Zhao Fuwen Profile: Senior Art Master of Chinese Penjing

Zhao Fuwen, Senior Art Master of Chinese Penjing: Love at First Sight, a Life Bound to Penjing--Zhao Fuwen is the secretary-general of the Beijing Penjing Association. Every time you go to Jingshan Park and pass by his penjing care base, you can see many penjing enthusiasts drinking tea and chatting there. This October, Zhao Fuwen was awarded the title of “Senior Art Master of Chinese Penjing.” A reporter recently came to the penjing base to hear him talk about his life in penjing.

Profile:

Zhao Fuwen, born in Beijing in 1950.

He started working in 1969, initially as a flower technician at the Beijing Tractor Company, and later joined Beijing Foton Motor Co., Ltd., where he was responsible for flower care.

Starting in the 1970s, he went up into the mountains to collect stumps for making penjing. In 1980, he joined the China Flower and Penjing Association, and that same year won an excellence award at the penjing exhibition held in Beijing Yuetan Park. In 1985, he studied under Peng Zongzhi, a penjing master at the Beijing Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. Since 1990, he has served as a director, executive director and deputy secretary-general of the Beijing Penjing Association to this day. In Beijing penjing activities, he is strict with himself, passes on his skills and mentors apprentices, and has cultivated a group of outstanding penjing art talents.

Zhao Fuwen's main works include a Trident maple forest penjing, as well as penjing made using plant materials such as pomegranate, Chinese hackberry, goldenrain tree, Chinese trumpet creeper and Chinese juniper. He has won 7 first prizes in penjing exhibitions held in Beijing.

In 2009, Zhao Fuwen was named “Chinese (Beijing) Penjing Art Master,” and in 2011, he was named “Senior Art Master of Chinese Penjing.”

Love at First Sight for Penjing

In 1979, the first National Penjing Exhibition, organized and planned by the then State Bureau of Urban Construction, was held in Beihai Park. That exhibition took a full 2 months to prepare and displayed many fine works, and it was at that exhibition that Zhao Fuwen first encountered penjing.

“They were just so beautiful! I couldn't take my hands off those penjing. Looking back later, because I saw that one penjing exhibition, I devoted my whole life to it.” When talking about the old story of how he became connected with penjing, Zhao Fuwen could hardly hide his excitement.

Zhao Fuwen said: “Before that, I just liked growing flowers, so I planted quite a few flowers in my own yard. At that time, in order to grow the flowers well and have more varieties, whenever I had free time I liked to visit the various parks in Beijing to see how they grew flowers and what flowers they grew. As time went by, I became very familiar with the staff. Whenever they had new flowers, they would often give me one or two plants, or give me a small cutting or something, and I would take them home and plant them. With these gains, I loved going to the parks even more. After discovering that penjing could be grown so beautifully, I began to pay attention to which masters in Beijing were making penjing, so I could learn from them and seek their guidance.”

“In 1980, the China Flower and Penjing Association was established, and I joined the association at that time and became a director. That same year, Beijing Yuetan Park held a penjing exhibition. I sent 3 works to the exhibition and won an excellence award. And, to my surprise, one pot was even sold, bought by a foreign tourist for 45 yuan. In that era, this price was equal to a month's wages!”

“At the time I was quite excited, but what excited me was not the 45 yuan, but that my works were recognized by everyone, and this was a great encouragement to me.” Zhao Fuwen continued: “At that time, I worked at Beijing Foton Motor Co., Ltd. In 1981, the unit set up a separate greenhouse, and because I had a foundation in loving and growing flowers, I was transferred to the greenhouse to be specifically responsible for flower-growing work.”

He already liked flowers, and now he could grow flowers full-time, so of course Zhao Fuwen was very happy. Although there was one rest day each week, Zhao Fuwen basically never rested. He was either immersed in the company's greenhouse or went to parks to watch others grow flowers.

Endless Joy in Making Penjing

“In order to better complete the flower-growing work in the greenhouse, I took a flower-growing master as my teacher, known as ‘Er Li.’ Master Li did flower-growing work at the Swedish embassy and had rich experience in growing flowers. Whenever I had questions, I went to ask him, and under his guidance I grew all the unit's flowers very well.” Without affecting his main job, Zhao Fuwen also began the care and creation of penjing.

