Old art teacher remembers good old days at Children's Palace
By Zhao Wen |
May 31, 2013, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ART instructor Yu Zijun spent his entire career teaching at the China Welfare Institute Children's Palace, which celebrates 60 years of nurturing young artists and cultivating a love of the arts.
He was the very first art teacher in 1953 and taught for 35 years. Some of his students went on to become famous painters.
On Children's Day tomorrow, the Children's Palace marks the anniversary of its founding in 1953 by Madam Soong Ching-ling, sometimes called the "mother of China."
For the past six months, 86-year-old Yu has been preparing a portfolio of his students' paintings and his own. An album has been published.
Yu, who himself was taught by renowned artist Liu Haisu (1896-1994), taught many artists in their youth, including oil painter Chen Yifei (1946-2005), landscape painter Wang Dawen and crafts artist Tang Zhaoji.
Yu's own water colors have been praised and many sold at auction.
Today, looking from his old shikumen lane-house building on Yuyuan Road, Yu can see the new Children's Palace on Yan'an Road W., built next to the original. His living room is decorated with his water colors and awards on the four walls.
"When I see the light in the building at night, it reminds me of my days teaching students at the palace," Yu tells Shanghai Daily in an interview.
The Children's Palace, an elaborate establishment with a garden, was built as the residence of the Kadoorie family in 1924.
After graduating from the Shanghai Fine Art Training School in 1951, Yu worked at a cultural center that was the predecessor of the Children's Palace.
At first he considered teaching theater stage art but decided to work for Soong because she impressed him with her vision of helping children through art.
When he was still an art student, Yu helped to draw "Three Hairs" ("San Mao"), a famous cartoon series, for a charity event held by Soong. He stepped in when the original cartoonist was ill.
"It was before China's liberation and Madam Soong was doing a lot of charity projects to raise money for poor kids in Shanghai," Yu recalls. Madam Soong entered a room where he was standing, apologized for interrupting him and helped him get a chair.
First art teacher
Yu vividly recalls his experience working with Soong, including his first visit to the Children's Palace, sometimes called the Marble House because of the extensive use of Italian marble. It was surrounded by tall trees and could barely be seen from the street.
He and other art students had a picnic on the lawn with Madam Soong, the wife of Dr Sun Yat-san.
"I was stunned by the beauty of the magnificent house and amazed when she told us she wanted to make the place a palace for children to learn art," Yu says.
Soong had been impressed by a children's palace in the former Soviet Union and brought the idea back to China, where it was adapted to local needs.
Yu was the first and only art instructor at one time, teaching traditional Chinese ink-wash painting, water color, sketching and crafts. There were also classes in calligraphy and paper cutting.
Yu had no teaching experience and wrote his own textbooks. He also created a handwritten, 46-page "color and painting" textbook for his own guidance. Though the paper has yellowed, the writing and drawings are clear.
He taught at the Children's Palace until he retired in 1988. Through his 35 years of teaching, Yu only took Mondays off because students typically took art lessons after school and on weekends.
Famous painters and calligraphers were invited by Yu to talk to the students and give a lesson from time to time.
"Madam Soong always said children deserve the best. She rented such a good venue for children because the place creates a good environment for students to feel what beauty is," Yu says.
Students were also awed by the building and were careful not to scratch walls, scuff the floors or litter the grounds.
"I found students got bored drawing plaster models and asked why they had to do it over and over again," Yu says, adding it was a Western teaching method used by the Soviet Union.
Painting from real life
To encourage students' interest, Yu and the palace arranged field trips where children could see and draw fields, farmers, factories, workers and other scenes from real life. They visited rural villages in suburban Qibao and Jiuting areas and steel factories in Baoshan District. The students met model workers and drew a series of comics reflecting life in the factories.
"The students picked cotton by themselves and experienced the life of farmers, so they could better depict rural scenes and people," Yu said.
Yu still paints today. He was the second generation to receive Western art education in China. After his right hand was injured by cut glass in 1986, Yu created a new kind of water color using a dropper instead of a paintbrush. His works were distinctive, striking and romantic. Many foreigners have collected his works.
Jin Yaqiu, a Fudan University professor and expert in remote sensing, says that seven years of painting at the palace helped him greatly later on when he had to sketch equipment. After graduating from Peking University in 1970, Jin was assigned to a factory in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The factory was short of equipment, so Jin went to bigger factories and made mechanical drawings so the machines could be produced.
