Presently, there are some fake Tong Zhengang’s paintings that have emerged in the art market. This is an interpretation of two points: firstly, his paintings are valuable; secondly, there are demands in the market thus, raising the interest of forgers. His series of ink paintings do contain very high prevention of forgeries, though I shall not discuss his oil paintings at the moment. In the beginning, his clever painting-techniques have set the prevention of falsification. Therefore, the threshold to forge his painting is relatively high. Besides, his paintings embody a certain capacity for physical labor. His paintings are not finished quickly or in a short period of time. As a result, his paintings incorporate with both great painting-techniques and a certain capacity of physical labor. These two points enable his ink paintings to differentiate themselves from other ink paintings done by the majority of Chinese artists. Perhaps, many forgers do not know what pigments he used; as a consequence, those forgeries can be recognized immediately. Many people have a misunderstanding upon modern experimental ink painting; they believed it does not need ink painting techniques, only boldness. Perhaps, many contemporary experimental ink painters are like that; in their eyes, brush works and ink techniques are equal to nothing. They only play with constructions, black and white arrangements and conceptions. However, Tong Zhengang’s modern ink paintings are fastidious about ink and brush works, which associate with his solid foundation of calligraphy in his early stage. Not to mention those contemporary experimental ink painters, even the calligraphic techniques of many contemporary traditional ink painters are not qualified. They merely learn some basic modeling and sketch in art academies, and then start to paint on paper. In the case of Chinese paintings that concern same origin of paintings and calligraphy - calligraphic brushstrokes, elasticized lines, durability for appreciation, sensitivity to ink and water, many people are not aware of this. They think that Tong Zhengang’s paintings probably also do not pay attentions to these factors, therefore the forgers just make the paintings at will. 

Actually, the lines in Tong Zhengang’s ink paintings are rather strong. He absolutely uses the tip of the brush, further it belongs to the concept of “evenness”. Many people consider that it seems very easy to paint a line keeping evenness from the beginning to the end. However, it is actually very difficult since the brushes are soft. The concept of writing and painting is not the same. This is because in Tong’s painting, lines are the basic structures, the forms, the flat surfaces of black, white and gray contain certain sense of weight. Especially, when later on he adds mixed materials on the paintings, the previous black and gray flat surfaces emanates feelings of texture and weight, which are supported by several lines. If the lines are not strong enough to stand, the construction of the paintings will collapse.                                              

The works of Tong Zhengang are very thick and heavy. Although their subject matters are new-style lady paintings with gentle nature, they provide a strong feeling of thickness and heaviness. This is the great distinction between his paintings and that of Ding Xiongquan’s (Walasse Ting). In such case, when hanging on the wall, his paintings carry a sculptural, which separates his paintings from most other experimental ink paintings. For instance, the big vase with blue flowers frequently appearing in his ink paintings is an element of Chinese painting in the style of expressing ideas relying on free strokes and shuns details. More than often, figures in his paintings composed simply of several lines. If you observe carefully, the lines in fact have achieved a lofty realm of employing the tip of the brush: the running of the brush has no start and end points. During his lifetime, Mr. Li Keran had always said that, Shi Tao’s running of brush has no beginning and end points. In the 1940s, when he was learning the tradition in Chongqing, Mr. Keran was mainly studying Shi Tao and Bada. All the time, he wanted to achieve running the brush without starting and ending points. It is a difficult task to achieve such state of composure. To draw a line invariably includes its starting and ending points. However, a fundamentally good line floats like clouds and flows like water, without a beginning and an end. It is not a line generally realized by the majority that it should be stopped at the first and last strokes. Didn’t our calligraphy teachers in our childhood teach us to get started like this? Actually, a really good way of using the tip of the brush is not like this. The first main point of brushwork is “evenness”, “evenness” means without starting and ending points. Tong Zhengang always insists on using this kind of lines in his paintings. Basically, his brush movement belongs to “evenness”, “reservation”, “roundness”, “weightiness”, and “variation”. However, no matter they are “reservation”, “roundness”, “weightiness”, “variation”, their foundation should be “evenness”. What’s the interpretation of “evenness”? It interprets that, in the process of brush movement, the hand of the artist is steady. Apart from the solid foundation of his frequent use of the brush, the most importance is that at the moment, the artist is calming down, his breath is moderate; he is not in turmoil and highly concentrated, without any distracting thoughts. He pays extensive attention to every single line, showing that he is at his best state of mind. This is the principle. Although ancient people did not explain this principle, we can employ modern vocabulary to explain why “evenness” is good. To interpret that on the instant of writing and painting, the artist’s state of mind is good. That’s why we have to discuss the use of brush and ink when talking about Chinese painting, not only its concept, modeling and color. We have to mention the use of brush and ink, starting from brush. Because our Chinese culture believes that all works of art, all processes of art creation, are best resonances of the body and psyche. Good art works are the imprint of such state. We can never discuss art work in isolation, departing from such state. That is the greatest difference between Chinese and Western paintings. All our cultures believe that, whatever we do, ultimately no more than reach the lofty realm of the resonance of the body and psychology, which requires many regularizations. High-quality psychological state is not simply psychology; it can also physical, which is the reflection of excellent temperament and accomplishments. In such kind of state, all creation is of high-quality. Without such kind of state, the creation would not be good, therefore, it is always said that the artist is not in the state and cannot concentrate to create.  

