Feng Zikai, known as the “first person in Chinese manga”, is one of the modern literary and artistic masters in Zhejiang Province, deeply respected by the literary and artistic community. Today, in the temporary exhibition hall of the Taizhou Museum, 101 authentic works of Mr. Feng Zikai in his later years are on display here, as well as 22 daily necessities used by him during his lifetime, allowing citizens to have a closer understanding of his paintings and life.
Mr. Feng Zikai was one of the initiators of the New Culture Movement, advocating for “aesthetic education” and becoming famous for his humorous and witty comics. Early comics were mostly based on real-life themes, with “warm satire”. Later on, they often created ancient poetry and new paintings, especially with a focus on children’s themes.
The 101 works on display this time are divided into four sections: ‘Childhood Innocence’, ‘World Appearance’, ‘Friendly Love’, and ‘Things and Me’. They are the final works of my master in his later years. He wrote in the preface of the album, ‘This is the end of my life’s painting.’ The album was named ‘My Broom and Self Treasure’, meaning to be cherished by my family and passed on to future generations. ‘said Bao Siyu, a staff member of the Taizhou Museum.
This batch of works is currently in the collection of Zhejiang Provincial Museum. With the help of the provincial museum mutual borrowing platform, the Taizhou Museum has applied to the provincial museum for approval to borrow exhibitions, allowing Taizhou citizens to see Mr. Feng Zikai’s authentic work.
Entering the upcoming exhibition hall, one can see that one wall is full of book decorations designed by Mr. Feng Zikai, including covers for primary and secondary school textbooks at the time, covers for books such as “Chinese Youth”, and covers designed for works translated by his teacher Xia Qiaozun. The styles are different, but they are very distinctive of the times.
Upon entering the door, I saw two works displayed on the counter, named “Attention Concentration” and “More Flowers Falling in Erjiamen Alley”. The former depicts a child crawling on a desk and writing, while the latter depicts two children sweeping fallen peach blossoms with a dustpan at the door, which is very suitable for this poem.
Looking at these 101 paintings, it can be seen that apart from some paintings with random themes, most of them revolve around scenes in some poetic lines to create corresponding scenes. If you look closely, you can also find many paintings with the shadow of cats and scenes of drinking. This coincides with Feng Zikai’s habit of loving cats and drinking in his later years. From paintings to people, it can be seen, “said Bao Siyu.
In order to enable citizens to have a deeper understanding of Feng Zikai, the Taizhou Museum also specially borrowed 22 items of Mr. Feng’s work and daily necessities from the Tongxiang Feng Zikai Memorial Hall, including the pens, pigments, inkstones, etc. he used for painting.
We also specially invited Mr. Song Xuejun, the grandson of Mr. Feng Zikai, to visit the Taizhou Museum this weekend to ‘walk into Feng Zikai’s children’s world’ with the citizens. Through our experience with my grandfather and research on Feng Zikai’s art, we will help Taizhou citizens understand Feng Zikai’s children’s comics, educational philosophy, and life philosophy, “said Bao Siyu. Author: Wang Chao