Preface to Yu Jincai's Paintings
Lang Shaojun
I studied with Yu Jincai together for five years.We separated after graduation but keeping touch.He is a person through difficult，as his“autobiography”says that he“went down to the countryside，exploited the wasteland，herded the sheep，worked as the editor，writer，teacher and engaged in cultural relics and so on”.He is a man of sensitive and passionate.Although he is more than sixty years old，he still laugh and cry like a child.He is also a stubborn person.He will insist on what he agreed.Of course，he is devoted in the arts.He has no other hobbies except writing and painting.His life is simple and easy.Home chores are handled by his wife.During more that thirty years，he created uncountable works but never had the exhibition and published his paintings.
Jincai is good at reading，thinking and writing.Since 1980s，there are different opinions on Chinese paintings in art circle.Jincai has his own opinions.In his view，Chinese painting is inclusive with deep cultural character，strong vitality and broad space for development.Innovation is inevitable，but the tradition and innovation interact as both cause and effect，rather than irreconcilable.He also believed that contemporary art has lost the elegant noble quality of classical art.If the arts world let“the witty and free cultural concept”works as the principle，Chinese painting will become different.He pointed out bitterly that in the great tide of market economy，most artists lost a sense of social responsibility who have become the captive of materialism.Reading his characters.we can feel the profound sense of crisis.This represents the traditional spirit of China's intellectuals who works for the country.
At Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts，our study is characterized by“miscellaneous”.Drawings，watercolors，oil paintings，Chinese paintings，graphic design.art history theory and literature are compulsory.We didn't specialize in one subject until the fourth grade.Jincai chose Chinese paintings with Li Zhichao，Liu Junli，Zhang Qiyi and Sun Qifeng as his teachers.They are traditional artists who emphasize the importance of the traditional study.After graduation，Jincai worked at different places but never give up drawing.At school，because of the environment and teaching system，there is no arrangement for copying ancient masterpieces in teaching Chinese painting.However，depth of life and teaching technique are given great importance，teachers and students often go to the countryside for sketching.Jincai adhered to this tradition and seized every opportunity for sketching at different mountains.He has been to Taihang Mountains，Huanshan Mountain，Jiuhua Mountain，Tiantai Mountain，Yandang Mountain，Lushan Mountain，Jiuzhaigou，Zhangjiajie，the Three Gorges，Mount Tai，Guilin and so on.The most drawings are the“Cangyan Mountains”in southern Hebei，where the ridges and peaks and rich human landscape give him the inspiration.His selected works of the Seventh National Art Exhibition is one of the Painting“Cangyan Mountains”.
Sketches of the scenery are the main foundation of landscape paintings creation at second half of the 20th century.The new landscape paintings represented by Li keran and Shilu are generated on this basis.As the college graduates of early 1960s，they are influenced by the new landscape painting and its sketch methods.The outcome of influence is that works have a certain degree of realism，such as the pursuit of similar shape and three-dimensional space which is different from classical landscape paintings with more emphasis on pen and ink and landscaping.Over the past 30 years，landscape paintings gradually differentiate：some artists insist on sketching，the other try to return to the tradition.Jincai generally belong to the latter，that is.he adheres to technique，at the same time he reflects on the study inadequacy of traditional education and strengthens the study of ancient landscapes.For the creation he tries his best to switch sketch space to meaning space，attaches importance to practice calligraphy and pen and ink，and strengthens the performance function of pen and ink.Many artists of this age group as Jincai have formed habitual thinking and technical inertia.It is not easy for Jincai who have this kind of reflection to promote this kind of transmutation which shows his firm belief in flourishing traditional arts.
Most works selected in this painting are made by Jincai since 1990s.Their basic characteristics are，firstly，the realistic portrayal is greatly weakened while freehand performance is greatly enhanced.This is greatly performed in the realistic space transferred to heart space；secondly，the strong sense of emotion，passion and momentum which demonstrate the artist's sensitivity and inner nervous temperament；thirdly，the simple structure and the overall sense reflect the great atmosphere；fourthly，strict writing and strong drawing reflect manners and force.
When Jincai's art exploration stepped into the higher stage，he fell ill and stopped drawing temporarily.During his recuperation period，his daughter Yuhong made him this paintings and asked me to make a sequence.I'd like to write the above to Jincai for comment.I hope he can recover as soon as possible and resume his work.
November 16th，2008