I appreciate Tong Zhengang’s ink paintings very much, because among Modernism I can see the classical qualities in his works. A relatively meaningful phenomenon is that, he is able to construct his paintings by using calligraphic brushstrokes. It is interesting that he is playing with construction, the dots and lines, as well as the movements of brush tip among his modern calligraphy are absolutely traditional and classical. However, as a result, his final construction is modern and supported by his dots and lines. This is actually the weakness of Chinese traditional painting. In traditional Chinese painting, lines are derived from dots, and subsequently developed into flat surface. On the contrary, modern ink painting always previously has the construction, the division of construction produces lines, and the combination between lines produces dots. Because of such reverse process, the calligraphic quality of dots and lines is secondary. On an island of the West Lake of Huizhou, a professor from a Spanish art academy painted his impression of the rainy West Lake by using ink on paper. The painting contains dots, lines and flat surfaces. However, he obviously employed the way of holding brush for oil painting to hold brush for ink painting. In the whole process, he was not using calligraphic brushstrokes and his thinking is focusing on construction. Firstly, he constructed several compositions and filled in ink, and finally used dots to stress the relations of black, white and gray. As long as we look at the painting, we can realize that it was done by a foreigner, since there is no calligraphic quality in dots and lines. Nevertheless, as Chinese contemporary ink paintings, they must be different from Western ink paintings. Their dots and lines must comprise calligraphic quality. Otherwise, I think they are meaningless. The advantages of our culture lie exactly in the calligraphic quality of dots and lines.

Another point is the so-called sense of texture. Apart from the calligraphic brushwork and the consciousness of construction, Tong Zhengang’s ink paintings have a great capacity of textural effects from different materials. Mr. Liu Guosong has a famous viewpoint; he believes that the so-called cun methods in ancient China are textural effects indeed. Figural paintings focus on outlines, whereas landscape paintings focus on cun methods. For figures, the essential thing is drawing out the contours and draperies by using various lines. But for landscapes, mere outlines are not good enough, different kinds of cun methods are needed to express the texture of various rocks and trees. Cun methods are dense combinations of dots and short lines. Thus, varied cun brushstrokes were derived from the nature. For examples, “Hemp-Fiber Cun” was inspired by the texture of hillsides in Jiangnan. The “Raindrop Cun” of Fan Kuan was the expression of the texture of granite in Mount Zhongnan. The “Axe-Cut Cun” of Xia Gui and Ma Yuan was derived from the cross-sections of basalt in Southern China. However, Chinese would never emphasize with that, because it will become simply imitation of nature, then how to imitate them accurately will be its goal, to have an accurate image is not the target of pursuit for Chinese artists. In order to paint a hillside which very much resembles a real hillside, you will especially seek for the textural sense and the aesthetic feelings of the brushwork but not the ink. The intrinsic quality of painter’s self-expression will be lost through expressing nature Thus, it has to retract from imitation and return to focusing on brushwork. Therefore, similarly, all are “Hemp-Fiber Cun”, why do we say that the techniques of Huang Guongwang’s Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains were beyond reach? All are “Raindrop Cun”, why do we say that the techniques of Fan Kuan’s Travelers amid Mountains and Streams were beyond reach? All are “Raveled-Rope Cun”, why do we say that Wang Meng’s works are the best? This is because the lines on their paintings had reached the realm and mastery which others could never reach. Therefore, we cannot simply interpret cun method as texture, because it is not a simple imitation of natural materials, it is the painters’ accomplishments of brushwork. This just explains an intrinsic quality of painting, although it can never get away from nature, the reflection of the spiritual height of a painting does not lie in how resemblance to nature, but depends on the mastery of brushworks. This is the innate character of esthetics, and it also is “inner-beauty” called by Huang Binhong.

