This passage was originally intended to be the annotation of Cat Garden, and then it was moved into the article Xu Beihong's Painting Cats, and it was intended to be slightly supplemented as a brief description of Xu Beihong's painting cats. However, the content after the supplement was too long, so it was all deleted and written separately-XiaoMao.

1930, Xu Beihong painted Cat as a gift for Xu Zhimo. In the painting, he said, "Zhimo is in love, and now she is a cat. I wrote about the black and white cat next door, but I lost my paw and praised it for being loyal to my friends. I was very sad in the early winter of Gengwu. "

Looking at this cat, we can see that Xu Beihong painted a cat in a tree, looking from the side, which means admonition. Why did Xu Beihong draw a cat for Xu Zhimo? If you want to know the inner meaning, you must read the painting Cat carefully, and you must know the related stories such as Erxu.

1929 On April 10, the Ministry of Education of the National Government held the first national art exhibition in Shanghai. The main members of the exhibition are Xu Beihong, Xu Zhimo, Lin Fengmian, Liu Haisu and Wu Hufan. On the same day, Art Exhibition (periodical) was launched, which is a special issue of the exhibition. The editor-in-chief is Xu Zhimo and others.

Dissatisfied with Xu Zhimo's introduction of Cezanne, Matisse and other modernist painters into the first national art exhibition, Xu Beihong wrote Puzzlement-An Open Letter to Xu Zhimo, which was published in the fifth issue of Art Exhibition on April 22 of the same year, calling the works of Cezanne, Matisse and other painters "shameless works"; In the same period, the art exhibition published another article by Xu Zhimo, "I am also confused-a book with Mr. Xu Beihong", which refuted Xu Beihong's point of view and caused controversy among all parties.

Xu Zhimo has a cat named "Fawang", which was given to him by his friend Han. According to Han Shishan's Biography of Xu Zhimo, Xu Zhimo taught at Shanghai Guanghua University on 1927, and vice president Hugh Ho Chang moved to Nanjing with his family on 1928. His wife Han actually gave Xu a cat at this time. According to the "Night of Knowing the End" written by Han, the cat that Han gave to Xu was named Dagobert, which should refer to Wang Da Gobert I, so Han called the cat "French king"; According to Biography of Xu Zhimo, this cat lived in Xujiashi for two years and August.

Long before Han sent the cat, Xu Zhimo was a cat lover. A French proverb says that dogs may become essayists, but only cats are poets. Mo Bosang said: "All poets love cats (quoted from You Ming's Cat, published in Shenbao on June 5438+0932+February 1 1 day)." French poets often love cats and write poems for them, such as Teofi Gaudi and Baudelaire. In Baudelaire's collection of poems "Flowers of Evil", there are three poems with the theme of "cats"; He regards cats as "the pride of the family", which is loved by scholars and lovers when they are mature, and "the companion of science and lust" (see Guo Hongan's translation of Cats, 185 1), and regards them as a symbol of his wife or lover: "Come, beautiful cat, get close to my passionate heart/shrink your sharp claws,/let me.

Xu Zhimo is also a poet. He once compared his second wife, Lu Xiaoman, to a cat. For details, please refer to Xu 1927' s preface to "The Balance of Paris" on August 20th: "Xiaoman, most of these essays are written on your little desk. It's written on your desk: this means it's not easy. Imagine an inconspicuous kitten messing with you, grabbing your manuscript paper, kicking over your ink bowl, attacking your shaking pen, wiping your hair, biting your wrist, screaming' love me' at your nose, and then running away! But I love this trouble, sweet trouble, and I scratch the back of my hand without complaining, my good boy! ..... Now I just want you to be by my side like a kitten! "