Though Jin seldom painted after he became a scientist, he said painting had a big impact on his life. It helped him in creative thinking and innovation.
He was the very first art teacher in 1953 and taught for 35 years. Some of his students went on to become famous painters.
On Children's Day tomorrow, the Children's Palace marks the anniversary of its founding in 1953 by Madam Soong Ching-ling, sometimes called the "mother of China."
For the past six months, 86-year-old Yu has been preparing a portfolio of his students' paintings and his own. An album has been published.
Yu, who himself was taught by renowned artist Liu Haisu (1896-1994), taught many artists in their youth, including oil painter Chen Yifei (1946-2005), landscape painter Wang Dawen and crafts artist Tang Zhaoji.
Yu's own water colors have been praised and many sold at auction.
Today, looking from his old shikumen lane-house building on Yuyuan Road, Yu can see the new Children's Palace on Yan'an Road W., built next to the original. His living room is decorated with his water colors and awards on the four walls.
"When I see the light in the building at night, it reminds me of my days teaching students at the palace," Yu tells Shanghai Daily in an interview.
The Children's Palace, an elaborate establishment with a garden, was built as the residence of the Kadoorie family in 1924.
After graduating from the Shanghai Fine Art Training School in 1951, Yu worked at a cultural center that was the predecessor of the Children's Palace.
At first he considered teaching theater stage art but decided to work for Soong because she impressed him with her vision of helping children through art.
When he was still an art student, Yu helped to draw "Three Hairs" ("San Mao"), a famous cartoon series, for a charity event held by Soong. He stepped in when the original cartoonist was ill.
"It was before China's liberation and Madam Soong was doing a lot of charity projects to raise money for poor kids in Shanghai," Yu recalls. Madam Soong entered a room where he was standing, apologized for interrupting him and helped him get a chair.
First art teacher
Yu vividly recalls his experience working with Soong, including his first visit to the Children's Palace, sometimes called the Marble House because of the extensive use of Italian marble. It was surrounded by tall trees and could barely be seen from the street.
He and other art students had a picnic on the lawn with Madam Soong, the wife of Dr Sun Yat-san.
"I was stunned by the beauty of the magnificent house and amazed when she told us she wanted to make the place a palace for children to learn art," Yu says.
Soong had been impressed by a children's palace in the former Soviet Union and brought the idea back to China, where it was adapted to local needs.
Yu was the first and only art instructor at one time, teaching traditional Chinese ink-wash painting, water color, sketching and crafts. There were also classes in calligraphy and paper cutting.
Yu had no teaching experience and wrote his own textbooks. He also created a handwritten, 46-page "color and painting" textbook for his own guidance. Though the paper has yellowed, the writing and drawings are clear.
He taught at the Children's Palace until he retired in 1988. Through his 35 years of teaching, Yu only took Mondays off because students typically took art lessons after school and on weekends.
Famous painters and calligraphers were invited by Yu to talk to the students and give a lesson from time to time.
"Madam Soong always said children deserve the best. She rented such a good venue for children because the place creates a good environment for students to feel what beauty is," Yu says.
Students were also awed by the building and were careful not to scratch walls, scuff the floors or litter the grounds.
"I found students got bored drawing plaster models and asked why they had to do it over and over again," Yu says, adding it was a Western teaching method used by the Soviet Union.
Painting from real life
To encourage students' interest, Yu and the palace arranged field trips where children could see and draw fields, farmers, factories, workers and other scenes from real life. They visited rural villages in suburban Qibao and Jiuting areas and steel factories in Baoshan District. The students met model workers and drew a series of comics reflecting life in the factories.
"The students picked cotton by themselves and experienced the life of farmers, so they could better depict rural scenes and people," Yu said.
Yu still paints today. He was the second generation to receive Western art education in China. After his right hand was injured by cut glass in 1986, Yu created a new kind of water color using a dropper instead of a paintbrush. His works were distinctive, striking and romantic. Many foreigners have collected his works.
Jin Yaqiu, a Fudan University professor and expert in remote sensing, says that seven years of painting at the palace helped him greatly later on when he had to sketch equipment. After graduating from Peking University in 1970, Jin was assigned to a factory in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The factory was short of equipment, so Jin went to bigger factories and made mechanical drawings so the machines could be produced.
Though Jin seldom painted after he became a scientist, he said painting had a big impact on his life. It helped him in creative thinking and innovation.
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