However, why does the feeling of texture causes large resonance among so many modern artists? It actually comes from reading. The young artists nowadays, including members of our generation, the Western classics that we have read greatly surpass our own traditions; the familiarity with Western classics also greatly surpasses our own traditions. This is because of the epoch and nobody can change it. The Western traditions are particular about texture, for example oil paintings and sculptures. Marbles, bronzes, tempera paintings, oil paintings are all particular about the feeling of texture. Actually, oil painting depends on textures with a special thickness to produce special visual effects. It is a language of Western paintings, especially in the modern ones, which directly depend on certain textures to reach a striking visual effect. Among American artists this textural concept becomes extremely strong. When the pursuit of the feeling of texture and tactile sense become pronouncing conscious, Western artists directly put various kinds of mixed media, which have never been used before, on flat paintings, including materials like newspaper, plastic, cement, and sheet metal. It has completely broken our concept towards traditional two dimensional paintings. Then people found that, in a public environment of exhibition, those paintings which were boldly used various kinds of textural materials possess greater visual strike, with stronger effects. They do not only can mobilize your vision, but also your sense of touch, texture has become one of the linguistic symbols of modern paintings. In Chinese ink paintings, people also play with textures, including adding different kinds of elements in order to generate copious textural effects. On this point, I believe Tong Zhengang’s paintings at that time have stepped further. He employed many new materials on paper. The effect displaying had a thickness, sometimes resembling relief, which contrasted with the   translucency of pure ink paintings. Compared to traditional ink paintings, his paintings explored the language and special use of colors. Xuan paper all along has a strange relation with pigment. This is because xuan paper is actually a sieve; colors can never be saturated and always in a thin layer. In this aspect, Tong Zhengang took a risk when using color pigments. The pigments he used for ink paintings were not ink pigments, but dye pigments. After mixing, he used special techniques to wash on both positive and negative sides in order to make colors saturated and gorgeous, which greatly oversteps the expressional power of traditional colors. His way of using large surfaces of ink was able to intensely coexist with expression of texture, with clear outcomes.         

Why does he dare to use large surfaces of colors with strong contrasts? On this point, Tong Zhengang is quite similar to Georges Rouault, a master of Fauvism. He puts ink and black into full play, thus suppressing any other kind of colors. This is “Pressing Five Colors” which concluded by folk artists. The New Year pictures of folk arts are very colorful, and should be very gorgeous and vulgar, but finally putting on large surfaces of ink can suppress the colors. Tong Zhengang applies black color to suppress areas of bright hues, such as red, blue, green and yellow. If take away the black color from the structure, only putting together the bright colors will become not beautiful. To imagine, if textural materials are not applied on those areas of black to strengthen their sedateness and coarseness, only use traditional ink not surely can suppress these colors. The reason why Qi Baishi became a master in the style of expressing ideas is because his use of color was more generous and folk than any other artists. Colors like red, green and yellow were generally used in original way, but why the outcomes were not gorgeous and vulgar? It is because his ink was darker and his use of brush was extremely powerful. It is very meaningful to compare Qi Baishi with Wu Changshuo. The foundation of Wu’s brushwork exceeded that of Qi, his brushwork was rounder. But his status was not as high as Qi; he stopped at the last stile of classic, whereas Qi straddled the threshold from the stile. Therefore, Qi had very strong sense of modernity. He was the first Chinese artist in the expressive style to straddle the threshold of modernity. His paintings were fastidious about evenness, construction and large surfaces of pure colors, which controlled by brushworks and ink, all these are consciousness of modern paintings. He did not pay much attention considering the harmony, but on exaggerating its contrariety. He pushed the tension of ink and color to an extreme point, and then under such highly tense condition, he started to think about a kind of balance in high level, not in low level. He was the first artist who used ink as a color, thus, unlike Wu Changshuo, those branches and leaves, chairs and trunks, and even the feathers and coats of magpies, pigeons, cats and dogs painted by ink were not concern about “five colors of ink”, but in a rather flat way. Actually, it is the consciousness of modern construction. Therefore, Qi Baishi’s paintings have a stronger sense of construction. On this point, Tong Zhengang’s works also contain this kind of consciousness. 