In order to better learn the art of penjing, Zhao Fuwen took another master as his teacher. This master was Mr. Peng Zongzhi, who worked in the management office of the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. “Following Master Li, I gained an understanding of the habits of various plants and laid a solid foundation in plant care; Master Peng Zongzhi taught me solid basic skills in penjing making.”

Besides these two masters, Zhao Fuwen said that being able to persist in the penjing cause for so many years was also inseparable from the support of his work unit at the time.

In 1990, Zhao Fuwen was elected secretary-general of the Xicheng District Penjing Association. Organizing the association's various tasks and selecting penjing works within the Xicheng District to participate in Beijing's various exhibition activities cost Zhao Fuwen a great deal of time and energy. The leaders of Foton Company not only did not oppose it, but were very supportive.

The leaders of the automobile company attached great importance to the environmental greening of the factory area. In addition to being responsible for growing flowers, the greenhouse also had to undertake the company's festive flowerbed displays for “May 1st” and “October 1st” as well as the factory area's greening work. Zhao Fuwen tried applying penjing to flowerbed displays and factory greening. “At that time, there were a lot of tile fragments and debris on the ground in the factory area, and they were all slowly dug away. Under my careful arrangement, the automobile company won the title of Xicheng District ‘Advanced Greening Unit’ many times in a row. When the leaders saw that my growing penjing not only did not delay work, but could also help the factory area be better greened, they became even more supportive of my penjing-related creations and social activities.”

With the leaders' support, Zhao Fuwen carried out penjing creation with even greater peace of mind. Many tree species from the north and south, such as Chinese elm, Chinese boxthorn, crape myrtle, pomegranate, Chinese juniper and Chinese trumpet creeper, all became his creative materials, and his works repeatedly won awards at exhibitions large and small. In 1995, Zhao Fuwen organized a penjing exhibition at the former residence of Song Qingling. When the staff of the residence management office saw that his penjing works were well made, they asked him to prune an old pomegranate penjing that Song Qingling had extremely loved during her lifetime. Zhao Fuwen said: “That was a ‘national treasure penjing.’ The staff of the former residence had already invited several masters to look at it, and none of them dared to touch it. At that time I was bold, so I pruned it. Not counting the time spent observing and considering, just the pruning alone took me three days. Thinking about it now, it was also an interesting thing.”

Tireless Dedication to Penjing

In 2005, Zhao Fuwen retired, but he did not give up penjing. By then, he had already served as deputy secretary-general of the Beijing Penjing Association, and retirement gave him more time and energy to organize the association's work.

In 2006, the Beijing Penjing Association set up a fixed penjing care base at the north gate of Jingshan Park to make it convenient for association members to make and care for penjing and to study and exchange ideas. Quite a few members who had no conditions for caring for penjing moved their penjing to the base, and what moved in together with these penjing was also Zhao Fuwen's office. From then on, coming to the base to care for penjing became Zhao Fuwen's daily mandatory routine.

Zhao Fuwen said: “Thanks to the penjing base, I have gained a lot of good relationships. I treat all the penjing sent here equally and care for them meticulously. Seeing that every pot of penjing is cared for very well, gradually everyone also came to trust me more. Almost every day someone comes to the base to drink tea, look at penjing and exchange creative insights.”

The Beijing Penjing Association holds several penjing exhibitions every year, and the exhibited works have many highlights from materials to styling. In addition to helping members care for penjing, setting up the exhibition is also one of Zhao Fuwen's tasks.

Zhao Fuwen told the reporter that holding an exhibition actually involves many difficulties, among which the selection and transport of penjing works is a big project. Zhao Fuwen said: “To hold a decent exhibition, you need at least two or three hundred pots of penjing. In order to ensure the safety of the penjing and the artistic effect, I have to personally participate in every stage of setting up the exhibition. Whether in Mentougou, Yanjiao, or Pinggu, I have to personally select every pot. After selecting them, I take a vehicle to transport them, and after returning I water and care for them, and after the exhibition I send them back one by one. Otherwise I would not feel at ease. The weather in the north is cold, the plant growth period is short, and the penjing creation cycle is especially long. If on the way one were broken or bumped, wouldn't it break your heart? After that, who would dare to take out good penjing works for exhibition?”

