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(click to enlarge)
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22 UNTITLED BY ARTIST (Bamboo)
Wu Hu Fan (1894 � 1967)
Dated spring 1948, March
00604051524
Wu Hufan (1894 � 1967), originally named Wu Qian, was a grandson of the artist Wu Da Hui of the Qing dynasty, and the son of Wu Dacheng, governor of Hunan Province. Influenced by the family, he learned painting at an early age. He opened his own studio and began accepting students in 1939 and sold paintings to make a living during the civil war period. After watching a documentary film about the first atomic bomb, Wu painted the scene using traditional Chinese painting techniques. When army officials saw his painting, they requested that it be copied in a large print edition for educational purposes. Wu was well-respected when new China was established.
In past times, four plants called the Four Gentlemen, symbolized the essential attributes of the ideal Confucian scholar: the plum blossom, bamboo, orchid, and chrysanthemum. They also came to represent the seasons.
Bamboo represented strength and virtue, reflecting a perfect balance between upright integrity and great flexibility. Bamboo is always ready to be of service and is used on a daily basis. The bamboo plant bears no flower or fruit which are ultimately only make-up. Bamboo thus symbolizes the Perfect Gentleman: the superior man who, like the pliant but resilient bamboo, bends with adversity while remaining morally upright within. The hollow stem symbolizes modesty, fidelity, and virtue. Always green, the bamboo also stands for longevity. The poem reads:
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Not intimidated by frost or ice, nor afraid of the wind or rain;
It grows tall and elegant and there is no limit to its achievements.
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The bamboo metaphor is easily seen: superior people survive adversity and are faithful to their beliefs (are not intimidated by frost or ice) like the pliant but resilient bamboo (nor afraid of wind or rain), while remaining morally upright (grows tall and elegant).
This fan is painted in an expressive style which recalls the scholar-artists. Wu painted it toward the end of the Chinese civil war at about the time when the strategic balance turned in favor of the Communists. The last part, no limit to its achievements, may express hope for the possibilities under a new government. That he was well-respected under the new regime implies that his sentiments were with the Communist cause.
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