People cannot be arrogant, but they cannot be without pride.

It is said that Xu Beihong's family was in a difficult situation when he was young, and it was difficult for him to learn painting. He was often ridiculed by rich people. Later, the phrase "people can't be arrogant, but they can't be arrogant" became his motto. Of course, this sentence can also be seen as a cry of being Chinese in that era. At that time, Chinese people were looked down upon, but Xu Beihong still loved his motherland deeply, was not sycophantic to foreigners, and was proud.

Extended information

Xu Beihong was born in poverty. He studied poetry, calligraphy and painting with his father Xu Dazhang since he was a child (when he was 6 years old, he read the Four Books and Five Classics with his father, and later learned painting). At the age of 13, he moved around rural towns with his father, selling paintings to support his family. Although the life away from home was difficult, it enriched Xu Beihong's experience and broadened his artistic vision.

At the age of 17, Xu Beihong went alone to Shanghai, the most prosperous city at the time, to sell paintings to make a living. He wanted to take the opportunity to learn Western painting, but a few months later he had to return to his hometown because his father was seriously ill. When he was 20 years old, he came to Shanghai again. With the help of his friends, he was admitted to Aurora University sponsored by the French Catholic Church, which laid a certain foundation in French for his future study in France.

During this period, I met the famous oil painter Zhou Xiang, and representatives of the Lingnan School of Painting, Gao Qifeng and Gao Jianfu. I received their praise and guidance on my paintings, which enhanced my confidence in painting creation. He also met Kang Youwei, the leader of the reformist group, and established his own creative ideas under his influence.

After returning from Japan, Xu Beihong was hired as a tutor at Peking University's "Painting Technique Research Society". During his stay in Beijing, he successively met celebrities from all walks of life such as Cai Yuanpei, Chen Shizeng, Mei Lanfang and Lu Xun. He was deeply influenced by the ideological trend of the New Culture Movement and established the ideas of democracy and science. After completing his studies, Xu Beihong returned to China at the age of 32 and began to devote himself to art education in China and develop his own art career.

He successively created large-scale paintings based on history or ancient fables. These paintings refer to the past and present, and the viewer can strongly feel the painter's sincere love for the motherland and people.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, while taking up government and administrative work, Xu Beihong continued to create, passionately describing new people, new things, and new looks in the construction of New China. He painted portraits of fighting heroes, went to Shandong Daoshu Renovation Water Conservancy Project site to experience life, painted model workers and migrant workers, and collected materials that reflected the construction of New China bit by bit. Unfortunately, all these artistic activities came to an abrupt end when the painter passed away prematurely.

Baidu Encyclopedia_Xu Beihong (modern painter)