Pen painter Wang Zhongliang： ＂Portrait＂ for the changes of public transportation in Beijing.
Wang Zhongliang’s pen-and-ink paintings of Beijing public transport. Photo courtesy of respondents
From Dongcheng to Xicheng in Beijing, and then from Nancheng to Beicheng, Wang Zhongliang, a native of Beijing, truly recorded the development of Beijing’s urban public transportation with his pen and drawing paper. Among his paintings, there is the first domestic bus in Beijing in 1957, "Model 57"; There are also clean energy buses that have just been put into use in recent years. Now Wang Zhongliang is over 60 years old, but he still insists on taking an easel and a camera to the streets every week to find a new imprint of the changes in Beijing’s urban public transport.
The bus love rooted in memory
Buses and trams are the most common means of public transport in urban development. In the era when family cars are not popular, taking public transport is the main way for most citizens to travel.
Since the founding of New China, urban public transport has experienced development and changes from generation to generation. When it comes to buses of different times, Wang Zhongliang was deeply impressed by a bus with a gas bag on its roof in the mid-1950s. "At that time, the gas bag didn’t look much smaller than the car. It was full when it was full, and it was dry when it was short of gas. It was very funny." Wang Zhongliang told reporters, "There is a gas bag hanging on the roof of the No.6 bus that often passes by my door. Whenever I hear a loud engine sound, I run out of the house and squat on the side of the road. I am full of joy when I watch the No.6 bus sway and slowly pass by. "
It was at that time that Wang Zhongliang came up with the idea of drawing a bus and tried it slowly.
In the late 1970s, after Wang Zhongliang returned to Beijing from the army, all kinds of buses in Beijing were still on his mind. As soon as he got home, he ran to the street to observe and look for the new changing characteristics of the bus.
During his years in the army, great changes have taken place in Beijing’s public transport. The No.6 gas-driven bus at the entrance of Liangjia in Zhong Wang has been replaced by No.13 gasoline-driven bus, and the latest trolleybuses at that time began to appear in the streets and lanes of different sections.
"These changes have further stimulated my enthusiasm for painting buses. If I was unconscious in my youth, I would consciously record the changes of Beijing buses through painting in my youth." Wang Zhongliang said, "At that time, because the Beijing municipal government was carrying out a large-scale urban renewal and infrastructure maintenance, I tried to combine some classic scenes with buses, which not only brought the urban theme, but also enriched the content and performance style of my works."
In the late 1990s, Beijing began to refit buses with dual fuel, and in 1999, it expanded natural gas filling stations all over the city. "In the next 20 years, buses on the main roads in Beijing have experienced innovations in new energy and new technologies such as hybrid oil and electricity and pure electric. The large space, high face value and low noise of the bus have become the common feelings of many people. " Wang Zhongliang said.
With the continuous improvement of urban road facilities and the continuous speed-up of buses, Wang Zhongliang’s material collection changed from crouching to catching up, and then he had to take pictures with the help of a camera before going home to create paintings. "The bus is changing more and more, and my creative enthusiasm is getting higher and higher." He said.
Search for traces of old buses
Wang Zhongliang likes to work hard on details when painting buses, and his drawings of automobile spare parts and mechanical parts are extremely clear and rigorous. "This kind of documentary and record needs to be based on a strong sense of responsibility." He said that he hopes that when contemporary audiences see paintings, they can enjoy the beauty brought by art on the one hand; On the other hand, we can also understand the technical characteristics of the bus at that time from the works.
In order to better show the details of the bus, Wang Zhongliang has not only been satisfied with chasing the bus, but also started to trace the source. Through various channels, he found some repair shops or parking places with old buses, and then communicated with each other, trying to find opportunities to observe the local structure and appearance of the car at close range.
In Wang Zhongliang’s works, the protagonist of a painting is the Beijing No.120 bus, which is also widely concerned and praised. "I learned from Master He, who used to be the driver of No.120 bus, that the prototype of this car is American T234 car, especially its engine, which was used on T234, Gith 151 and Jiefang CA10 buses. It is a very classic product." He said.
But when Wang Zhongliang wanted to paint the car, the bus on the market was basically eliminated. When he learned that Wang Zhongliang’s creation was deadlocked because there was no material, Master He told him a clue that there might be a T234 car he was looking for in Longwangmiao Village in the north of Beijing.
