Liang Youming
Liang Youming (July 15, 1906 – September 26, 1984) was born in Shanghai and lived in Shunde, Guangdong before moving to Taiwan in 1949. Born Liang Xiewen, he used a number of pen names for his comic art, including: Guanglang, Fengfu, and Saiweng. He also went by the name Master Ailianxuan. His twin brother was Liang Zhongming, and their second-oldest brother was Liang Dingming. His elder sister is Liang Xueching. Liang once served as a professor in and director of the Art Department of the Political Worker Cadres School (later restructured into the Art Department of the Political Warfare College). He was known for his ink wash portraits and for being the graphic designer of the patriotic lottery tickets issued in Taiwan in 1950.
Biography
Liang’s eldest brother, Liang Dizhong, studied art in France through the Diligent Work-Frugal Study Movement, during which time he bought picture albums and copies of works and sent them to the family as models for copying. Through this, with guidance from his elder brother Liang Dingming, Liang Youming began to learn Western painting.[1] In 1921, after graduating from the Chinese School established by the Shanghai Municipal Council, he and Liang Zhongming worked for the Shanghai Yihai Art Company painting stages and photo backdrops. During this period, he taught painting with the Tianhua Art Association, a Western painting group in Shanghai.[2]
In July 1927, Liang Dingming called for Liang Youming and Liang Zhongming to go to Guangdong to participate in artistic propaganda for the army. From 1929, the two assisted Liang Dingming in the creation of war history paintings at the National Revolutionary Army Memorial Cemetery.[3]From 1938 to 1946, Liang Youming worked as an art editor for the Republic of China Air Force publication China’s Air Force.[4]
After coming to Taiwan in 1949, Liang Youming served as the president of the Pictorial Times and created the comic strip “The Red Bumpkins Go South.”[5]In July 1951, the Political Worker Cadres School was established, and Liang was hired as a professor of fine arts. From 1959, he served as the director of the school’s Fine Arts Department, continuing after its restructuring in 1960 and renaming as the Art Department. [6] In 1970, after the school changed its name to the Political Warfare College, Liang became the director of the Department of Fine Arts until his retirement in 1974. Among his students, Li Qimao (1925–2019) is the most famous.[7]
When Liang Youming was in charge of the administrative affairs of the Art Department, the courses focused on ink wash and portraiture, and additional teachers such as Fu Xunfu, Shao Youxuan, Shi Cuifeng, and Liu Qiwei were hired. [8]The Department of Fine Arts of the Political Warfare College was unique among Taiwanese art schools for its primary purpose being the development of artists talented in political cartooning and for its emphasis on training in portraiture.[9] In 1969, he painted the war history oil painting “The Battle for Huizhou” for the National Revolutionary Martyrs’ Shrine. In 1972, he was awarded the Ministry of Education’s Medal for Culture and Art. Liang Youming died in Taichung on September 26, 1984.
Artistry
Liang Youming was engaged in the creation and sketching of war pictures during the Sino-Japanese War, recording what China looked like during that conflict. His focus was on the creation of portraits in both modern and period dress. In addition, the comic strips he created in Taiwan were designed to inspire and strengthen the anti-communist will of the people, and he assisted other creators to participate in the creation and publication of anti-communist comics.[10]
Historical Paintings
Liang Youming began to create paintings of the history of the Republic of China Air Force in 1938. The paintings of the ROCAF’s history that he created after coming to Taiwan are currently on display in the ROC Air Force Museum in Gangshan, Kaohsiung. Commentators stated that his paintings of air combat before 1949 gave the audience a strong sense of presence, while his oil paintings had a watercolor-like lightness and transparency, with powerful brushstrokes that differed from the heavy tones and short strokes he used to depict scenes of Taiwan, Kinmen, and Matsu after coming to Taiwan in 1949.[11]
In October 1949, he and Liang Zhongming began work as full-time chief writers for Taipei’s Central Daily, and published the first issue of Pictorial Times on October 15. Pictorial Times was merged with Central Daily on April 15, 1951, becoming a semi-weekly comics magazine. He published the comic strip “The Red Bumpkins Go South,” which was serialized in Central Daily until February 1955. In 1953, the Political Department of the Ministry of National Defense launched Pictorial Weekly as part of Youth Warrior Daily in an effort to encourage people in the military and broader society to participate in cartoon creation. From 1953 to 1957, Liang published 48 cartoons in the Pictorial Weekly, mainly as a series of comic strips on specific themes, interspersed with one-off cartoons.[12]
Ink Wash
Liang Youming’s art combined Western use of perspective and traditional Chinese ink painting techniques. His figure paintings used the “brush and hook” technique, with shapes based on the portrait of the figure, emphasizing dynamic expression and three-dimensionality.[13] His works emphasized whitespace, which further highlights the theme and add vividness to the picture. Liang was noted for his ability to use curves and round strokes to create a sense of freshness in his images.[14]Patriotic lottery tickets were issued by the Taiwan Provincial Government in order to alleviate Taiwan’s financial difficulties, entrusting the Bank of Taiwan to issue lottery tickets. From April 11, 1950 to December 27, 1987, a total of 1,171 rounds were issued. With the number of tickets exceeding 100,000, Liang Youming felt that this made the lottery a major channel for extending art education into society, and this is why he agreed to design the art for the lottery. He not only designed illustrations, but also wrote text explanations which were noted for combining entertainment with educational value. While in charge of the ticket design, Liang emphasized themes of loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness as seen through the lens of Chinese history, the results of which were later compiled and published as “The Complete Tales of the Ancestors.”[15]
Publications
“The History of the Chinese Air Force’s War Against the Japanese,” Nanjing: Zhengqi Publishing House, 1947.
