Forword
Beljing Opera interprels various spects of life through dynamicsinging, rectation,acting, and fighting: Oil painting expresses thoughts andenotions in the tran-uil form,color, ligh,and shadow.T he fwo diferent visalcultural systems of Peking Opera and oil paintingcondense he essenc ofBastern and Western aesthetliexhibition uses oil painting as a realistic"tool" toembody the subtle and elegant ' way of Peking Opera Dan roles, Themoment of conentraionhecanvahe Dow of aura on stage, and colors andlines generate new expressions in a new.contex, forming an artistic gazethat transcends culture.
The 44 portrais of Dan roles in the exhibition are a assionateexchangebetween oilpaintingand Peking Oper,an independent aestheticposture.They are not re-productions ofthestageor foototesoftraditionalChinese Oopera, but rathe he use o f oil paintingto capture thespinit and canvas to conveythesoul. HFere,we sincerelyll,loglimpse heemotions benvite you to step into the exhibition halld ink strokeslisteof thesinging in silence, and to experiencPOwhe bidirectional pursuit ofEastertand Western aesthetics tegeth.
Wang Qijun
Born in 1954,Professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts,Chief Advisor oChinaArt News Net, and Secretary-General of theEurope-America-Asia At Alliar
Graceful Demeanor,108×108 cm
As the canvas unfolds, a hazy grey tone shrouds the scene like mist, yet it does not diminish the elegance in the slightest. Instead, it renders the four Peking Opera dan characters even more noble and refined. The roles on both sides are particularly striking, adorned with seven-star forehead ornaments. As they turn their profiles toward the viewer, a gentle grace unique to dan characters emanates faintly.
Subtle rouge tints their brows and eyes, contrasting with the rigid head ornaments to achieve a compelling harmony of strength and softness. The dan figure at the back right wears the most elaborate costume, whose brocade sheen softens into a gentle luster under the grey palette, with intricate embroidery blooming like flowers in the dark. Her right hand rises slightly, while her left holds a folding fan. Layered sleeves flow with vivid creases, as if about to flutter gracefully with a turn.
The figure in the front is the most vibrant, clad in a red robe that blazes warmly yet modestly amid the muted tones. She steps forward lightly in quick, stage-ready strides, her head turned slightly, gaze meeting the audience’s directly. Her left arm rests gently on her chest in a poised gesture, her right arm hanging naturally and stretching back, its flowing sleeve tracing an elegant arc like drifting clouds.
The young dan at the center-back wears a light blue costume, pure and serene as mist beneath the moon, echoing the red robe in delicate harmony. She holds a folding fan high in her right hand, its edge slightly raised as if brushing away the mist before her—slender yet lively in posture.
Opulent Fragrance of Heaven80.5 x 36 cm
A court-red robe wraps her like sunrise caught in silk; gold thread flickers across the folds whenever the light turns. The huadan(young and lively female role)'s cloud-bun is pinned with a single pearl spray, and her eyes-half tease, half promise-hold the spring that has not yet decided whether to laugh or feign a pout. One hand lifts as if to pocket the breeze: the other releases a waterfall sleeve the color of drifting rosy cloud, its satin catching a soft,moist sheen before it settles into perfect, weightless folds. Behind her, white peonies-ice-fleshed,jade-boned-open layer after layer, dew still clinging. Their chill elegance sets off the scarlet fire of her robe.,so refinement and radiance meet without contest. In a single breath, the painting offers both the tempered grace and the bright, darting spirit of the classic Eastern beauty.
Dan Roles with Unspoken Grace, 106 x 106 cm
A hush of imperial violet-warm as congealed musk, plush as midnight velvet-floods the entire field. On the left, a wudan (martial female role) anchors the gaze: torso reclining a breath, willow-in-wind, while her face slowly swivels toward us, offering both saber-edge authority and the soft hush of femininity. Her right hand glides down the waterfall sleeve of her left arm; the silk, cloud-heavy yet weightless, spills forward, its border stitched so finely the threads seem to melt under the coaxing fingertip, widening into a moonlit ripple.