 

When he just came to Beijing, he had to join a circle, since stayed alone was rather hard to exist in this place, then, he entered the circle of “New Literati Painting”. At that time, I was editing The Year Book of Chinese Painting, it was the time that artists of “New Literati Painting” were especially active in Beijing. I started to know him at that time, I told him that he did not have intercommunity with this circle; he only needed to find an organization and enter a procession. On certain level, “New Literati Painting” was a reaction to the 85’ New Tides, comprehensive Westernized and comprehensive modernized. It contained a hazy consciousness to main cultural concepts, hoping to return to their own classical values. They believed that we had abandoned our classical values which were not really recognized. This group of people remained that we should recognize where we came from in a more principal standpoint. However, “New Literati Painting” on this point reached a deviation: they stayed too much in the state of “Bohemianism” of late Ming Dynasty. This certainly had its historical rationality of the time. Entering the Twentieth Century, Chinese art were over used as political tools and propaganda, burdened with non-artistic responsibilities. Artists in such environment were particularly tense; they only had one national and collective personality, without individuality. They conscientiously played the role of tools, to accomplish the propagating task given by the community. Therefore, all the works appeared this kind of inner tension. “New Literati Painting” believed, if art wanted to return to its regular position, first of all artists should be back to a normal state. This state should not be a political tool, should not be a state of serving something, and should not be a state of tensely frightened of making mistakes. It should be back to selfhood, relax itself in the world of selfhood. Therefore, “New Literati Painting” collectively displayed this appearance at that time, is also a counter-revolution to the main ideology of the time. With the same goal as the 85’ New Tides, they wanted to deconstruct the ideology of art being tools under the totalitarian ideology in the past several decades. After joining this group, Tong Zhengang also painted a large number of ancient male and female figures, with neither facial features nor expressions. One thing I can see is that his original pursuit was in the meaning of form, in a small space to achieve something of construction. At that time, he also paid attention to the relation of brushwork, including the relation of forms of figures. Omitting the facial features was because he did not want to tell people what he pursued and whom he served. Under the condition of the time, the meaning of cancellation is also a kind of construction. Our strongest restriction and dogma to art in the past was: your painting should be meaningful. It seems that this saying was not excessive, but when it became a dogma and necessary, it would make artists tensed and make them suddenly feel that they needed to serve for something and then became a tool. Therefore, to break this logical chain was just to do a kind of meaningless painting. In such situation, it was necessary for some artists to do some meaningful clearing up, to let people know that paintings could be painted like this, eliminating the sense of guilt in their hearts. After having such kind of explanation, gradually another kind of spiritual state would appear. That is, what I am drawing and not drawing has anything to do with others? Putting forward logically to another step, Tong Zhengang started to draw new-style lady paintings, having some frictions with the concepts of the time. Actually we say, to establish firmly the artist’s state of the time, is decided by his friction with the ideology of the time. If the friction is extremely strong will proof that he is an amazing artist who is running ahead of time; if entirely without friction, the artist would be forgotten by art history; if entirely direct conflict, the artist would be sacrificed. The meaning of the time and value of existence is not to have direct conflict and being dismissed, but to have attrition in sideways, and rub strongly to have sparkle. Now we looking at this friction, the sparkles of the 85’ New Tides of the time and modern paintings are stronger. Thus, they are now more eminent and accepted internationally.   

