There is the "Huangpu Military Academy" in the art world on Shanxi North Road in Shanghai. "Memory of the Sea" is due to Wu Changshuo's famous character | Shanghai | the art world

In the autumn of 1913, a young Peking Opera performer followed the famous actor Wang Fengqing to Shanghai for a performance. He performed on the first Dan Gui station at the intersection of Si Ma Road and Da Xin Road in Shanghai, such as "Colorful Tower Pai", "Yutang Chun", and "Muke Zhai". In the old Shanghai dialect, it was called "bowing to the dock". Accompanied by Liu Shannong, a newly arrived Peking Opera performer crossed the Suzhou River and headed north to reach Jiqing Village, No. 923 Beishan West Road, and walked up to the second floor of a two-story Shikumen building with three rooms and two wings. The young actor respectfully paid respects to an old man and invited him to come and watch his performance.

"Exploring Mother" by Mei Lanfang and Wang Fengqing

At that meeting, the young actor was under 20 years old. This trip to Shanghai made him famous in Shencheng and truly gained fame. Afterwards, everyone across the country knew the name Mei Lanfang. At that meeting, the elderly man was about to turn 70, and he was Wu Changshuo, a master of gold and stone calligraphy and painting.

1913 was a special year for them all: it was Mei Lanfang's first time performing in Shanghai, and it was also Wu Changshuo's second year settling in Shanghai. In the early spring of 1913, Wu Changshuo and his family moved from Wusong in Shanghai to Jiqing Village, which was then part of Zhabei. From then on until his death in 1927, Wu Changshuo spent his final years here. Here, Wu Changshuo has cultivated outstanding students such as Qi Baishi, Mei Lanfang, Sha Menghai, Pan Tianshou, Liu Haisu, Wang Yiting, etc., each name shining brightly in the subsequent art history. Therefore, this former residence is revered by artists as the "Huangpu Military Academy" in the art world.

Wang Yiting painted a portrait of Wu Changshuo

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In Shanghai, there used to be a legend that "every household has its own pot, and every household is prosperous and prosperous.". Wu Changshuo, also known as "Fou Weng". Fou is an extremely simple earthenware, with a simple appearance, few decorations, and no ostentation. Its large belly can accommodate, which is in line with the master's pursuit of art. But the Fou character also has another layer of meaning. In the Biography of Lin Xiangru in the Records of the Grand Historian, it is recorded that it is a musical instrument that looks like a advancing drum, with a sound when struck and a resounding sound when there is injustice. This is also the personality of Wu Changshuo.

Although Wu Changshuo has entered his old age and can bury himself in calligraphy and painting as a name, no longer asking about things outside the window, he chose to speak out for the times in Shanghai, a city that has been moving forward in history.

In the winter of 1917, more than a hundred counties in Zhili and Fengtian were affected by disasters, with countless hungry people; In the autumn of 1919, a flash flood broke out in the five provinces of Henan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang, causing many innocent victims to be displaced. Wu Changshuo and Wang Yiting collaborated twice on the "Refugee Map" to sell charity goods for disaster relief. On May 30, 1925, the May 30th Massacre occurred, and seeing a wave of strikes, strikes, and market strikes in Shanghai, the 81 year old Wu Changshuo couldn't sit still. When Shanghai art students came to Jiqing Village to request donations from Wu Changshuo, the elderly man who was still sick resolutely waved his hair overnight and wrote a long poem called "May 30th Festival": "The beacon fire is forcing darkness every day, the sky is slanting towards the sea, and the sea is green and red. The sound of gunfire is like a rain of bullets, and those who drink bullets are rising in the fields..."

At this moment, he, who had experienced many hardships, may recall the war years he personally experienced in his youth.

Wang Yiting and Wu Changshuo

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He was only 16 years old that year, which was the age of these passionate young students in front of him.

At that time, the war spread to western Zhejiang, and Wu Changshuo and his father fled from home for four years. During this time, the father and son suffered numerous disasters, and the two of them satisfied their hunger with wild fruits, grass roots, and tree bark. At one point, the father and son were separated, and Wu Changshuo could only help others with household chores to make ends meet. Once, Wu Changshuo hid in a cave called "Shicangwu" to avoid war, enduring hunger for four or five days. Fortunately, he received assistance from nearby villagers and survived. His once peaceful scholarly family was turned into a wasteland, and the village was almost burnt to ashes. His grandmother, mother, younger brother, sister, and fianc é e all died in this war. Having experienced the impermanence of this world firsthand, no one can forget this unforgettable pain in their lifetime. But Wu Changshuo named himself Cangshi, Changshi, Changshuo, etc., using the name of the cave that witnessed his survival, more or less symbolizing his willpower to live towards death.

The former residence of Wu Changshuo located in Anji, Huzhou

Therefore, although there is a alleyway house in Shanghai where a quiet desk can be placed, he did not choose to live a study life where he hid in a small building and became a whole.

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Return to Mei Lanfang.