The penjing received thorough protection, but after every exhibition Zhao Fuwen was quite exhausted. When the reporter asked him whether he regretted taking on so much work, Zhao Fuwen instead said: “I have never thought that way. I think these are all things I should do.”

Zhao Fuwen, Senior Art Master of Chinese Penjing: Love at First Sight, a Life Bound to Penjing

Zhao Fuwen, Senior Art Master of Chinese Penjing: Love at First Sight, a Life Bound to Penjing--Zhao Fuwen is the secretary-general of the Beijing Penjing Association. Every time you go to Jingshan Park and pass by his penjing care base, you can see many penjing enthusiasts drinking tea and chatting there. This October, Zhao Fuwen was awarded the title of “Senior Art Master of Chinese Penjing.” A reporter recently came to the penjing base to hear him talk about his life in penjing.

Profile:

  Zhao Fuwen, born in Beijing in 1950.

He started working in 1969, initially as a flower technician at the Beijing Tractor Company, and later joined Beijing Foton Motor Co., Ltd., where he was responsible for flower care.

Starting in the 1970s, he went up into the mountains to collect stumps for making penjing. In 1980, he joined the China Flower and Penjing Association, and that same year won an excellence award at the penjing exhibition held in Beijing Yuetan Park. In 1985, he studied under Peng Zongzhi, a penjing master at the Beijing Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. Since 1990, he has served as a director, executive director and deputy secretary-general of the Beijing Penjing Association to this day. In Beijing penjing activities, he is strict with himself, passes on his skills and mentors apprentices, and has cultivated a group of outstanding penjing art talents.

Zhao Fuwen's main works include a Trident maple forest penjing, as well as penjing made using plant materials such as pomegranate, Chinese hackberry, goldenrain tree, Chinese trumpet creeper and Chinese juniper. He has won 7 first prizes in penjing exhibitions held in Beijing.

In 2009, Zhao Fuwen was named “Chinese (Beijing) Penjing Art Master,” and in 2011, he was named “Senior Art Master of Chinese Penjing.”

 Love at First Sight for Penjing 

 In 1979, the first National Penjing Exhibition, organized and planned by the then State Bureau of Urban Construction, was held in Beihai Park. That exhibition took a full 2 months to prepare and displayed many fine works, and it was at that exhibition that Zhao Fuwen first encountered penjing.

“They were just so beautiful! I couldn't take my hands off those penjing. Looking back later, because I saw that one penjing exhibition, I devoted my whole life to it.” When talking about the old story of how he became connected with penjing, Zhao Fuwen could hardly hide his excitement.

Zhao Fuwen said: “Before that, I just liked growing flowers, so I planted quite a few flowers in my own yard. At that time, in order to grow the flowers well and have more varieties, whenever I had free time I liked to visit the various parks in Beijing to see how they grew flowers and what flowers they grew. As time went by, I became very familiar with the staff. Whenever they had new flowers, they would often give me one or two plants, or give me a small cutting or something, and I would take them home and plant them. With these gains, I loved going to the parks even more. After discovering that penjing could be grown so beautifully, I began to pay attention to which masters in Beijing were making penjing, so I could learn from them and seek their guidance.”

“In 1980, the China Flower and Penjing Association was established, and I joined the association at that time and became a director. That same year, Beijing Yuetan Park held a penjing exhibition. I sent 3 works to the exhibition and won an excellence award. And, to my surprise, one pot was even sold, bought by a foreign tourist for 45 yuan. In that era, this price was equal to a month's wages!”

“At the time I was quite excited, but what excited me was not the 45 yuan, but that my works were recognized by everyone, and this was a great encouragement to me.” Zhao Fuwen continued: “At that time, I worked at Beijing Foton Motor Co., Ltd. In 1981, the unit set up a separate greenhouse, and because I had a foundation in loving and growing flowers, I was transferred to the greenhouse to be specifically responsible for flower-growing work.”