“A Pictorial History of the Russian Empire’s Invasion of China,” Taipei City: Zhang Renze, 1955.
“National Heroines,” Taipei City: Women’s Work Association of the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang, 1955.
“A Pictorial History of the Air Force and Its Leaders,” Taipei City: Air Force General Headquarters, 1957.
“Tales of the Ancestors,” Taipei City: Yiyu Culture, 1982.
Major Exhibitions
1930: Art Exhibition—Chongqing Municipal Council, Fuxing Guanzhong Training Group, Chongqing International Friendship Society, Nanwenquan Central Political School
1938: Anti-Japanese War Painting Exhibition—Hankou
1940: Air Force Anti-Japanese War Touring Exhibition—Sichuan; toured Hong Kong in 1941
1944: Art Exhibition—Ya’an, Xikang
1945: Exhibition—Chengdu & Neijiang, Sichuan
1962: Philippine Solo Exhibition, Panama Art Exhibition
1965: Joint exhibition with Liang Zhongming celebrating 40th anniversary of their work in wartime art—Political Worker Cadres School and Taipei Provincial Museum
1969: Liang Brothers Joint Exhibition—National Gallery, National Museum of History / Joint exhibition with art professors in colleges and universities across the country
1971: Sino-US joint art exhibition
1973: Joint exhibition with Liang Zhongming of a history of the Anti-Japanese War in paintings
1975: Joint exhibition with Liang Zhongming jointly entitled “A Pictorial History of the Republic of China”
1982: Professor Liang Youming’s Figure Painting Teaching Demonstration Exhibition—National Army Cultural and Art Activity Center.
References
- ↑ 洪瑞鴻. 美術救國:梁中銘反共漫畫研究(1949-1966). 臺北：國立臺灣師範大學歷史學系碩士論文. 2012: 35. 彭明輝. 梁氏家族與近代中國藝術論稿—以梁鼎銘家族為系絡. 沈以正主編. 中國美術專題研究. 臺北：臺北市立美術館.1984年6月: 42.
- ↑ 《申報》1926年6月12日，增版1。
- ↑ 戰畫指導見吳越. 民族青史之史筆 藝術薪傳之推手—析論梁鼎銘、梁又銘、梁中銘的人格特質及其藝術成就. 巴東主編. 鼎藝千秋：梁鼎銘、梁又銘、梁中銘紀念畫展. 臺北：國立歷史博物館. 2010: 13. ISBN 978-986-026-260-5.
- ↑ 黃炳勳. 梁又銘「戰爭圖像」作品研究. 臺北：國立臺灣師範大學藝術學研究所碩士論文, 2014: 27。彭明輝. 梁氏家族與近代中國藝術論稿—以梁鼎銘家族為系絡. 沈以正主編. 中國美術專題研究. 臺北: 臺北市立美術館. 1984 :54.
- ↑ 洪瑞鴻. 美術救國:梁中銘反共漫畫研究(1949-1966). 臺北：國立臺灣師範大學歷史學系, 2012: 37.
- ↑ 吳越. 民族青史之史筆 藝術薪傳之推手—析論梁鼎銘、梁又銘、梁中銘的人格特質及其藝術成就. 巴東主編. 鼎藝千秋：梁鼎銘、梁又銘、梁中銘紀念畫展. 臺北市：國立歷史博物館，2010: 15. ISBN 9789860262605.
- ↑ 巴東主編. 鼎藝千秋：梁鼎銘、梁又銘、梁中銘紀念畫展. 臺北市：國立歷史博物館，2010: 172-173. ISBM: 9789860262605.
- ↑ 沈孝雯. 戰後臺灣戰後文藝政策下的雕塑創作. 雕塑研究. 創刊號, 2008.6: 106.
- ↑ 劉益昌、高業榮、傅朝卿、蕭瓊瑞. 臺灣美術史綱. 臺北市：藝術家出版社，2009年初版，2019年5版: 353.
- ↑ 彭明輝. 梁氏家族與近代中國藝術論稿—以梁鼎銘家族為系絡. 沈以正主編. 中國美術專題研究. 臺北：臺北市立美術館, 1984年6月: 56.
- ↑ 吳越. 民族青史之史筆 藝術薪傳之推手—析論梁鼎銘、梁又銘、梁中銘的人格特質及其藝術成就. 巴東主編. 鼎藝千秋：梁鼎銘、梁又銘、梁中銘紀念畫展. 臺北：國立歷史博物館. 2010: 13. ISBN 978-986-026-260-5. 劉雲浩. 如椽之筆畫人間真善美：憶述先師梁又銘、梁中銘培育藝術後教學典範. 廣東文獻. 49卷3期(2021年7月): 85、87.
- ↑ 楊依菁. 《青年戰士報》〈圖畫周刊〉與國軍再教育(1953-1957). 臺北市：國立台灣師範大學歷史學系碩士論文, 2021: 22-24、37-50.
- ↑ 楊熙. 梁又銘先生的水墨畫. 中央日報. 1982年5月3日，版11.
- ↑ 吳越. 民族青史之史筆 藝術薪傳之推手—析論梁鼎銘、梁又銘、梁中銘的人格特質及其藝術成就. 巴東主編. 鼎藝千秋：梁鼎銘、梁又銘、梁中銘紀念畫展. 臺北：國立歷史博物館. 2010: 14. ISBN 978-986-026-260-5.
- ↑ 巴東主編. 鼎藝千秋：梁鼎銘、梁又銘、梁中銘紀念畫展. 臺北：國立歷史博物館. 2010: 120. ISBN 978-986-026-260-5.
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