Li Chunhua: The 20-meter Kaiping Diaolou scroll: Start from the heart...

Li Chunhua: The 20-meter Kaiping Diaolou scroll: Start from the heart... Ten years ago, I once painted a 7-meter-long Kaiping...

Ten years ago, I once painted a 7-meter-long Kaiping Diaolou. Because it was only 7 meters long, many chapters in the painting could not be unfolded. Regrets arose in my heart; I decided to paint a 20-meter long watchtower scroll, which not only cleared my mind, but also gave the most appropriate expression to my hometown complex. There is no doubt that creation is difficult; but it is precisely because of the difficulty that it is challenging. If it is so easy to get at your fingertips, then painting this long scroll has lost its meaning! By condensing the scenery of the watchtowers into one piece, and allowing this long scroll to convey the vast customs of Kaiyi, you can not only refine your pen and ink skills, but also express your homesickness. Why not? Kaiping Diaolou is located in Kaiping City, under the jurisdiction of Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province. It is a special type of Chinese vernacular architecture. It is a multi-story tower-style building that integrates defense, residence, and Chinese and Western architectural arts. It is characterized by a combination of Chinese and Western folk houses, including ancient Greek, ancient Roman and Islamic styles. According to existing evidence, the Kaiping Diaolou was probably produced in the late Ming Dynasty (16th century). By the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, it had developed into a unique group architectural image that reflected the history, social form and cultural traditions of overseas Chinese in China. This type of building complex is large in scale, diverse in variety, and unique in shape, and is distributed in the countryside of Kaiping City. As an important historical site and representative building in modern times, it was approved by the State Council to be included in the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units. In 2007, Guangdong’s “Kaiping Diaolou and Villages” were officially included in the World Heritage List, becoming China’s 35th World Heritage Site. This gave birth to China’s first world heritage project of overseas Chinese culture. Kaiping Diaolou combines the unique architectural art of traditional Chinese rural architectural culture and northwest architectural culture. It is a multi-story building that is higher than ordinary houses. It is stronger and thicker than ordinary houses. The windows are smaller than the openings of houses and are equipped with iron doors and windows. There are fully enclosed or semi-enclosed corner forts with protruding cantilevers and overhangs on the upper four corners of the watchtower, which can be used to attack enemies entering the village from a high position. The watchtowers are mainly distributed at the back of the village, and together with the surrounding bamboo forest, the pond in front of the village, and the banyan tree at the entrance of the village, they form a harmonious environment with deep roots, luxuriant leaves, peace, wealth, and cultural prosperity. In front of the dot-shaped watchtowers are clusters of low-rise residential buildings, which act like a backing for the whole village in the plain area, satisfying the villagers' need for safety and protection. Kaiping Diaolou has become an important means for overseas Chinese to build a harmonious living environment.

Material: Anhui rice paper, colored ink, size: length 2000cm x 53cm, time: September 10, 2012.