Artist Statement
“Shan Hai Jing (The Classic of Mountains and Seas) is an ancient book that combines Di Li Zhi (a book that describes a cultural and geographical account of region and its historical evolution), Feng Wu Zhi (a book of local scenery and objects) and Ming Su Zhi (scientific activity of collecting and recording folklore information and the specific description of folklore information). It began with folklore from the Xia Dynasty (BC2070 – BC1600).
It was written in the Han Dynasty and has 31,000 characters. I have always had a strong interest in this book and wanted to present it as a long scroll. Around 2018, I acquired a roll of French handmade paper, moderately pliable, 1.4 meters wide and 20 meters long.
I felt that it was the most suitable to paint a long scroll. Then the epidemic hit the city and gave me a wonderful opportunity to realize this idea. So, I began working on the long “Shan Hai Jing” scroll with lines and calligraphy using ink.
The vast mythology of ‘the immortal’ is the central theme of my work. In the West, people believe in heaven after death. In China, people worship immortality and the eternal soul. It is romantic and egoistic.
At the end of the scroll, I end with “Emperor Yu Tames the Flood”, embodying the philosophical concept of diversification with realism. The long scroll is hung vertically descending from the sky, with the meaning of respecting the sky.
I refer to the illustrations in the Ming Dynasty’s Shan Hai Jing (The Classic of Mountains and Seas), such as the human-faced beast and nine-tailed fox, to fully express the extraordinary imagination of our ancient ancestors. Moreover, in ancient times, there were no maps in China; cities and landscapes were marked with words. Many place names are miraculously used to this day. I use calligraphy as a link – like a narrator – to connect all the images drawn, including mountains, rivers, people, beasts, strange mountains, and rocks. This is to achieve the unity of illustration and text and smoothly express the scene of symbiosis between gods and humans for more than 2,000 years, which is also the unity of heaven and man to which the Chinese people aspire.
Shan Hai Jing (The Classic of Mountains and Seas) has recorded Russia, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. I believe the spirit of ‘the immortal’ has been passed down from generation to generation, from myth and legend to the reality of Chinese people crossing the ocean to Australia, where I live now.” – Hong Fu
Shan Hai Jing (The Classic of Mountains and Seas), 2020
Artist Statement
“Shan Hai Jing (The Classic of Mountains and Seas) is an ancient book that combines Di Li Zhi (a book that describes a cultural and geographical account of region and its historical evolution), Feng Wu Zhi (a book of local scenery and objects) and Ming Su Zhi (scientific activity of collecting and recording folklore information and the specific description of folklore information). It began with folklore from the Xia Dynasty (BC2070 – BC1600).
It was written in the Han Dynasty and has 31,000 characters. I have always had a strong interest in this book and wanted to present it as a long scroll. Around 2018, I acquired a roll of French handmade paper, moderately pliable, 1.4 meters wide and 20 meters long.
I felt that it was the most suitable to paint a long scroll. Then the epidemic hit the city and gave me a wonderful opportunity to realize this idea. So, I began working on the long “Shan Hai Jing” scroll with lines and calligraphy using ink.
The vast mythology of ‘the immortal’ is the central theme of my work. In the West, people believe in heaven after death. In China, people worship immortality and the eternal soul. It is romantic and egoistic.
At the end of the scroll, I end with “Emperor Yu Tames the Flood”, embodying the philosophical concept of diversification with realism. The long scroll is hung vertically descending from the sky, with the meaning of respecting the sky.
I refer to the illustrations in the Ming Dynasty’s Shan Hai Jing (The Classic of Mountains and Seas), such as the human-faced beast and nine-tailed fox, to fully express the extraordinary imagination of our ancient ancestors. Moreover, in ancient times, there were no maps in China; cities and landscapes were marked with words. Many place names are miraculously used to this day. I use calligraphy as a link – like a narrator – to connect all the images drawn, including mountains, rivers, people, beasts, strange mountains, and rocks. This is to achieve the unity of illustration and text and smoothly express the scene of symbiosis between gods and humans for more than 2,000 years, which is also the unity of heaven and man to which the Chinese people aspire.
Shan Hai Jing (The Classic of Mountains and Seas) has recorded Russia, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. I believe the spirit of ‘the immortal’ has been passed down from generation to generation, from myth and legend to the reality of Chinese people crossing the ocean to Australia, where I live now.” – Hong Fu