1930, Xu Zhimo wrote A Poet: "My cat, who is the embodiment of beauty and strength, seems to be surprised by the magic of this warm place sitting in front of the new pearl fire tonight. I think she is tired, but she doesn't want to go to this nest and sleep with her eyes closed. It's so cute. It is this prosperous beauty. She crouched on her hind legs, her front legs motionless, like a stone pillar in front of an ancient Greek temple, with her head slightly raised, revealing a pure white chest, like a snowy field in Siberia. She sometimes licks her porn, and her little red tongue is as smart as a flame. But after many times, she still sat up straight and looked at the fire. I don't know what she's thinking, but I miss her. At least, I never think about her plate of milk in the morning or the mice in the darkroom, and I never think about the romantic trip on the roof, because spring has passed. I dare say, I did not hesitate to say for her, that she was watching, admiring and marveling at the new miracle in this room-a fire was shining in her eyes, and the heat spread on her, just like a poet looking at a photo of Lin Qiu at dusk. My cat, at least this day, is a poet, a pure poet. "

He Jiahuai wrote "Mr. Huaizhimo": "I often fantasize about a freezing cold night ... there are two people sitting in front of us ... next to him is his most painful cat, a pure poet. It must turn its flexible eyes and look at us with half understanding and half doubt. "

Therefore, Xu Zhimo and He Jiahuai's so-called "pure poets" should be "French kings", not Lu Xiaoman, Lin and others. Nevertheless, the cat written by Xu Zhimo is easily reminiscent of Lu Helin, and the argument between Xu and Xu in 1929 did not affect their friendship. So Xu Beihong made a picture of a cat at 1930 and gave it to Xu Zhimo. In the summary, I said that "the love between Zhimo is now a cat", referring to Lu Xiaoman and Lin Yinhui. "Get rid of the talons" implies that it and Xu Zhimo triggered a dispute between realism and modernism painting last year. Because all cats have claws, it is unrealistic to have no claws (but it is intended to ease the contradiction). Therefore, the cat paintings given by Xu Beihong to Xu Zhimo are the product of the combination of tradition and modernity, and also reflect their respective artistic concepts.

According to Xu Zhimo accompanying Jiang Baili in prison (Baoding Evening News on September 4th, 20 10), Xu Zhimo and Jiang are the brothers of Jiang Baili's uncle and disciples of Liang Qichao and Jiang (19 18 June, Jiang recommended them as disciples), and they are closely related. /kloc-in the winter of 0/929, Tang Shengzhi, a disciple of Jiang Baili, set out to crusade against Chiang Kai-shek, and Jiang Baili made suggestions. 1930 65438+ October, Tang Shengzhi fled; In March, Jiang Baili was arrested and taken to Nanking. I heard that Xu Zhimo went to Nanjing to accompany him to prison, so Xu Beihong's Painting Cats said that Xu Zhimo was a "loyal friend".

According to the Biography of Xu Zhimo, on February 20th, 193 1 year, before Xu Zhimo went to Beijing to teach, Han returned the French King to Xu Suo. At 7 o'clock that night, Xu dreamed of the cat on the train: "I had a nightmare because of the heat." One dream is that Mei's cat suddenly turned to me and made another cat jump on the bed to attack me. It was so fierce that I almost called for help. " ; On 24th, Xu arrived in Beijing and stayed at Hu's home. The next day, Xu wrote a letter to Lu Xiaoman, saying, "I want this cat for nothing else. Because there are rats in her backyard, she wants to suppress them. After all, she is a guest of our family. Don't mistreat her ... "

I don't know why, as soon as Xu left Shanghai, the Han family became a mouse, but Xu's love for the "French king" can be seen here. On June 1 18 10 18, Xu Zhimo went to Han's home in Nanjing to meet Han and the "French King". 19, Xu Ben wanted to go to Beijing to watch Lin's speech, but he was killed in a plane crash. So, Han wrote "The Last Night of Zhimo": "Zhimo! Did you hear a slight, distant voice calling you? You play with the beloved French king (the cat's name is Dagobert). It lived in your house for two years, and you said that you often slept with it. I got it back because you went to Beijing. Every time you come, it always jumps into your arms, poor cat. From then on, you don't need it to think that someone cares about it like that. "