Center-stage, a huadan (young and lively female role) becomes the painting’s bright pupil.She cradles a round silk fan, waist twisted just enough to let an unheard melody slip into her bones; the skirt lifts a fraction, arrested mid-whirl, as though the next beat were paused between heartbeats. To the right, another dan burns in vermillion-silk lacquered with fire.Gold and indigo embroideries riot across the bodice, flaring against the violet dark like sparks against night water. She leans forward, a gentle tilt that still feels airborne; her right hand raises a sleeve so sheer it drinks the light and gives it back as a rose glow pressed against cheek and brow, lending her gaze the liquid clarity of a lute note held forever.
Across the canvas, warm strata unfold: citron yellow rich as palace lanterns, scarlet fierce as temple candles, cerulean light as mountain dawn. They braid and clash within the violet dusk, burnishing every fold of brocade, every eyelash, until the painted air itself seems to breathe-and you half expect, if you leaned closer, to catch the first sliding quaver of a Beijing-Opera aria already uncoiling from the wet pigment.
A Measure of Spring,38 × 58cm
The canvas is washed in tender peach-pink. The huadan (young and lively female role)'s robe carries the hush of newly opened blossom—saturation lowered so it glows rather than glares, girlish mirth tempered by courtly grace. Behind her, dove-gray and milk-mist melt together without a seam, soft as Jiangnan air after rain; no contrast is declared, yet layers of tint murmur beneath the hush. Light strokes the silk: highlights bloom without shouting, shadows sink without sulking, and the oil itself keeps the creamy memory of every breath. She turns three-quarters away, yet her face glances left—shoulder curving like a fresh brushstroke, waist narrowing just enough for the fabric to circle it like water around a reed. The gaze is caught before it becomes a gaze, invitation folded inside discretion, the whole shy flourish of southern spring held in a single withheld blink—peach petals risking the first breeze, a girl rehearsing the moment before she decides to speak.
Spring Follows Her,38 × 58 cm
The canvas wakes to spring because the dan role’ s sleeve stirs it awake. That particular pale blue knows every secret of the season—never the brooding weight of midnight, never the loud vanity of turquoise, only the hush that lingers after a March rain in the south, when mist has slid across flagstones and left every color rinsed in tender light. It folds the figure inside a lucid gauze, half dream, half weather. Her right arm is the opening note of the spring song. The pale-blue sleeve climbs the air like wings testing flight; the white water-silk that trails beneath is the moon-dust those wings shake loose. Where the two tones meet—ice-white against thaw-blue—they spark the soft crack of snow giving way, the first pinch of green on a willow twig. This is spring’ s whisper: an arc gentle enough to be called shy, yet curved around a quiet ardor, as if she were gathering a strand of sunlight or finishing, under her breath, an aria the blossoms still need to learn. In the hush of that lifted, swirling instant, she tucks away both the mildness of spring and the bright certainty of life.
Deep in the Jade Chamber,38 × 58 cm
Brush-strokes burnish the jade chamber; a single vermillion robe settles like cinnabar steeped in rouge. She lifts her right foot half an inch—just enough to step from pigment into our gaze—while her left shoulder yields to an unseen audience. The turn is the moment: brows lacquered with a film of mist, eyes that meet us through gauze, a sentence paused before speech. A white sleeve drops from her wrist and fences her mouth; all the words she has not spoken pool behind that small curtain of cloth. The picture is not still—it is an aria caught mid-breath, a conversation suspended in the throat of time.
Afterglow of a Turning Glance,38 × 58 cm
A pewter hush spreads; she walks upon it as if treading cloud. Head turned back, glance offered sideways; left hand lifts a signal, right elbow cradles reticence. Even in stillness the sleeve plans its next ripple. The graphite quiet cannot cage the spark that flashes in the turn of an eye. Every line is charged with the tension of a swallow that has banked its flight but not its purpose: shadow on the verge of motion, modesty on the verge of declaration.
Brimming Eyes, 38 × 58 cm
Dove-and-rose washes the canvas, a thin gauze cast over yesterday’s hour, lifting the dan above the weight of time. Her robes drift through mild light—no shout of scarlet, no flare of gold, only the quiet ground letting grace speak. Torso angled toward the right as if leaving empty space for a turn, yet the head swivels full-front: a line of vision that steps through the frame and offers a cool syllable to our eyes. The left wrist lifts, cradling a breeze we cannot feel, curve leisurely as a song tilting into its tenderest bar; the right hand drifts forward, fingertips testing the air with a shy caress, scattering the unsung phrase of an aria into the hush. And those eyes—lamps in the dusk of powder-gray—carry no loud pigment yet hold a thousand tales: every joy and sorrow of the libretto, every breath of the lute behind the voice. One gliding flicker, and the mute surface floods with living sound.