How about Tong Zhengang? He also had friction, but his friction was not so strong and maybe related to his individual state. I always believe that Tong Zhengang is hedonistic, he is a happy vagrant. He possesses the natural and unrestrained quality of people who live in the wilderness of Xinjiang. From his childhood, he was not living in a community with high density of population and keyed-up human relationships. Therefore, he is not possible to be a painter like Fang Lijun, Yue Minjun, and Wang Guangyi. Moreover, he has a pursuit of aestheticism, which is incompatible with the contemporary art that is rather pursuing ugliness. It is hard for his personality to stand out in such circumstances of the time. However, it is strange that his works also attract the attention of other people in the art circles in Beijing, many circles would like to invite him to join. This explains that he is impossible to be fixed in a position. His position is difficult to be accurate, yet many people are fond of his works. This will appear to be a theoretical question which needs to be clarified: people need art works, What for? The answer from aesthetics of classicism is simple: to glorify our life, cultivate our affections, our requests to art are all positive. However, it will be out at the elbows if these classical standards are used to weigh some profound works in history. In classical art, there are some profound works which being unpleasant feelings, or even misery. It is thus evident that among people’s spiritual requirements to art work, there are some profound things to conform the complexity of human nature. The underside of human’s subconscious, strong conflict and desire; all these were constrained by morality in the past classical society. In modern society, we have more understanding and tolerance to human nature, and have more positive affirmation to the free pursuit of humanity. Afterwards, we obviously allow art to discharge those things which were regarded as darkness in the past. Then, among these, a large number of modern art works are extremely ugly, disgusting, nauseating, which challenge the limits of human being: vision, the touch, smell, and hearing, all limits of sense organs, consciousness and rationality. These challenges are always moving forward three steps and then backward two. Finally, one step is advanced and our domain of appreciation of the beauty is enlarged. We invariably stimulated by these vanguard art and are in a fidget. After that, we negate it. But when we make a turn, we find that we have already gone one step forward, our tolerance has also advanced one step. Under such condition, artists themselves are most benefited, since their spaces of creation are widened and degree of freedom is raised. You cannot imagine that, if put forward ten years, Tong Zhengang’s ink female paintings were impossible to be accepted. However, the development of these modern arts enables his works to be easily accepted. Then, one decade passed, only one decade, unexpectedly, his works look very classical nowadays. His present big head figures, girls and boys with smiling eyes, you cannot imagine in the past, weren’t they deformities? However, they contain a lasting charm, an interest. They are not ugly, but lovely. On this point, we have to appreciate the vanguard art which broadened the territory of appreciation of beauty. In the past, our territory of appreciation of beauty was only as big as a county town, then it became a province, then a country, finally as big as the earth, isn’t it good? In the past, we could only appreciate things of paradise; afterward we can gradually appreciate things in man’s world, now, we can even appreciate things in the hell.                       

     

However, I have raised opposite opinion to some Tong Zhengang’s paintings which were trying to express the hell-like repulsiveness on earth in a short period of time. At that time I said, that was not the way you had to go. No matter how, you could not forget what kind of person you were in your heart. In your heart of hearts, you were very fond of beauty, very particular about dressing, aspiring after luxury, wishing to have beauty ladies clustering around. Why had you to paint those things that were so ugly that make yourself and others suffering? Your ugliness could not exceed that of Fang Lijun and Yue Minjun. For deformation and oddness, you could not exceed Picasso. The most important point is that, you wanted to pretend yourself to be a thinker, wasn’t it ridiculous? When you were in the open field, what you wanted most to see is human, especially women, so when you saw human, you would feel cordial, when you saw women, it would be more cordial, and beautiful women would be extremely cordial. Unlike Fang Lijun, he saw human would be annoyed, when saw Chinese people would be more annoyed, their friction and conflict with the society at that time were very severe. They were all along refused by Chinese society, because their works indeed touched some terrifying things among Chinese nationality. You came from the wilderness of Xinjiang, in the process of your entire growth, this society had never oppressed you, and you basically had no conflict with this society, what were you thinking about? What were you criticizing? Therefore, that was not the way you have to go. But to a record of certain period, it was still valuable. To certain meaning, modern painting is a creation of symbol. Who can successfully create a symbol and make it as a personal label, which will possess a position in contemporary art. However, real creations of cultural symbol which obtain historical meaning just like “finding something by chance after traveling far and wide in search of it”. There were many artists, starting from the period of Yuanmingyuan, who tried extremely hard to find symbols, finally disappeared because they could not find any although had paid great effort. Artists like Fang Lijun are lucky ones; they are lucky because from the starting point, they can find the symbols and then unceasingly developed their intension and extension to form a series of symbols. Only by changing the scenes and combinations, a new vocabulary will be produced, which enable us to have a new decipherment. Therefore, their painting is a kind of painting can be decipherable. To compare with this, the decipherment of Tong Zhengang’s paintings is not that strong, his paintings are more appreciative than decipherable. From the beginning, his paintings are admirable. However, the contents of these present big head figures and those former new-style lady paintings are not entire indecipherable. That is as I have always sad, a symbol of bliss index of nowadays Chinese people. The criterion of measurement is simple; it is how big is the proportion that the enjoyment which surpasses adequate clothing and food occupies in our spiritual world. From ancient to present-day, from China to West, they are no more than fresh flowers and beautiful ladies, famous brand cars, abundant night lives, love affairs. In the past, we would look at these things in the ideological viewpoint, distinguish them with classes; proletariat does not seek for these, only the bourgeoisie who leading rotten life seek for these. Actually, proletariat surely seeks for these things, but they do not have it. The objective they are striving is to obtain these things. Tong Zhengang takes himself as an indicator and takes his feeling as the thermometer of bliss index.