193 1 year 65438+February 14 Tianjin Ta Kung Pao Literature Supplement No.205 Hu Shi's poem "The Lion-Mourning for the Mo": "The lion crouched behind me and refused to leave. I was about to push him down when I suddenly remembered my dead friend. //A hand patted the snoring cat, and two tears wet the sleeve:' Sleep well, lion,' and you lost a good friend. Twenty, twelve, four ". At the end of the poem, he said to himself, "The lion was Zhimo's favorite cat when he lived in my house. "Then DE gruyter also have cats, and more than one. As can be seen from Hu Shi's manuscript, the original title of this poem "The Lion" is "Soon" without subtitle and annotation, the original text is "Soon" and the inscription time is "193 1 year1February 2". Suitable for it. "

Zhang Xi's Cat Written by Xu Beihong (published in Art Observation on March 26th, 20th18th) quoted Wang Zhen's Chronicle of Xu Beihong on page 146: "After Xu Zhimo was killed, Xu Beihong drew a portrait of a lioness at 1935.

In Zhang Xi's quotation, Jia Xu is 1934, so Xu Beihong's painting should not be made the following year; It is difficult to understand the sentence "Remember the old friend, remember the old friend". "Mother-in-law" wants to "dance"; "Line of sight", I don't know what it means. Because the original painting is unknown, there is no way to verify it. Now the Chronicle of Xu Beihong is expensive, and Falk bought it. If you want to know the exact content of Xu Beihong, you have to continue to verify it with a third party.

Guo Cunxiao and Zhou Wenjie wrote Xu Beihong Draw a Cat for Mrs. Hu Shi (included in Footprints of History-Celebrities in Historical Torrents, published by Baihua Literature and Art Publishing House in 2006). 65438+ 1935 At the beginning of February, Xu Beihong went to Beiping to paint the portrait of Fu Zengxiang, the former director of education of Beijing government, who had supported him to go to France for further study. Since then, "Xu Beihong stayed at Hu Shi's house again", as a hospitality of "thanking Mrs. Jiang Dongxiu", "intentional" wrote "Lion Cat" for his pet, "specially presented to Jiang Dongxiu in memory of Xu Zhimo", while Hu Shi wrote poems for Xu Zhimo because "this cat was loved by Mrs. Hu Shi" and "Xu Zhimo loved when he lived in Hu Zhai". "In view of everyone's special liking for love, especially Jiang Dongxiu, Xu Beihong wrote an inscription on the painting:' JOE is in the dead of winter, remembering his face, I don't know if he is in the dragon bell or the dance floor, waiting for Xi like yesterday. To Mrs. Dong Xiufu, your elegance and your sorrow. "Later,' Xu Beihong brought the painting back to Nanjing' was given to Hu Shi." Please write a poem with an inscription on the picture. Hu Shi was willing to do it, but the inscription said:' The lion cat was Zhimo's favorite cat when he lived in my house. After Shima's death, Beihong lived in my house for more than a month and also liked lions (cats). Last year, Hong Bei sent this painting from Nanjing, and asked me to put a poem that I had written for 20 years here. Suit it. 193565438+On February 4th, Hu Shi presented a poem "The Lion in the Painting": The lion crouched behind me ...

To sum up, the content of Xu Beihong's Lion Cat quoted by Guo Cunxiao and Zhou Wenjie in their works is more accurate, but the time when Xu Beihong went to Beiping to paint Fu Zengxiang was not 1935 65438+ early February of that year. Fu Zengxiang's diary said, "On the afternoon of 29th, Xu Beihong came ... In order to write a portrait for Yu, he agreed to come to Xinzheng the next day, the third day and the fourth afternoon. New Year's Eve: At 2 o'clock, Xu Beihong came to write a small charcoal portrait, which was completed at dusk. The fifth day: Xu Beihong came to the portrait, and for a while, he was released. " 1935 Xinzheng, that is, the first day of the first lunar month, falls on February 3rd of the Gregorian calendar, so Xu Beihong went to Fu Zengxiang's home on February 2nd of that year, and painted Fu the next day, which was completed on the 8th. In addition, Xu Beihong did not live in Hu Zhai, but in Jiang Menglin's home in Xisi Maojiawan.