After Mei Lanfang's first visit, Wu Changshuo went to see Mei Lanfang's performance as scheduled. Although the two artists have vastly different ages and fields of cultivation, their pursuit of beauty resonates with them. Wu Changshuo agreed to Mei Lanfang's request for advice on painting plums. Among the Four Famous Dans, Cheng Yanqiu also visited Wu Changshuo in Jiqing during his first performance in Shanghai. That was October 1922, when Cheng Yanqiu, who was only 18 years old, accompanied Luo Yinggong to Shanghai and then visited Wu Changshuo with the latter's company.

Xun Huisheng, another famous character among the Four Famous Dans, was also accompanied by Liu Shannong to Jiqing Village when he came to Shanghai for a performance in 1921. Xun Huisheng, who already has a passion for painting, will seek guidance from Wu Changshuo on his painting works during this trip. Afterwards, whenever Xun Huisheng came to Shanghai for performances, he would definitely come to Jiqing Village to perform as a disciple. In 1957, when a journalist visited Xun Huisheng's residence, he found that it was "like a gallery. The living room, wing room, south room, and bedroom were all adorned with scrolls and frames filled with calligraphy and painting. Although his expertise in this area could not be compared to his stage art, decades of ink and brush skills could also be seen in the midst of blurred and blurred scenes. Wu Changshuo was his mentor and friend. There was a banner of Wu's" Fragrance Hall "in the west wing, and almost all of this room was Wu Changshuo's works.".

In 1927, after the death of Wu Changshuo, Xun Huisheng comforted the coffin and wept, sacrificing the feelings of his disciples. It was once said to be a "beautiful story in the art world.". That year, Xun Huisheng was 27 years old.

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At around this age, Wu Changshuo's first visit to Shanghai was in 1872, which was also in the eleventh year of the Tongzhi reign. Afterwards, this young man from Anji came to Shanghai several times and met Ren Bonian, Wang Yiting, and others. It was also with the introduction and sponsorship of Wang Yiting that Wu Changshuo finally moved to Shanghai in his late seventies, abandoning his original name Wu Jun and taking on the role of "Changshuo", completing his transformation from an artistic master to a leader of the Shanghai School.

Nowadays, Jiqing Village belongs to the North Station Street of Jing'an District, and the familiar railway tracks and train stations of Shanghai people lead this area towards endless distances and endless possibilities. For Wu Changshuo, staying here, the diversity, inclusiveness, intersection of China and the West, and gathering of celebrities in Shanghai seem to have brought together most of his life experiences on an invisible track. On the day of his 70th birthday on the first day of the eighth lunar month, he made a seal for himself called "Seventy Old Men". The inscription on the edge reads "What does the seventy old man ask for?" The Ministry of Works also said, "Seventy years of governance." This record of the year is engraved, and the eighth month of the year of Guichou is the new moon. ".

Without seeking, there is also action.

In the same year that he moved into Jiqing Village, which was also the tenth anniversary of the establishment of Xiling Seal Engraving Society, Wu Changshuo was appointed as the first president of Xiling Seal Engraving Society. The following year, Wu Changshuo personally wrote the long seal script "Records of Xiling Seal Engraving Society" in Jiqing. In 1916, he wrote a painting of the Xiling Seal Engraving Society and wrote a poem: "In the west of the Bai Tang, there are several bows and moss, and the small pavilion, Lingxu Seal Engraving Society, is open. I remember the blue peach blossom hair, and the white clouds are like water soaking in Penglai." He also engraved the famous "Xiling Seal Engraving Society member" in that year. In 1917, he wrote a long couplet for the printing press. In 1915, Wu Changshuo was once again elected as the president of the Gold and Stone Calligraphy and Painting Association of the Maritime Inscription Hall in Jiqing Village. This is a typical group of Shanghai style calligraphers and painters, which had a significant influence in domestic and foreign art fields in the early 20th century. The Calligraphy and Painting Festival is not only a place for maritime calligraphers and painters to exchange ideas, explore world affairs, and appreciate, but also an agency for calligraphy, painting, and stone works. In 1909, Wu Changshuo, together with Gao Yongzhi, Qian Huian, Pu Hua, Yang Borun, Wang Yiting, Zhang Shanma and others, founded the Yu Garden Calligraphy and Painting Association, which borrowed the Yuelou in Yu Garden as the club. All calligraphy and painting works displayed in the exhibition will be sold, with half of the money going to the author and the other half going to the exhibition for charitable assistance purposes. Due to the pivotal role played by Wu Changshuo, especially after he moved into Jiqing Village, he actively participated in the activities of the association and served as the vice president of the Calligraphy and Painting Society. As a result, the Calligraphy and Painting Society was very prosperous, with over 200 members. The calligraphy and painting association has received a good social response by providing rice in winter and medicine in summer.

Communicating with friends, the envelope bears the address of Wu Changshuo's home

In his home in Jiqing, Wu Changshuo usually lives on the second floor, with a painting room in the middle and a bedroom and study room in the east wing. He named his study room "Quzhu Suiyuan Room". He spent the last 14 years of his life here.

From experiencing tribulations, displacement, to gaining fame, from being lonely and wandering to having a family full of peach and plum blossoms, and finally having children around his knees, for this elderly person who seeks nothing, Shanghai is the destination he has chosen for his turbulent life, and it is also a new starting point for him to understand life through art.

Wu Yue, the great grandson of Wu Changshuo, is looking up at the former residence of Wu Changshuo in Jiqing Village