Welcome to Taipei International Club (WTIC) recently arranged a lecture and demonstration of Chinese floral arts by the Director of the Chinese Floral Arts Foundation (CFAF) Lee Wen-jen (李文貞) and Huang jung-chaun (黃永全) for the diplomatic corps and the WTIC members during a visit to the Chang Dai-chien (張大千) exhibition at the National Museum of History.
The National Museum of History is holding a joint exhibition with the Shenzhen Museum (深圳博物館), Sichuan Museum (四川博物院) and Jilin Provincial Museum (吉林省博物院) to mark the 30th anniversary of Chang Dai-chien's death. There are 105 pieces of Chang's paintings from his early career to the time before he died in 1983. This exhibition will continue until Nov. 23.
Tatiana Redko, wife of the Moscow-Taipei Commission Representative, said that this WTIC program is educational, informative, entertaining and pleasant. She was particularly impressed by the magnificent Chinese floral arts, implying a Zen connotation, which can enlighten people through beautiful flower arrangements.
Ranjeeta Chauhan, wife of the director-general of the India-Taipei Association, was impressed that Chang Dai-chien, one of the greatest painters in history, advocated Buddhism through the Tang Dynasty painting style, which was colorful and abundant in content.
WTIC President Queeny Yu Lin (林余坤慈), wife of the minister of the foreign affairs, said that the profound Chinese culture and the beauty of Taiwan are internationally famous. WTIC is very proud to have every opportunity to introduce them to foreigners and locals alike so they can be appreciated more worldwide.
WTIC Supervisor Charlene Yang (楊石純純), wife of the Presidential Office secretary-general, who is a journalist and an art lover, indicated that the splash ink and splash color styles of Chang Dai-chien created new dimensions of modern ink painting. She said as an artist with tremendous creative energy, Chang created an enormous number of works in his life. They are not only the treasures of all Chinese, but also they are the treasures of modern civilization.
WTIC Executive Secretary Vivienne Shen (申謝維文) said that WTIC was established in 1986. It is affiliated with the Welcome Clubs International (WCI), an international organization advocating understanding, friendship and knowledge in order to achieve peace and harmony in the world without any discrimination or obstacles of nationality, race, religion and politics.
Lee stated that Chinese floral arts have a known history of 1,500 years. Japan sent many scholars and students to China during the Tang Dynasty (A.D. 618-907) to study every aspect of Chinese culture, including floral arts. Therefore, the entire history of Japanese Ikebana flower arrangement spans less than 1,000 years.
Lu Chiu (羅虯), an artist in the Tang Dynasty, created nine accessories for flower arrangements: antique screens, gardening scissors, fine water, flower containers, flower stands, appreciation of painting, music composition, wine appreciation and poetry recitation.
By Elizabeth Lamb, Courtesy of the China Post |