Fan-Trimmed Blossoms,58.5 × 38 cm
Half‑croched, she gathers fragrance and holds the season still. Her right knee glides toward the painting’s right edge; her waist pivots to open her face to us—one fold, one twist, all the yielding‑yet‑vigorous grammar of Beijing Opera. Down drifts her right hand, as if dew sliding from a late‑spring petal; fingertips as slender as willow floss trail a wisp of unseen breeze. Up flashes the left hand, a folded fan snapped open to cup a passing cloud; its rim scissoring the drifting blossom shadows into flecks of pink light. In the balance of crouch and turn, steadiness keeps its courtly calm while motion keeps its playful spark; every lift and fall of arm is cadence, every pause is melody. The pose catches, in mid‑breath, the myriad charms of a huadan (young and lively female role)’s perfect stage entrance.
Like Spring Breeze, 48×48cm
A spring breeze grazes the sleeve and old music lingers. Gray-yellow glazes the canvas like a thin fog, never shouting but quietly steeped in time. It feels like rice paper once kissed by wind, or an ancient stage half lost in Jiangnan mist—steady, soft, a little dreamy. The hushed palette smooths away harsh lights and shadows, soaking every brush-stroke in warm, slow air. You’re pulled into a hush where clocks forget to tick and the world’s noise stays outside the frame.
Rosy Cheeks, 47.5×47.5cm
The real spell is in those water-sleeves. One hand lifts; silk unfurls like drifting cloud, the curve soft as a breeze brushing still water—no hard edge, only effortless life. On the other hand, lower down, pinches the same sleeve with a perfect, measured grip—steady enough to tame the flow, light enough to keep it flirtatious. Pleats layer in the gray-yellow dusk, thin as moth-wings. Light slides over them, shadow slips beneath, and for a heartbeat you swear real wind slips through the paint, stirring the cloth and carrying faint warmth and the scent of petals.
11、Face Like a Peach Blossom，75×45cm
The huadan (young and lively female role) stands at the very center of the blooming scene, as though she might at any second step out of the paint in tiny, rapid steps. Her head tilts just enough to catch all the light of girlish charm. The tip of her right finger drifts toward her temple—half reproach, half invitation—freezing the exact instant of playful grace. Her lips purse around a remark she never quite delivers, as if she were holding a freshly picked cherry between them—sweet, soft, and faintly mischievous. In her left hand a small pink handkerchief rests; the hand is liquid, pouring every ounce of feminine gentleness into that single square of silk. Brows and eyes carry a tucked-in smile; the glance is bright, unworldly, coy. The curve of her mouth teases without ever tipping into excess—just enough to brush the heart’s most ticklish spot.
Twin Blossoms in Bright Spring,33×34cm
Across the canvas, two silhouettes open like paired blossoms on a spring branch, radiant and mild. The left-hand dan wears blush-pink satin; the cloth drinks the light and gives it back in quiet gleams. Half-crouching, she lets the skirt pool in easy folds that cradle thin springtime. A round fan rests in her hand, faint ink blossoms trembling on its silk; her eyes hold shy sparkle. On the right, a girl in sky-blue the color of sky just rinsed by rain. Long water-sleeves drift like passing clouds; a folded fan shows warm wood grain beneath thin lacquer. She stands tall yet tender, a calm counter-motion to her companion’s poised dip—one still, one ready, two blossoms breathing in the same breeze.
