Play focuses on classic painting and its creator

2017-12-11

The work, Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, which was painted nearly 700 years ago by acclaimed painter of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) Huang Gongwang (1269-1354), is regarded as one of the 10 top masterpieces in Chinese art history.

In 1650, the painting, about 7 meters long, was split into two pieces.

Now, one is stored at the Zhejiang Provincial Museum in Hangzhou, while the other is at the Taipei Palace Museum.

The two halves were reunited for the first time in 2011 at the Taipei museum for an exhibition.

Meanwhile, about five years ago, Shanghai-based scriptwriter Wang Hao produced a drama named after the painting.

The show focused not only on the painting but also the painter Huang.

The drama, produced by Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, which premiered in Shanghai in July 2016, will make its debut in Beijing on Dec 11 at the Capital Theater.

Speaking about the show, Wang says: "This painting contains lots of stories and I imagined myself as the painter Huang.

"Huang experienced ups and downs in his life, which provided him a unique perspective about life and he was able to present it through this great painting.

"Through this drama, the audience can have a conversation with the painter."

Huang was born in Changshu in present-day Jiangsu province. The painter, who lost his parents when he was very young, was a government official before he took up art.

He took up painting in his 50s after returning to his hometown following a spell in jail which put paid to his hopes of attaining an official rank. In 1347, Huang moved to the Fuchun Mountains, southwest of Hangzhou, along the bank of the Fuchun River, where he spent the last years of his life. There, he did a number of paintings on the natural landscape, including Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains.

As for the play its director Li Bonan, says the design of the stage set follows the liubai tradition of Chinese painting techniques, in which strategic placement of white spaces could suggest anything, like the clouds, river and the sky.

Separately, the music, which is composed by Yu Li, features Chinese gongs and drums. The drama is one of the 18 productions being showcased at the ongoing National New Drama Performance in Beijing.

The event, which kicked off on Nov 28, runs through Dec 29.

Other highlights of the festival include Gu Wenchang by the National Theater of China, which is about the life story of Gu Wenchang, the first official who advocated the fight against desertification by planting trees since the 1950s; and Shibadong by the Hunan Theater Company, which is based on the story of Shibadong village, the home of the Miao ethnic people in the mountains of Central China's Hunan province, striving to get out of poverty.

China Daily