The 1980s is a time of cultural heroism, the entire intellectual and cultural circles were tormented by giant historical issues. In order to answer these great questions, they have to devote much consideration. Everybody would be glorious and proud of being thinking pioneer of the time, the consequence is 64, street politics. However, after 1990s, there was a sudden turn in the whole society, from an idealist became a realist, they suddenly felt that those idealistic, spiritual, national, historical and macroscopic words were purely imaginary which did not have too much relation with their own well-beings. They suddenly felt that they needed to return to their individual standard, everyone sought for their present well-beings. This was an awakening of consumption consciousness; they indulged in the so-called consumption tide at the time: wearing famous brand clothing, drinking good wine, living with well decorated houses. The various kinds of consumption and fashion magazines emerged. Correspondingly, Chinese people have their own night life, and sexual consciousness suddenly became unusually open. These kinds of things were certainly expressed in art. In that case, Tong Zhengang is an artist who was relatively early to enter this historical period. His earliest group of new-style lady paintings actually was the expression of the mental and physical conditions that when Chinese had entered into the time of consumption culture. Why is it said mental condition? You can no longer see from their eyesight that they are gazing distant place; you can no longer see from their physical condition that there is nervousness urged by a lofty objective. There is not. Their eyesight is always very short and their bodies are extremely relaxed, they are occupied with nothing, they are indulged. However, it is very meaningful that, when we look back now, we will feel a bit confused and hesitation that this is absolutely not Tong Zhengang’s conscious expression at that time. Actually, he basically not considered that the girls under his brush are melancholy, their self state is confused. He only felt that these kinds of facial expressions and relaxed bodies of the girls are very true. It resembles that before the Great Cultural Revolution, many people felt astonished when they saw cameras, the state of staring was mostly real, which was not the photographer who deliberately arranged them to show this kind of emotional expression, it should be an entirely collective facial expression. In fact, the state of the girls of Tong Zhengang’s ink new-style lady series at that time is also a collective facial expression. This state, to certain meaning could be a return of gender consciousness. Originally, human divides into men and women, the difference of both sexes making them become a third person of each other. Man is the third person of women; woman is the third person of men, looking at the third person from the sight of the third person. From such kind of looking on from sidelines, appreciation, understanding, sympathy, and even misunderstanding, some very conscious cultural phenomenon produced. It is said that our entire civilization is actually men write about women, women write about men. Up to now, both sexes can still not read through each other. Just because the existence of such gender consciousness, it generates the subtleness and complication of the emotional world of our whole human being. It is interesting that the revolution in China would firstly result in the liberation of female. The important sign of liberation of female is the elimination of women’s gender consciousness and standpoint. Women do not feel that they themselves firstly should not be women, from dressing up, choosing career, body language, the tone or manner of speaking, they all kept near to men. Then, gender consciousness would be eliminated in the process of keeping near to men. Afterwards, our art would get in trouble. How do we illustrate the female beauty? This was puzzled. In the eight prototype plays, after all they needed women and men to play on the stage. We tried hard to desalinate the femininity of our female leading roles, like Li Tiemei in The Red Lantern, little Changbao in Circumvent the Powerful Tiger Mount, Fang Shuzhen in Seaport, Wu Qionghua in Red