen Kun and Zeng Li.
Memorial service for the entertainment industry tycoons almost all their lives
He has worked harder and has been reshooting it repeatedly for a small detail. At the age of 59, he has followed the young people to get up early and go to bed late, working day and night. In fact, at that time, he had already suffered stomach bleeding, but he only took a little rest for two days. Neither he was hospitalized nor told anyone, he immediately started working. Without Jiang Wen's "pointing and making mistakes", he was obviously more autonomous, but his labor volume seemed to have become more overwhelming.
and a group of friends in Italy
. When the filming of "Barber" reached four-fifths, Chen Yifei, who had to do everything in detail, could no longer hold on and fell down without warning. After being sent to , Shanghai Huashan Hospital, , three days after he was rescued, he had severe bleeding in the digestive tract and finally stopped the rotation of his life clock on the morning of April 10, 2005. His true ambitions were not fulfilled, and he did not leave a last word, so he left his life in the world, leaving only regrets in the world.
In 2006, the posthumous work "Yutang Chunhun" was sold at a high price of 10 million yuan, and broke the record again
It is said that when Jiang Wen heard the news of Chen Yifei's death, he was also very sad. He turned off his phone and transferred the information to the mobile secretary station, and had not walked out of the room for a week. Later, an insider admitted that the two people went from being "former friends" to "turning enemies", how much resentment and hatred they could have, is nothing more than a conflict of personality and being serious about doing things. "Character is destiny" has been interpreted more vividly, but it is too late to do anything.
During his lifetime and the magazine he founded
In May 2003, Chen Yifei, who was busy with the start of "The Barber", once said strongly to the reporter: "I am an idealist. Whether it is filming movies or commercials, I hope to do my best!" At this time, it seemed that all the endings and destiny were destined.
