PAINTING may be just a hobby, but Ma Hao studied hard to become an artist without any professional training; Gong Jiebing, a lover of calligraphy all his life, is now a calligraphy teacher; Qin Furong is a sculpture fan who always records interesting scenes with his knife; Xu Meifang creates elaborate butterfly painting. They are all grass-roots artists in Jiading communities. Art is their hobby as well as their spiritual pursuit. They put the cares of everyday life behind when they are immersed in the world of art. Pan Zheng reports.

You're never too old to become an artist

In Jiading's Juyuan New Area lives an elderly man who has traveled around the country after his retirement and recorded the beautiful scenes he saw in the booklets with pen paintings.

Ma Hao, 89, retired in 1996 when he was 72, started to learn painting as a hobby. He chose painting because his elder brother was good at it.

His brother graduated from Suzhou Art College and became a student of Wu Hufan, a Chinese painting master. Later he became a painter with the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy. Ma wanted to learn painting early from his childhood, but his major of accounting prevented him from doing so.

So after his retirement, he started to study painting from the famous "Mustard Seed Garden" painting book from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Mustard Seed Garden was a villa in Nanjing constructed by Li Yu, a famous writer. His son-in-law, Shen Xinyou, and a family of three brothers surnamed Wang, were commissioned to paint the pictures of his villa. The book compiled with these pictures is considered a standard textbook of Chinese painting.

It was pretty difficult for an old man to learn painting from scratch but he never gave up. In his first two years Ma created 31 paintings, all of which were beautiful scenes of China. Ma loves to travel and always takes photos and writes notes about his journey.

Since he learned how to paint, he paints the scenes instead of taking photos. Now, he draws over 100 pictures every year.

Ma Hao

Born in 1924 in Jiading District, Ma graduated from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics majoring accounting. He worked as an accountant in the Shanghai Hailong Wool Textile Factory. After he retired from the factory, he did auditing work in an accounting firm until 1996 when he retired and took up art as a hobby.

Simple tools are Qin's simple pleasures

A pen, a knife and a camera occupies all the spare-time life of Qin Furong.

He uses the pen to paint the places he visits, the knife to carve interesting scenes, and the camera to record his travels. He's not a professional or trained artist, but he loves wood carving, painting and photography.

Influenced by his father, Qin used to be keen on calligraphy. However, he couldn't learn calligraphy in his childhood be-cause he had to go to work at an early age to help support the family.

But, Qin didn't give up on art, and he doesn't miss any opportunity to pursue his interest in it.

He often visits art exhibitions and exchanges ideas with professionals. When he feels tired, he finds that creating a piece of art is the best way to relax.

Qin Furong

Born in 1964 in Jiading, Qin used to work as an engraver in a company after graduating from college. In 1993, he was transferred to work in the police station.



Nanxiang's very own Madam Butterfly



In Nanxiang Town there is a woman who is especially keen on painting butterflies in an elaborate style. She keeps a lot of painting booklets in her home, full of butterfly paintings.

Xu Meifang is 80 this year, and her husband is a poet, calligrapher and collector in Jiading. Influenced by her husband, Xu learned painting after retirement. After her 65th birthday, Xu started elaborate-style painting of butterflies, both from textbooks and with her husband's guidance. Xu's butterfly paintings are now so popular that she is known as "Madam Butterfly" by her friends. She is still working on developing new ways of painting.

Xu Meifang

Born in 1933 in Jiading, Xu learned painting after her retirement. She now specializes in elaborate-style painting of butterflies.

Modern calligrapher with cultural background

With the development of contemporary calligraphy, more calligraphers have learned to understand calligraphy from a cultural perspective. It's not only an art, but also a representation of the spirit of Chinese people, and it reflects their culture.

Gong Jiebing started to practice calligraphy in 1980s and says his love of Chinese classical art has helped him understand calligraphy, and his works have always been rooted on a deep cultural background.

Gong is not stuck in the past when it comes to modern calligraphy. He is not trapped by old guidelines, but feels that the modern approach should not destroy the tradition.

He believes the modern style is an art form that must combine contemporary spirit with the essence of the history. Reform of calligraphy must not damage its original basis, he says. Throughout history, Chinese calligraphy has never stopped changing, but even today it has not strayed far from its original beginnings.

Gong has studied the causes and process of several calligraphic reforms in Chinese history, including the freehand style of the Song Dynasty (960-1127), the romantic style in the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the stele study in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). He found that all these reforms were based on a very rich cultural background.

Gong Jiebing

Born in 1967 in Jiading, Gong graduated from Shanghai Normal University majoring Chinese Literature. His calligraphic works was exhibited at the 4th China Calligraphic Exhibition of New Calligraphers, the 3rd National Couplets Calligraphy Exhibition and the 1st to the 7th Shanghai Calligraphy and Seal-Cutting Exhibitions. Gong is a member of the China Calligrapher's Association, the Shanghai Calligrapher's Association and calligraphic tutor at the Jiading Youth Activity Center.