There are similar paintings, such as the one inscribed in the painting of Ink Bamboo, which reads: "I returned from the officialdom with gray hair, and I lay down in the bamboo pavilion in the spring breeze. Now I plant bamboos in Yangzhou again, and the south of the Yangtze River is still green." Another painting of bamboo reads: "I am trapped in my lowly official position, and I feel refreshed in your garden. The fragrance is all over the bamboo, and the social class inside is finally free from worldly affairs."

These ink bamboo paintings all use bamboo to express his feelings of being more carefree after being demoted, "picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, leisurely seeing the southern mountains". So far, we can see that Zheng Banqiao's bamboo paintings and poems on paintings mostly use bamboo to express his feelings, expressing his feelings of "lying in the government office and listening to the rustling of bamboo, I suspect it is the sound of people's suffering".

He shows the bamboo's tenacity of "its roots are originally in the rocks, and it will not be affected by the winds from all directions"; he expresses the bamboo's integrity and demeanor of "picking up a thin bamboo, throwing away the black hat and refusing to be an official". All the bamboo's noble character, steadfastness, integrity, elegance and heroism are expressed vividly in his work.

This is exactly what makes Zheng Banqiao's works different from traditional flower and bird paintings and his predecessors. Traditional orchids and bamboos are mostly presented as appreciative and entertaining themes, and the paintings mainly pursue the truth and beauty of natural images, the high and low painting skills, and the skill and elegance of the use of brush and ink.

In Zheng Banqiao's hands, in addition to achieving these skills and techniques, the poems he wrote on the paintings also gave the subject matter new ideological content and profound artistic conception, making flower and bird paintings also ideological and lyrical, giving people a deep feeling, leaving people with endless aftertastes and a myriad of thoughts after reading them...

Zheng Banqiao's bamboo paintings are unique, and so are his stone paintings. Even the most ruthless stones in nature come alive under his brush, such as the stone in "Pillar Stone Picture". This is also a common subject in previous paintings, but it is rarely used as the main image. Zheng Banqiao uniquely painted an isolated peak in the center of the painting, which has the spirit of soaring into the sky, with nothing around it and no background.

There are four lines of seven-character poems on the painting: "Who is with me in my lonely room? A pillar of stone reaches the sky. I am as upright as Tao Yuanliang. How can five pecks of rice break my waist?" The poem reveals the title of the painting and combines the stone with the character. It can be said that "the painting is not enough but the title is enough, the painting is silent but the poem is vocal. Poetry and painting complement each other and open up countless methods for future generations."

Banqiao uses the upright and strong stones to praise Tao Yuanming. Banqiao praises his upright and noble character, and at the same time seems to be expressing his own experience and temperament. The stones in the painting represent the human figure, which contains the qualities of uprightness and nobleness. It makes people feel that painting stones here is more meaningful than painting people, and can reveal more profound meanings.

Zheng Banqiao also has many paintings with orchids as the theme, which also express some new contents, and use poems to express his views on various things. For example, some use the characteristics of orchids to reveal the mindset of not being arrogant when winning and not being discouraged when losing, and keeping a normal state of mind. The poem on the painting says: "Orchids are related to bamboo, always between green mountains and green waters, never withered by frost and snow, and not bright in spring, laughing at people who are playing tricks on guests."

Orchids remind people that people should be as quiet, lasting, and fragrant as orchids, not frivolous or impetuous. They should not compete for beauty. The painting is small, but it expands the infinite. The artistic conception is profound. Another example: some people use the natural phenomenon of a bunch of orchids with some thorns to express the temperament of a gentleman who can tolerate villains.

The poem inscribed on the painting “Orchid among Thorns and Rocks” reads: “Without thorns, there will be no orchid. The heretics and demons look on coldly. When you see the fish and dragons mixed together, you will know that Buddhism is vast and profound.” The poem inscribed on the painting “Orchid among Thorns and Rocks” reads: “The whole painting is full of gentlemen. Why does it end with thorns? Gentlemen can accommodate villains, and without villains, there will be no gentlemen. Therefore, the orchid among thorns blooms more abundantly.”

Banqiao was ingenious in inserting a few thorns among the orchids. The coexistence of orchids and thorns in the painting expresses the magnanimous mind of "after going through hardships, one becomes a hero" when encountering villains. Readers of the painting also benefit a lot.

The more I read, the more I feel that simple plants have profound artistic conception and endless fun. Looking at the orchids, bamboos and rocks painted by Zheng Banqiao and carefully reading the poems inscribed on the paintings, it is not difficult to see why he likes to paint orchids, bamboos and rocks. As he said: "The orchid that never fades in four seasons, the bamboo that is evergreen, the stone that never fades, and the people who remain unchanged for thousands of years", and "these are the four beauties".

"There are orchids, bamboos and stones, with joints, fragrance and bones." In his eyes, orchids, bamboos and stones can represent people's unyielding, upright and selfless, tenacious, bright-hearted and noble character. Therefore, every word and sentence of his inscription poem expresses his aspirations through objects and has a profound artistic conception.

Zheng Banqiao's most famous work is "Poem on Bamboo Painting": Lying in the government office, I hear the rustling of bamboos, which I suspect is the sound of people's suffering. In my small prefectures and cities, every branch and leaf is of concern. This poem describes the disasters that occurred when he was in office, with countless starving people. Zheng Banqiao worked hard for the victims all day, was exhausted during the day, and had a lot of thoughts at night, unable to sleep.

Listening to the cold rain knocking on the window and the wind blowing through the sparse bamboos, making a rustling sound, he immediately thought of the complaints of the people who were hungry and cold, so he stood up, spread out paper and started painting, and completed this piece of work, which he sent to his superiors to make them understand the suffering of the people.