12、Graceful Forms,33×34 cm
Powder-blue swirls, and beauty drifts into the frame. The instant the oil sets is the instant romance bends at the waist. Two fleeting silhouettes—pink and blue—shatter time across the canvas, blooming into the soft-edged spirit that only a Beijing-Opera huadan role (young and lively female role) can wear. The peach-pink on the left is the flush spring sunlight leaves on a cheek; cut from supple satin, it forms a quiet tableau—yet both arms refuse stillness, reaching right along an invisible beat, like willow tassels brushing water or butterfly wings scenting air, turning a static pose into a pulse that keeps moving the eye. The pale blue on the right is cloud trimmed under moonlight, rinsed in cool water tones. A hair ornament seems ready to tremble with each step, but the torso wheels suddenly, profile gazing out beyond the frame; brows and eyes hold more story than speech. Arms unfold like a crane’s first stretch, water-sleeves spilling star-rivers down the curves of her arms; in that relaxed arc lives a thousand turns of motion—just after a swirl of sleeves has ended, just before the next bright flourish begins.
Moonlight Shifting Through Blossoms,67×33.5 cm
Elegant chivalry woven in pinkish purple and pale blue. This work’s color palette is a masterful blend of classical aesthetics and modern taste. The interweaving of pinkish purple and pale blue complements the dan character’s “graceful yet resolute” temperament, echoing the hazy mood of “moonlight shifting through blossoms.”
Rather than gaudy opulence, the pinkish purple blends soft matte pink and light purple, like wisteria flowers drenched in night dew in late spring—accentuating the dan’s gentle grace while hinting at the restrained fortitude of a heroine. The pale blue evokes the clarity of moonlight, translucent as a mist-shrouded lake, balancing the warmth and coolness of the hues. It tempers the purple’s tenderness and lends the figure an ethereal, refined air.
The two colors merge naturally, resembling dappled light filtering through flowers under the moon, creating visual depth and poetic negative space.
13、Breeze Carrying a Melody,41.5×27 cm
Against a deep sapphire sky, the splendid gold-threaded costume shimmers, the figure’s slightly turned shoulders exuding heroism. A soft pink flush graces her fair face, tenderness lingering in her brows and eyes. Her left hand gently touches her cheek, fingertips seeming to hold the lingering charm of Kun Opera.
Her right hand rests behind her back, an unopened fan conveying unspoken sentiments. The contrasting blues and pinks achieve a perfect balance of strength and grace, capturing the timeless allure of a Peking Opera dan.
New Look in Armor,41.5×27 cm
Red crashes into blue to dye half a legend. The seven-star helmet glows cinnabar bright; crimson plumes drip to her fingertips, pinched just enough to show softness. Marshal-coat embroidery hides inside shifting light, powder-fringe on the shoulder swaying gently. A cool sapphire tassel brushes her ear, lending cold shine to warm skin. Though only a corner of the command flag shows, it sets off eyes sparkling with mischief. Rouge and indigo twine through the rise and fall of light, locking both the dan’s winsome charm and her martial edge inside the canvas glow.
14、Like a Cuckoo’s Cry,41.5×27 cm
This full-length composition captures a female figure in a red mang robe. The blazing, vivid crimson surges from the canvas, brimming with youthful vitality while bearing the dignified heroism of exalted status.
The robe’s fabric boasts a rich luster, displaying the delicate texture of silk under interwoven light and shadow. Its exquisite embroidery features sprawling peonies with layered petals in gradient crimson and gilded edges, their stamens outlined in silver thread that glimmers faintly in light—carrying auspicious connotations and imbuing the garment with nobility and majesty.
Like an Orchid, 41.5×27 cm
Oil-painted vigor and delicacy walk out of an ancient script. A pale-blue headpiece anchors the view, water-clear rhinestones scattered across it like stars spilled from night. Golden tassels drop from either side, their warm luster playing against the cool crown, making brows and eyes even clearer. The shoulder-cape that peeks from armor is fierce red bordered by calm blue; the clash births the apex of Chinese esthetic tension. The dan’s right hand lifts slightly, and though we see only bust and sleeve, motion punches through the surface. Her gaze ripples with just enough allure. The whole canvas seems to breathe perfume—cool blue, brilliant gold, hungry red mingling as one. Like an orchid: steel in the spine, fragrance on the wind.