A few days later, Wang Zhongliang and Master He rode bicycles for more than an hour to Longwangmiao Village. "Before I entered the village, I saw a’ building’ where the house was not like a house and the car was not like a car. Take a closer look, it really is a part of the T234 car body, and it has been transformed into a bicycle repair workshop. "
If Wang Zhongliang got the treasure, with the consent of the other party, he immediately measured the body size with Master He and checked the details of the remaining accessories. "At that time, I couldn’t help but take out my pen and write down the strokes I saw." Wang Zhongliang said.
Besides buses, collecting retired trams is also one of Wang Zhongliang’s daily work. At that time, the trams in old Beijing had numerous brands and manufacturers, including those made in France, Germany and Japan. In order to find the original model, Wang Zhongliang also went to Shenyang, Dalian, Changchun, Anshan and other places to search for traces.
"Because at that time, these cities continued to use trams retired from old Beijing more or less." Wang Zhongliang said, but if he can’t find it, or the model is beyond recognition, he can only go to the tram company’s repair shop to find a retired master and ask them to describe the shape and characteristics of the tram. This process is very difficult, but it often touches him.
"I remember a Lao shifu. The background of his photo of a model worker was a French-made 100-type tram, but at that time, the image quality of the photo was very general, and people were in the front, so the tram looked very vague. The old man didn’t make it clear for a long time, but when he knew my purpose, he simply gave me this precious photo and let me study it slowly. " Wang Zhongliang said that the old man finally said that although the photo of the model worker was precious to him, giving it to Wang Zhongliang could provide clues for the cultural preservation of the city’s vehicles and help future generations to master the industrial characteristics of that period, and this photo reflected higher social value, and he was also very pleased.
Record the imprint of the times with your heart
Wang Zhongliang told reporters that each of his paintings has the help of enthusiastic people from different industries. "Especially in the early years, when the photographic equipment and the Internet were not very developed, it was impossible to know the basic parameters and related information of a bus by one person alone." He said, "But everyone I contacted at that time, as soon as they heard that they were going to accumulate historical materials in a specific period, they gave me support without hesitation."
In return for everyone’s help, Wang Zhongliang devoted himself to his creation, often staying at home for days and months, and sometimes staying up all night for days. But because of this, he lost his job. Without the source of income, life in Wang Zhongliang has been difficult for a long time. "In the most difficult time, I can only run inter-provincial long-distance freight for logistics companies." He recalled.
Even so, Wang Zhongliang still firmly believes that every effort is valuable. Due to his long-term dedication, seriousness and persistence, Wang Zhongliang won the gold medal of Chinese artists in the world and the second, third, fourth and fifth gold or silver awards of China pen drawing, and his works were exhibited in China Art Museum and other places. His works of art are very popular, and even many foreign car lovers came to Beijing not far from Wan Li to communicate with him and buy paintings.
"Although photos have obvious advantages in authenticity, pen-and-ink painting can better reflect the details, rich in temperature and unique charm." Wang Zhongliang said that a German pen painter who specializes in painting cars once told him that if the pen realistic works are compared with the real photos, it is easy to find that the pen drawing exceeds the photos in details. In terms of mechanical expression, color and contrast between light and dark, pen-and-ink painting is more detailed and vivid than photos, because it injects the artist’s delicate emotions, and the biggest difference between it and photos lies in "emotion".
"But for me, drawing public transport has a deeper meaning." Wang Zhongliang explained, "Every period of urban public transport system has its unique imprint. As time goes by, many things may disappear forever. I use pen-and-ink painting to reproduce the historical scene again, just to keep the urban vehicles of various periods in Beijing in another way. Therefore, I must ensure that every car and every scene in the painting is authentic and can stand the scrutiny of time and history. "
Wang Zhongliang deeply felt that the development history of Beijing’s urban public transport also reflected the achievements and characteristics of urban development. "This is the result of the efforts of several generations and the dedication of countless people under the leadership of the party and the country." He said, "As a witness and recorder, I will continue to portray and pass on the glorious course of traffic development in our motherland’s capital city with my pen."
Author: Wang Nan
Source of this article: China City News
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