前言
In Cui’s China Red series,he depicted a long list of women in traditional red Chinese costumes, withemphasis on their complicated hair make-up, full lips, almond-shaped eyes andMongolian-styleflat noses. His water-and-ink realistic Chinese lady paintingsis deeply characterized by Western Oil Paint skills, which brought vividness ofModern Culture to these traditional women figures. Cui also created thecombination of Shanshui, Bird-and-Flower and Sketching from life, which helpedhim in avoiding the two major problems of contemporary Chinese water-and-ink:Petrified orthodoxy and extreme experimentalism. His truthfulness anddirectness in artistic expression has everything to do with his local identityof Northern China.
However, as we contemplate the complicated history of China, wemust declare first the connection between China Red and Chineseness. Incontemporary conceptions, China red is inseparable from China, in the level ofKungfu, Great Wall and Chinese Characters, forming a collection of culturestereotypes. This conception is nothing like General Tso’s Chicken: it is fromChinese Culture. Chinese population around the world widely acknowledges ChinaRed as a Proud Tradition in bridal costumes.
But was it always like this? In the early stage of Chinesecivilization, the Zhou Dynasty, bridal costumes was made in black with stripesof yellow, according to formal records. This tradition was passed on to theUnified China under Han Dynasty. In the coming barbarian invasion, White tookover as matrimonial color. After that, in the proud Tang Dynasty and the mostcivilized Song Dynasty, the ceremonial color for women is somewhere on thechromatography between green and blue. The first appearance of China Red informal occasions on women, as it manifests in Cui’s paintings, was in MingDynasty (1400s-1650s), which was interrupted by the following invasion ofManchu barbarians. The China Red was not made an “official” color until theearly half of 1900s, when China was liberated from Manchu Emperors and peoplestarted to seek certain identity color to hold onto, much like what happenedlater in the 1980s in Northern China.
However, it is unfair to judge Cui’s China Red series as acomplacent approval of stereotypes. Multiculturalism not only studies theorigin of culture specialty, but also respects the power of “acculturation”. Inthe time of Globalization, Muslim in Egypt can feel inclined to Pharaoh’sPyramids; Turkish Greeks can be proud of Aristotle’s traditions. Similarly, AsChina’s Red in historic progress, it can also represent a greater symbolismofmagnitude. Yes, the Red may not be very China, nor can it fully represent allof China. Nonetheless, it’s already a powerful symbol of Culture Significanceand Historical Importance. Cui’s endeavors to use China Red as a culturesymbolare successful and worthy of praises. His China Red series trulyreflected the fullest China in its broadest meanings, which is also a wonderfulartistic tribute to Northern China’s new national identification since 1980s.Last but not least, the beautiful women in his paintings are aestheticalwonders for contemplation all by themselves!