He already liked flowers, and now he could grow flowers full-time, so of course Zhao Fuwen was very happy. Although there was one rest day each week, Zhao Fuwen basically never rested. He was either immersed in the company's greenhouse or went to parks to watch others grow flowers.

  Endless Joy in Making Penjing 

“In order to better complete the flower-growing work in the greenhouse, I took a flower-growing master as my teacher, known as ‘Er Li.’ Master Li did flower-growing work at the Swedish embassy and had rich experience in growing flowers. Whenever I had questions, I went to ask him, and under his guidance I grew all the unit's flowers very well.” Without affecting his main job, Zhao Fuwen also began the care and creation of penjing.

In order to better learn the art of penjing, Zhao Fuwen took another master as his teacher. This master was Mr. Peng Zongzhi, who worked in the management office of the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse. “Following Master Li, I gained an understanding of the habits of various plants and laid a solid foundation in plant care; Master Peng Zongzhi taught me solid basic skills in penjing making.”

Besides these two masters, Zhao Fuwen said that being able to persist in the penjing cause for so many years was also inseparable from the support of his work unit at the time.

In 1990, Zhao Fuwen was elected secretary-general of the Xicheng District Penjing Association. Organizing the association's various tasks and selecting penjing works within the Xicheng District to participate in Beijing's various exhibition activities cost Zhao Fuwen a great deal of time and energy. The leaders of Foton Company not only did not oppose it, but were very supportive.

The leaders of the automobile company attached great importance to the environmental greening of the factory area. In addition to being responsible for growing flowers, the greenhouse also had to undertake the company's festive flowerbed displays for “May 1st” and “October 1st” as well as the factory area's greening work. Zhao Fuwen tried applying penjing to flowerbed displays and factory greening. “At that time, there were a lot of tile fragments and debris on the ground in the factory area, and they were all slowly dug away. Under my careful arrangement, the automobile company won the title of Xicheng District ‘Advanced Greening Unit’ many times in a row. When the leaders saw that my growing penjing not only did not delay work, but could also help the factory area be better greened, they became even more supportive of my penjing-related creations and social activities.”

With the leaders' support, Zhao Fuwen carried out penjing creation with even greater peace of mind. Many tree species from the north and south, such as Chinese elm, Chinese boxthorn, crape myrtle, pomegranate, Chinese juniper and Chinese trumpet creeper, all became his creative materials, and his works repeatedly won awards at exhibitions large and small. In 1995, Zhao Fuwen organized a penjing exhibition at the former residence of Song Qingling. When the staff of the residence management office saw that his penjing works were well made, they asked him to prune an old pomegranate penjing that Song Qingling had extremely loved during her lifetime. Zhao Fuwen said: “That was a ‘national treasure penjing.’ The staff of the former residence had already invited several masters to look at it, and none of them dared to touch it. At that time I was bold, so I pruned it. Not counting the time spent observing and considering, just the pruning alone took me three days. Thinking about it now, it was also an interesting thing.”

  Tireless Dedication to Penjing 

In 2005, Zhao Fuwen retired, but he did not give up penjing. By then, he had already served as deputy secretary-general of the Beijing Penjing Association, and retirement gave him more time and energy to organize the association's work.

In 2006, the Beijing Penjing Association set up a fixed penjing care base at the north gate of Jingshan Park to make it convenient for association members to make and care for penjing and to study and exchange ideas. Quite a few members who had no conditions for caring for penjing moved their penjing to the base, and what moved in together with these penjing was also Zhao Fuwen's office. From then on, coming to the base to care for penjing became Zhao Fuwen's daily mandatory routine.

Zhao Fuwen said: “Thanks to the penjing base, I have gained a lot of good relationships. I treat all the penjing sent here equally and care for them meticulously. Seeing that every pot of penjing is cared for very well, gradually everyone also came to trust me more. Almost every day someone comes to the base to drink tea, look at penjing and exchange creative insights.”

The Beijing Penjing Association holds several penjing exhibitions every year, and the exhibited works have many highlights from materials to styling. In addition to helping members care for penjing, setting up the exhibition is also one of Zhao Fuwen's tasks.

