董香琴Dong Xiangqin

Dong Xiangqin, female, born in September 1949 in Shengzhou City, Zhejiang Province, retired teacher. I am currently a member of the Shengzhou City, Zhejiang Province, and National Elderly Painting and Calligraphy Research Association, as well as a member of the Shengzhou Artists Association. I have been deeply involved in traditional Chinese painting creation for decades and am particularly skilled in flower and bird themes. My brushwork combines traditional heritage with a touch of daily life.

 

Since dedicating herself to Danqing in 2008, Dong Xiangqin has achieved fruitful creative results, with more than 80 works selected for calligraphy and painting exhibitions at the city, provincial, and national levels and included in relevant classics, winning various honors. In 2009, his traditional Chinese painting "Only Peony is the True National Color, Moving the Capital during the Blooming Season" was selected for the Zhejiang Elderly Painting and Calligraphy Research Association's art exhibition due to its delicate brushwork and dynamic charm, and was included in the "Autumn Harvest Collection" painting volume published by the association; In the same year, the traditional Chinese painting "May Loquat Yellow Like Gold" depicted a prosperous harvest scene with freehand brushstrokes and was selected for the "Nanxun Cup" art exhibition. It was included in the "Witnessing Brilliance -60th Anniversary Art Ceremony of the Republic" compiled by the Chinese Elderly Painting and Calligraphy Research Association, praising the glory of the times with pen and ink.

 

In March 2011, the traditional Chinese painting "Enduring Winter and Welcoming Spring" was included in the "Chinese Elderly Calligraphers and Painters Encyclopedia" and permanently collected by the editorial committee, using the cold plum blossom as a metaphor for resilience and character. It has become an important imprint of his artistic career; In November 2012, the traditional Chinese painting "Spring Colors of the Earth" showcased the vitality of the countryside with a panoramic composition. It was selected for the "Beautiful Countryside · Colorful Lingfeng" National Elderly Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition and included in the "Beautiful Countryside · Colorful Lingfeng - Excellent Works Collection of National Elderly Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition", showcasing the beauty of local customs and art.

 

2018 can be regarded as a year of abundant creative output, with five outstanding works achieving excellent results one after another. In March, "Only Peony's True National Color" (re created version) won an award and was included in the selection at the 4th National Middle aged and Elderly Painting and Calligraphy Biennial Exhibition; In May, "Peace and Prosperity" won the "Wang Xizhi Calligraphy and Painting Award · Style Award" at the 4th National Elderly Calligraphy and Painting Competition, while "Fragrant Lotus" won the "First Prize" at the 1st China Elderly Poetry, Calligraphy and Painting Invitation Competition; In June, "Soaring with Ambition" was selected for the "Xifeng Yueyun" calligraphy and painting exhibition in Shengzhou City and exhibited in Beijing; In September, "Harmony Everywhere in the Motherland" won the "First Prize" for painting commemorating the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up for retired cadres in Shaoxing City. In September of the same year, she was awarded the honorary certificates and medals of "Most Representative Painter in Contemporary Chinese Art" and "Chinese Art Wealth Figure" for her outstanding artistic achievements; In December, appointed as a researcher at Beijing Global Hanmo Culture and Art Institute.

 

In January 2019, his artistic achievements were included in the "Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese Art Figures"; In April, the traditional Chinese painting "Reflecting the Sun, Lotus Blossoms in a Different Color" won the "Excellent Work Award" at the 5th National Elderly Calligraphy and Painting Competition and the 2nd National Mao Style Calligraphy Competition. From 2019 to 2020, six works (including "Pine and Crane Extension", "Spring Blossoms and Autumn Harvest", etc.) participated in local and provincial touring exhibitions, and the style of calligraphy and painting spread throughout the country; In 2021, five red themed works (including "The Party Flag Reflects the Original Aspiration" and "A Hundred Years of Glory") were selected for the local and provincial calligraphy and painting exhibitions commemorating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. In June of the same year, he was appointed as the Vice President of the Chinese Painting Academy at the Beijing Global Hanmo Culture and Art Institute, shouldering the responsibility of artistic inheritance and promotion.

 

From 2022 to 2023, six works (including "Bamboo Returns Peace" and "Chrysanthemum Fragrance Overflow", etc.) won excellent awards at the provincial, local, and municipal levels; From 2024 to the first half of 2025, seven works (including "Blooming Flowers in a Prosperous Era" and "New Scenery of Mountains and Rivers") will integrate traditional brushwork and contemporary elements, participate in provincial, regional, and municipal touring exhibitions, and all of them will win awards. She, who is over seventy years old, has always been dedicated to cultivating her talents with enthusiasm and persistence, using her works to convey her sincere love for life and the times, injecting fresh energy into the inheritance and development of elderly calligraphy and painting art.

 

Impressions of Dong Xiangqin's Flower and Bird Paintings

 

Huang Jinliang (Editor in Chief of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Guide)

 

Dong Xiangqin's freehand flower and bird paintings are a fusion of ink and color with the essence of the heart. In the bones and veins of traditional literati paintings, they have grown a vibrant contemporary atmosphere. The lotus in her writing is simple and elegant like the Eight Great Mountain People, but not cold and quiet. The ink leaves are like splashing, and the bright lotus petals are intertwined with burnt ink and light brown. The ancient meaning of "emerging from the mud without staining" is transformed into the sharpness of the pen and the warmth of the colors, creating a harmonious coexistence of elegance and enthusiasm. Or write a flower and a half leaf with a sparse brush, hiding Xu Wei's elegance in the shades of ink, but using light colors to highlight softness and elegance, adding a touch of elegance to the "wild elegance".

 

His plum and bamboo works best showcase his brush and ink style. Bamboo takes the meaning of Zheng Xie's "cutting down the excess and leaving the thin". The bamboo pole is swept with scorching ink, and the bamboo leaves are scattered like swords and spears, with "qi bones" visible in the blank spaces; The plum branches are as twisted as iron and the flowers are as beautiful as rosy clouds, embodying the freehand spirit of "aging and beauty". The title "Fragrant Soul" adds a touch of tenderness, breaking the rigid and rigid style of literati painting. The Peony series highlights its "emotional approach to painting". The flower cluster is written with rouge, beautiful and elegant, with two sparrows moving between the branches, representing a reconciliation between "wealth" and "vitality"; Using thick ink to write leaves and light powder to dot flowers, the ink is dripping with the delicacy of Song people's "object picking", but with freehand brushwork, it breaks away from the craftsmanship of the courtyard.

 

The beauty of Dong Xiangqin's brush and ink lies in the combination of the literary style of painting, as well as the injection of gentle emotions from a female perspective. By placing plum, bamboo, peony, and narcissus in the same bottle, she blends the "Four Gentlemen" and "Wealthy and Noble Flowers" in a "clear offering" style, which is a contemporary reconstruction of traditional imagery. She uses ink as the backbone and color as the rhyme, allowing freehand flowers and birds to maintain their "ancient meaning" while also giving birth to a "new form".