Women Army, and Xier in White Hair Girl. However, they did not like this when we viewed the plays. In fact, we were most fond of Red Women Army and White Hair Girl at that time. This was because those actress in Red Women Army wore shorts, I could see her leg; the actress of White Hair Girl was most beautiful. In the second season of prototype plays, Yang Chunxia acted as Ke Xiang, when she came out, she was brilliant, and people finally could see a beautiful lady. This explains that no matter how to carry out the liberation of female, indeed, the existence of genders and the mutual appreciation of both sexes is forever a human’s basic demand. You can regard it as an elementary desire, an instinct, but you also can regard it as loftiness. Since we said the major accuse that the Great Cultural Revolution vanished human nature was it repealed the gender consciousness, which made us to feel insensitive and blunt towards the beauty of women. Thus, we restored to perceive the beauty of female, we regarded female as female, isn’t that a dignity aspiration? Isn’t it a healthy representation of a society? I recall an old lady has told me a story, in 1960s during the Great Cultural Revolution, all women did not put on lipsticks, and there was no more lipstick in China. A reporter of Associated Press suddenly discovered that on the street of Wangfujing, there was a girl had put on lipstick; the reporter was tremendously excited and reported that. How did he account? He said, I eventually saw with exceeding excitation that among a group of blue ants, there was a girl applying lipstick. This interpreted that the ideology of the Communist and Puritan could still not totally destroy the ambition of Chinese people towards beauty. With the existence of such a thing, he believed that China would have a day that it could get rid of such Communist ideology. His prediction was correct. When I was studying in university, parties with dancing were revived. One of my schoolmates who came from Shanghai took part in the party putting on lipstick, which caused a great sensation in the whole school. However, up to 1990s, we started seriously feeling that we should regard a woman as a woman, and women had their particular rooms to display their female charm. In the 1990s, such special rooms were bars, night clubs, music halls, namely red-light district. As a matter of fact, women actually should not only stay in these places, especially beautiful ladies. Isn’t it right? Yet, it was very surprising or not surprising, in a historical period of China, beautiful women only appeared in these places. I remembered that in 1992 when I went to Shenzhen to produce television program for the first time, in the early night in an inn in the Luohu district, my Goodness! I was shocked that beautiful women of the entire China had turned up there. I have never seen beautiful woman like this, in particular, I never had such experience of seeing so many beautiful women appeared at the same time. Tong Zhengang’s paintings were depicting these women. I feel that he appreciates female in the standpoint of male’s gender consciousness. I believe this itself is advancement in history. Since as long as you turn back several years, you will find how those women were shown in paintings. Female school graduates returned and reported to school principal that how they planted trees in Zhou Sicong’s Young Plant, whereas in I Am Storm Petrel, women were connecting electric wires in a rainstorm, others were strong girls they continuously digging mountains. All these works and roles in the society should not be taken responsibility and played by female basically. However, we allowed them to do so, and we also extolled it as advancement in history. Compared to this, it seems that female roles in Tong Zhengang’s paintings that feeling slightly dispirited, confused and being playthings of male have regressed and returned to the feudal and capitalist society. Indeed, we needed not to view these things with such ideology. This is the appreciation of man to woman. To say in an abstract way, human’s civilization is hero plus pretty woman, wit plus beautiful lady. They are historical roles, cultural roles and with them, the two opposing principles in nature of history and culture can just be balanced.

