Enjoy Longevity by Practicing Painting and Calligraphy

By staff reporter WU BING

    AMONG China's 100 famous masters of painting and calligraphy over the past two centuries, at least 20 of them lived to be over 85. The longest-lived reached 109. Many who have researched the secret to longevity hold that there is a certain causal relationship between a long life and the long-term study of Chinese painting and calligraphy.

    From the pre-Qin days (before 221 BC) to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the average life span in China was less than 35 years, however, long-lived masters of painting and calligraphy were not rare. Great calligrapher Liu Gongquan lived to 87 and painter Wen Zhengming to 89.

    In the contemporary age, as living conditions and medical services have improved, the lifespan of the average Chinese person has grown longer. This is especially true of painters and calligraphers. Famous calligrapher Su Juxian was still inscribing at the age of 106. Calligrapher Sun Mofo and painter Zhu Qizhan both worked until they were 104 years old. Painter Li Jianchen was seen at his own exhibitions when he was over 100 years of age. Chinese painting master Liu Haisu scaled Huangshan Mountain ten times in his lifetime in order to draw from nature. Wu Guanzhong, the 90-year-old artist and art educator, is still active on the art arena. "I'll never live an idle life, and I'll keep producing works of art as long as I am alive," he says. As an 86-year-old optimistic painter, Huang Yongyu feels excited every time he has a new work, and he regularly invites friends to appreciate it and share the pleasure of creation.

Painter Lou Shibai at work.

    What is the reason that painters and calligraphers are so long-lived?

    The creation of painting and calligraphy involves brainwork, requiring alternating activity on both sides of the human brain, which is good exercise for the cerebrum. After conceiving a new work, artists will generally enter a long period of quiet and uninterrupted productivity. In the course of creation, the artist creates an aesthetic image that satisfies and delights people's spirit. As the Russian physiologist Ivan Petrovich Pavlov commented, "Pleasure can make every pulse and impression in your life more easy to feel, which makes the body much stronger."

    Artistic creation is also good physical training. "The tight painting pose not only guarantees the work's quality, but also exercises one's body," says 91-year-old artist Lou Shibai. When painting he is straight in body, with arms level and shoulders relaxed. His breathing is deep and natural, with the wrist and elbow suspended. Since the wrist and arm continually move in different directions, the muscles and channels in the hand are regulated, creating an effect close to that of shadowboxing.

    Moreover, environmental factors play a role. Since creation requires the artist to plunge into the thick of life, artists usually go outdoors and draw from nature. Many enjoy listening to music during their creating, which eases both the body and emotions. Yang Taiyang, a key painter of the Lijiang painting school, has been painting landscapes of the Lijiang River for several decades. The 100-year-old artist remains hale and hearty. His secret to longevity is based on enriching his life through painting and drawing from nature over many years.