According to Xu Beihong's Lion Cat and Hu Shi's inscription, the cat painted in Lion Cat is actually the "French king" of Xu Zhimo, not the "lion" of Hu Shizhi.

As for the whole story, I think it should be like this-

1930, at the invitation of Hu Shizhi, Xu Zhimo was hired as Professor Peking University. 193165438+1October 4th, Xu Zhimo arrived in Beiping and lived in Huzhai. He was very happy when he saw the "lion", or because the "King of France" was also a lion and a cat, they looked very similar. 193 1 year1month 19, Xu zhimo was killed. 193 1 1 On February 2nd, Hu Shi wrote a poem "The Lion" in memory of Xu Zhimo. This poem was published in June 10, No.205 of Tianjin Ta Kung Pao Literature Supplement, and its content and title have been changed.

1932, 12 In February, Xu Beihong went to Beiping and lived in Hu Zhai (the room where Xu Zhimo lived). He also liked The Lion and mentioned The King of France. Mrs. Hu Shi immediately talked to Xu Beihong about Xu Zhimo's love of "lions" and asked Xu Beihong if he could draw a portrait of the "French king" for him. Xu Beihong agreed at once, but he quit after a few months.

Peng Fei's Study on the Friendship between Xu Beihong and Hu Shi (published in Rong Baozhai No.3, 20 12) received several letters from Xu Beihong to Hu Shi. One of them said, "Mr. Zhi has an idea: a friend from Peiping only needs to say that he has been safe all his life, which is the most comforting. Yesterday, Guo Junjie came and said that the Prussian Institute in Germany chose Tuizu as a member, which deserved it. Congratulations. When Uncle Yongren comes, it's like looking forward to the Chinese New Year. The first step is publicity. Go to Richie Hello, madam. The hostess is reading a book. Sadness nodded. June 12th. " "Lion Cat" has always been in my mind, and I plan to write it and send it in a few days. "Peng Fei recorded the writing time of this letter as 1932, so it can be seen that Xu Beihong did not draw the poodle until1June, 932 12.

From June to August, 65438 1933, Xu Beihong went to Belgium, Italy, Germany and the Soviet Union to hold China art exhibitions and solo exhibitions. After returning home, on the third anniversary of Xu Zhimo's death in the lunar calendar 19341month, Xu Beihong remembered his dead friend, the French king, and the promise he made two years ago, and finally wrote the Lion Cat for Jiang Dongxiu. The clue is: "In the dead of winter, I cherish Zhimo, a friend of my old friend, and remember his face." I want to pay tribute to Mrs. Dong Xiufu. She played very gracefully. "

Xu Zhimo is a poet. He once compared the "King of France" to a "pure poet" in The Poet. So Xu Beihong must have seen this cat in Xu Zhimo's place, so the lion cat casually called the "French king" a friend of his deceased friend.

1928, Korea presented Xu zhimo with the title of "French king", and 193 1 February. By 1934, the "French king" was already old, but Xu Beihong could only draw from memory, but he didn't know whether the appearance at that time had changed. So, the lion cat said, "I don't know what he looks like in the dragon bell or on the dance floor, but I look over."

After painting the lion cat, Xu Beihong immediately gave the painting to Hu Shi, hoping that Hu Shi would put his poem "The Lion" written in 193 1 in the painting to commemorate Xu Zhimo. In February of the following year, 1935, Xu Beihong went to Beiping to paint Fu Zengxiang, and then stayed in Hu Zhai. By this time, Hu Shi had received The Lion Cat, but he had never written a poem on it. 1935 12.4, Hu Shi finally put the lion in the lion-cat painting and explained: "The lion-cat was Zhimo's favorite cat when he lived in my house. After Shima's death, Beihong lived in my house for more than a month and also liked lions (cats). Last year, Hong Bei sent this painting from Nanjing, and asked me to put a poem that I had written for 20 years here. Suitable. "

Thursday, 20-8- 13 18: 19 XiaoMao; Saturday, 20-8- 15 17:22 supplement