The response of Tong Zhengang’s present oil paintings is quite good. When they were exhibited in the 798 District, I have made an impromptu speech. I feel that his index of bliss is more and more high. On his ink painting, I only saw pretty ladies beside him in the past; he could appreciate them in a close distance. These pretty ladies were not alert against him; they did not regard him as a colored-wolf and even did not aware of his existence. They were very relaxed in front of him, they drank when they should drink; they exposed their breasts, put on their pajamas in any ways, played with cats when they should do so. Tong Zhengang feels that was bliss. Now, it seems that his bliss is not only that. He is more intoxicated at the moment. These preferential roles have changed from female to male, and he projects himself to the canvas. Looking at these oil paintings, girls in front of him are already not self-forgetful and third party-forgetful; they are on the initiative to bend their arms round his shoulders. He is pleased and intoxicated with smiling eyes and opened mouths. Wearing famous brand name clothing, drinking red wine, his feeling of bliss is blossoming like flowers. Such kind of bliss has already been collectivized and opened. In his ink paintings, ladies are always in a most closed environment. In such condition, those ladies are kept in confinement and completely immersing egocentrically. You can see that figures in his ink paintings contain a feeling of solitary. Compared to their mothers, their mothers had to take many men’s jobs, had to wear men’s clothing and work intensively. They can decide not to wear man’s cloths, not to take man’s job and can be very relaxed. But they are a bit melancholy, with sense of loneliness of losing collectivity. However, figures in oil paintings have already been collective. They can be one man and one woman, can be one man and two ladies, can be parents with child, can be lover with lover, they are collective and opened. The occasions they appear have gotten into public spaces from places in confinement and boudoirs, such as entering bars, music halls, in nature with blue sky and big ocean. They are smiling happily amid bouquets of flowers. Spaces and states of mind are opened. This is just explains that, in the past ten years, the entire society has reached a more open stage on recognizing and understanding of this issue. How lofty of the mental world of these people is, or in their hearts if they have great aspiration? No, it is a kind of superficial unrestraint and satisfaction. We sometimes feel contradiction about such unrestraint and satisfaction. From a standpoint of an elite, in fact we are willing to extol heroes, to extol pioneers, to extol those tragic figures, martyr, including those who lay done their life for principles. All these are what we thought we had to express in the past. But when we have a review, what are the ultimate objective of the effort of these pioneers and martyrs? Their ultimate objective of the effort actually is the superficial unrestraint and satisfaction of all living things, is to enable us to live in such conditions. How happy it is without anxiety, pain, and vexation. The entire world resembles an ocean of flowers, even birds are glad with smiling eyes.

It can be said that after China has gone through more than hundred years of suffering, solemnity and bloodiness, it is good that today finally has such state under Tong Zhengang’s brushes. The revolutionary martyrs should smile in the underworld. This is a kind of clearing up of tension, including the languages he used are very meaningful. In the period of ink paintings, he used a kind of conflicting language, including the relation of lines and flat surfaces, then the relation of ink and those firm materials, including the relations among pigments of black and indigo red, yellow, and green, which produced a tense feeling in terms of language. It shows that at that time, he tried hard to relax himself, but was not enough. He never depicted oil paintings before, but suddenly paints such large works in oil. He chooses a language of flat smearing, slightly sketch tone, and smoothness. They are as smooth as porcelain, plastics, and extremely high quality cotton material. The language itself also represents a mental state of Tong Zhengang. He hopes that in the process of creating these works, his soul is as smooth as silk fabric. When he uses brushes painting these big head figures, peonies, and clouds in the sky, he has a feeling of touch: he feels that it should be smooth and comfortable, just as fondling the shin of babies and young girls, as touching silk and porcelain. His lines are all curves, every plane is smooth, and every transition of light and shade is gentle, without any clash, without any violent hostility. I think such feeling is the reason that many people are fond of these paintings, since now many people have entered such an index of bliss. They have a beloved wife and son, perhaps they also have a beautiful mistress outside, good cars, and thus their lives are sweeter than honey. They wish such happy state can maintain all along, in perpetuity and bliss index becomes higher and higher. Hanging this kind of paintings at home will feel very joyful. In this case, it makes me to recall the Chinese New Year pictures and clay sculptures of Wuxi. In fact, big head figure is not originally created by Tong Zhengang; it is originally created by folk artists. Starting from Song dynasty, Chinese New Year pictures had appeared a large amount of non-proportionate big head children, which brought lucky and joyful feelings to Chinese people. It itself was a bliss index. Thus, in the past, Chinese people would always stick several such kinds of New Year pictures at home when celebrating festivals. Why people are fond of Tong Zhengang’s big head figures even at first sight? It is because in a thousands years, big head children are regarded as lucky and happy, only this point is not exposed; when it is exposed, it will be suddenly realized. Look at the adzed head; Chinese people all the time believe it is the representation of intelligence. Crescent-moon eyes, cherry little mouth. Men are slightly bad; women are slightly silly. When seeing these paintings, people want to take a rest on the paintings, because the most essential index of bliss is without contradiction, but to break away from the competitions of actual life, to take a physical and mental break.