Liansheng Zhao, Another name Zhao Zhuang, courtesy name Yi duo, posing as White Mountain Old Tree, common people of East Liao ning Province. His house is named Sword Bury Room. When young he was the apprentice of Mr. Liu Zi Gu and Mr Wang Wen Chan. He has learned and researched Chinese paintings for more than 50 years.
He have lived in Chang Bai mountain for 40 years and he is like to learn the spirit and books Zhuang Zi. Painting and carving are his favorites. He led a simple life without worldly desires in the mountains. He learned from the nature and finally he got the essence of art. He inherited the tradition as well as did much creation.
He always walks alone and haven’t join any group. Elegant style makes him special. His paintings are has significant meanings and full of traditional appeal. The lines are clear and powerful.
In his two-meters vertical painting <Looking the sea proudly>, a high peak is surrounded by many mountains. The peak is so high. It seems that it can reach the sky. The waterfall falls down from the top of the peak besides them there are much floating clouds. The wind blow the pine trees.
On the painting, there is a poetry,” yesterday night, the famous mountains visited my home.They are as ancient as Tao Qian, as elegant as Wang Wei, as clear as Su Shi, as strange as Zhu Da. They embraced each other and stood in front of my house. I got up immediately and welcomed them. When I want to talk with them, the mountains disappeared at once. I was awake. Then I pick up my brush pen. I was painting the large mountains. The large mountains encouraged me a lot. It strong my mind, just as the god!”
The mountains in his dreams just like the elegant people in Chinese ancient time and they want to be friend with him. That really amazing! “I was painting the large mountains and the large mountains encouraged me!” From this we can see the soup of the painter has been connected and mixed with the nature tighter. They are interacting and forget the difference between object and the man. Through this painting, the painter express his miss feeling of China’s rivers and mountains, his care ness of the people and his untiring purchase of Chinese Art. His other paintings, such as <Clouds Cleaning the Jade Peak> <The Foggy Morning on the River Bank> <Fall in Dream Easily under the Moon Light> <Rhyme of the Pine Tree> <Justify Filling the Space> <Green Cloud on the Iron Wall>, etc. are clear and fresh as well as full of meaningful content. People always are shocked by seeing his painting, just as the cool wind in the hot summer, just as the bright moon come in one’s breast.
He is full of enthusiasm about Chinese painting and calligraphy, and has his unique understanding. He has published several articles recorded in his “Painting Comments in Zhao Zhuang”, among which the “Seven Cranky Genius in the Painting World” has given him a great deal of fame. In his mind, Chinese Painting and Calligraphy is the quintessence of the country. So the artist should have the responsibility to satisfy the common people. Commodity can be made artistic; but arts shall never has the trend of being commercial.
In his eyes, Chinese painters and calligraphers shall hold the Chinese traditional spirits and carry forward the spirits. The arts of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy shall stand straight the forest of world top arts, and shall have the responsibly to influence the other arts. The Chinese painting and calligraphy need to communicate with the folks and be approved and accepted by the people. He is definitely angry and sniff about the phenomena of the swarming speculation as well as the wooing fame and fortune in the existing painting world. He has attended many domestic painting exhibitions, and many of paintings are collected by the painting galleries, domestic and foreign collectors free of charge. He said, if you use paintings to cultivate your mind, it is exquisite; but if you use them to woo fortune, it is snobbish. He also said he was willing to donate his paintings to those who use them to spread the Chinese traditional cultures; and would never co-operate with those snobbish people using his paintings to woo money or upper official title. Though these words seem a little extremity, his honorable characters do leave us a deep admiration.
Sincerely hope this exceptional traditional spirit watcher can be inspired by the inexplicable painting law, endowed the incomparable genius, and paint the rivers and maintains with his magnificent paintbrushes.