Zhao Fuwen told the reporter that holding an exhibition actually involves many difficulties, among which the selection and transport of penjing works is a big project. Zhao Fuwen said: “To hold a decent exhibition, you need at least two or three hundred pots of penjing. In order to ensure the safety of the penjing and the artistic effect, I have to personally participate in every stage of setting up the exhibition. Whether in Mentougou, Yanjiao, or Pinggu, I have to personally select every pot. After selecting them, I take a vehicle to transport them, and after returning I water and care for them, and after the exhibition I send them back one by one. Otherwise I would not feel at ease. The weather in the north is cold, the plant growth period is short, and the penjing creation cycle is especially long. If on the way one were broken or bumped, wouldn't it break your heart? After that, who would dare to take out good penjing works for exhibition?”

The penjing received thorough protection, but after every exhibition Zhao Fuwen was quite exhausted. When the reporter asked him whether he regretted taking on so much work, Zhao Fuwen instead said: “I have never thought that way. I think these are all things I should do.”

Zhao Fuwen's penjing works:

Beijing small-leaf Chinese elm penjing “Longing”

New Names Added to “Chinese Penjing Art Masters”; Honorary Title No Longer for Life

         In mid-June, the Flower, Penjing and Viewing Stone Branch of the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture held a review meeting for Chinese Penjing Art Masters at the Beijing Botanical Garden. Han Xuenian, Wang Yuankang, Zheng Yongtai, Fan Yicheng and 11 other people in the penjing field were selected as the fourth batch of Chinese Penjing Art Masters and entered the public notice stage.

        The review panel judges included Gan Weilin (chairman of the branch), Hu Yunhua (vice chairman of the branch), Zhao Qingquan (vice chairman of the branch, Chinese Penjing Art Master), Feng Liansheng (director of the branch, Chinese Penjing Art Master), and Hu Leguo (advisor of the branch, Chinese Penjing Art Master).

        According to the “Measures for the Selection of Chinese Penjing Art Masters,” the review panel selected 11 candidates for the fourth batch of Chinese Penjing Art Masters from among the 37 first batch of publicly noticed Senior Art Masters of Chinese Penjing, and 7 reserve candidates for Chinese Penjing Art Masters. The review meeting confirmed the qualification of Comrade Zhou Guoliang, who was assessed in the third batch, as a Chinese Penjing Art Master. The meeting also selected 18 people for the second batch of Senior Art Masters of Chinese Penjing.

        The public notice period for the candidates for Chinese Penjing Art Masters, the Chinese Penjing Art Masters (reserve candidates) and the candidates for Senior Art Masters of Chinese Penjing ends on July 25.

        The meeting supplemented and improved the “Measures for the Selection of Chinese Penjing Art Masters” and the “Measures for the Selection of Senior Art Masters of Chinese Penjing,” making it clear that the title of “Chinese Penjing Art Master” is not for life, and that applications will be submitted once every four years and reviewed and assessed once every four years. “Senior Art Master of Chinese Penjing” requires application once every two years and review and assessment once every two years.

        Links:

        List of candidates for the fourth batch of Chinese Penjing Art Masters, Chinese Penjing Art Masters (reserve candidates) and candidates for the second batch of Senior Art Masters of Chinese Penjing

        Chinese Penjing Art Masters (11 people, in no particular order): Han Xuenian, Wang Yuankang, Zheng Yongtai, Fan Yicheng, Wang Hengliang, Liu Chuangang, Qiao Honggen, Wei Jiquan, Ying Guoping, Li Yunlong, Wu Chengfa.

        Reserve candidates for Chinese Penjing Art Masters (7 people, in no particular order): Peng Shengcai, He Huaguo, Xie Jishu, Shen Baiping, Shi Jingtao, Huang Aoxun, Huang Jiuwei.

        Senior Art Masters of Chinese Penjing (18 people, in no particular order): Zhang Zhigang, Huang Mingshan, Liu Xiugen, Yao Mingjian, Ying Ripeng, Hu Xiangrong, Ren Xiaoming, Zhao Jianguo, Yang Zuoxiang, Cao Shiqing, Xia Jianyuan, Yang Yongyuan, Du Xiaobo, Meng Guangling, Zhao Fuwen, Tang Jiqing, Liu Yonghui, Zhang Deming.