He also wrote a letter to request the release of relief and the opening of government warehouses to help the people. The disaster was severe and the situation was urgent. He did not have time to wait for his superiors' approval, so he resolutely decided to open the warehouses to release grain and mobilize officials to cook porridge for disaster relief. As a result, he offended his superiors and was dismissed from office.

All of the above are paintings created by Zheng Banqiao, who used orchids, bamboos and rocks to closely connect with various phenomena in real life. They are also his contribution to transforming "literati painting" from "departing from reality and escaping from reality" to "caring about reality and paying attention to reality."

The poems inscribed on paintings give the relatively simple flower and bird paintings rich social content, and produce profound thoughtfulness and lyricism, which brings the readers closer to the paintings, as if a heart-to-heart exchange and face-to-face dialogue is taking place, allowing the "frozen moment" to continue and enhancing the artistic appeal.

In his paintings, poems are not only ideological and lyrical in content, but also artistic and interesting in form. Poems can fully reflect the artistic interest of "calligraphy and painting have the same origin" and "using the same brush". Traditional painters' inscriptions and postscripts are mostly written in the blank space of the painting to balance the picture.

However, the inscriptions of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" have broken away from the stereotypes of inscriptions and poems on traditional Chinese paintings and "literati paintings". In particular, Zheng Banqiao's combination of calligraphy and painting has become a special method of jointly expressing images, and the two are inseparable.

For example, in the "Picture of Orchid and Stone", Zheng Banqiao ingeniously used the form of calligraphy to integrate the regular script, cursive script, official script and seal script into one, with large and small characters, crooked and crooked, written on the stone wall like "a street paved with random stones", replacing the texture method required for stone painting, creating a rhythmic beauty and perfectly expressing the three-dimensionality and texture beauty of the stone, which is more interesting than simply using the texture method to express the three-dimensionality.

This has become an indispensable method of expression, which not only deeply reveals the characteristics of orchids, implies the artistic conception of noble character, but also has the artistic beauty of calligraphy art replacing the brushstroke method. When viewing the painting, people can enjoy the artistic conception of the painting and poetry, as well as the formal beauty of calligraphy art, and immerse themselves in the poetic and picturesque atmosphere.

In many paintings of orchids, bamboos and rocks, he wrote poems in various forms, without following the rules or sticking to one style, which was naturally interesting, and achieved good calligraphy and proper style, which also enhanced the painting. The so-called proper style means that he would consider the actual situation of the picture, make ideas, and pay attention to the formal beauty of the composition, so he would write poems or long inscriptions on the side of the painting.

Some are short inscriptions above and below, some are vertical, some are horizontal, some are diagonal, and some are intermittent between orchids, bamboos, and vines. Looking at their shapes, they are uneven and well-proportioned. It is a book and an inscription, a painting and a poem, and a poem and a painting. Appreciating the poems inscribed in each painting is not only a wonderful reproduction of calligraphy, but also a comprehensive art that complements calligraphy and painting.

The title and the picture are organically integrated together, forming a unified poetic and picturesque feeling, giving people a comprehensive and perfect artistic enjoyment. Therefore, people all admire them as the best creators who integrate poetry, calligraphy, painting and seal carving.

In summary, Zheng Banqiao's works broke through the barriers of traditional flower and bird paintings. His works are not "reproductions" of natural scenery, nor are they copies of the art of predecessors, nor are they brush and ink games far from life. They have unique personality and innovative spirit. Therefore, his works have been deeply welcomed by people at home and abroad since they came out.

It is not difficult to find that people's aesthetic standards like works that have personality, artistic conception, innovation and appeal. This gives us inspiration: only when works have personality and innovation can they have infinite vitality.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

Yun Luo took Yan Chenyu to see the pottery figurines. The "Plump Beauty - Exhibition of the Life of Tang Dynasty Ladies" is based on the figurines of ladies from the early Tang Dynasty to the prosperous Tang Dynasty, combined with bronze mirrors, hairpins and other related cultural relics for display. It presents the daily life of the maids in detail and reproduces the magnificence and exquisiteness of the Tang Dynasty ladies' ornaments.

The Tang Dynasty was the heyday of Chinese feudal society, with a prosperous economy, developed culture, and frequent foreign exchanges. Against this social background, the lives of Tang Dynasty ladies showed an unprecedented openness.

In particular, the noble women living in the capital city of Chang'an were not only enthusiastic about politics and self-pursuit, but also adorned their beauty with gorgeous clothes, gorgeous makeup, and exquisite accessories. They were involved in all aspects of social life in the Tang Dynasty and left a strong mark in history.

The "Beauty of Plumpness - Exhibition of the Life of Tang Dynasty Ladies" is a collection of exquisite works with a variety of colors. The painted ladies figurines with their hands folded, painted women holding objects, painted women standing in hoods, and three-color women standing figurines are all in various poses and bright colors, and are outstanding representatives of the sculpture art of the Tang Dynasty.

The golden combs with flying patterns of musicians, spherical hollow gold earrings with precious stones, silver hairpins inlaid with agate and gilded with gold, silver armlets, spherical hollow gold earrings with precious stones, etc. are luxurious, noble and dazzling. The museum has 28 pieces (sets) of precious cultural relics such as horse-riding ladies figurines, blue Ruyi shoes, and Tang Dynasty hair buns, which are rich in characteristics and fully reflect the extensive influence of Central Plains culture on Western Regions culture, and deserve special attention.

Among them, precious cultural relics such as blue Ruyi shoes and golden combs with flying patterns of music and dance are very eye-catching. The exhibition is divided into three parts: open social atmosphere, exquisite social life, and colorful entertainment activities. (To be continued...)