15、Like an Autumn Swan, 41.5×27 cm
A heroine’s elegance painted in powder and ink—like a sliver of moonlight trimmed from the Beijing Opera scene set, where a dan’s softness and a marshal’s steel are ground together into a whispered palette. The pale-blue headpiece commands the view; jade soaked in moonlight, its rhinestones set not for vulgar sparkle but for the chill of dawn-frost. From either hang ruyi pendants—those cloud-shaped “as-you-wish” emblems—rounded lines echo jade dips, lending a playful lift to an otherwise martial silhouette. The shoulder-cape melts from lilac into muted indigo, the wash placed just low enough to keep the balance cool. Her left hand lifts a fraction, fingertips half hidden, light as a migrating swan gliding on an autumn thermal; the right closes loosely on a spill of water-sleeve. The face eschews heavy pigment, yet in the quiet arch of brow and lid whole volumes of feeling stay unspoken.
A Life Like Blossoms,41.5×27 cm
Brushstrokes hold fragrance; a life blooms like flowers. The luxurious brocade costume is the visual focus, radiant yet understated, exuding calm grace against a subtle backdrop.
Dynamic beauty resides in every gesture: her left hand rises, flowing sleeve spreading like clouds, the smooth texture of the fabric vividly rendered as if the whisper of sleeve against air can be heard. The folding fan in her hand opens wide, adorned with flourishing peonies whose layered petals bear balanced hues—materializing the symbolism of “prosperity and nobility” and echoing the theme “a life like blossoms.”
16、Autumn Osmanthus,41.5×27 cm
Autumn osmanthus in oil—orchard air frozen mid-note. Brocade drinks light and gives it back like a polished pearl; the cape and robe are gardens of embroidery—peonies for grandeur, osmanthus for clarity—threads melting into gilded skin. She leans a fraction, caught between turning back and stepping forward. The right hand offers a fingertip curved like an unopened bloom; the sleeve spreads, sheer as cirrus, ready to lift on the next breath. Color layers whisper; fragrance seems to linger long after the eye has moved on.
Elegance,41.5×27 cm
Elegance frozen in fan shadows and flowing sleeves. This half-length portrait captures the graceful poise of a Peking Opera dan under warm light. Her sumptuous costume features embroidery glowing with subtle gold sheen, each thread embodying timeless delicacy and merging heroism with tenderness.
Her slightly tilted posture lends vivid dynamism to the scene. Outstretched sleeves drift like clouds, complementing the folding fan in her hand. The fan bears blooming peonies, layered and richly hued, signifying “prosperity and nobility” while embodying the essence of “elegance.” Amid fan shadows, flowing sleeves and beaded garments, refined grace permeates the painting.
17、First Light on a Young Face,41.5×27 cm
An ode in oil to the moment dawn meets the dan role in Beijing Opera. Warm, honey-thin sun slips across the canvas and gilds the half-length portrait in tender glow. Her robe is morning sky—not deep sea, but the pale haze just after sunrise—soft, suggestive, endless. She leans slightly forward, a breeze-shivered flower in mid-motion, timid yet alive. Head turns just enough to meet your eyes; the smile blooming across her features is a bud still holding dawn-dew, quiet and unforgettable. Right hand lifts, slim fingertips nudging the sleeve; water-silk drifts toward her cheek, edges glowing, ready to catch the day’s first warmth.
Slender Eyebrows Slightly Raised,41.5×27 cm
Golden radiance holds refined charm; dark eyebrows bloom with grace. The dan’s face is the soul of the painting—delicate features untouched by worldly vulgarity.
Her dark, slender brows arch slightly, holding a faint, understated smile that stirs the heart, befitting the title “Slender Eyebrows Slightly Raised.” Her eyes are clear as autumn water, brimming with subtle emotions—gentle as a maiden yet heroic beneath her splendid robes.
Delicate brushstrokes depict luminous skin, glowing with subtle pearlescence under warm light, as if exuding a soft, breathing warmth. The background features delicate flowers in traditional Chinese fine-brush style, their soft, pure hues echoing the warm golden foreground.
19、Wind beneath the Horse’s Hooves, 41.5×27 cm
Crimson armor against a river of gold—horse and rider caught mid-thunder. Red and yellow roar across the canvas like molten gold stirred with cinnabar, hoisting the woman marshal’s bust into bold relief, straight as a pine. The scarlet is vivid yet never vulgar, royal and rimmed with warning; the yellow braid snakes along every seam, tossing off warm halos that lend regal pageantry to this battlefield commander. Her right hand locks around a riding crop, calm as a heartbeat that knows the next drumbeat will send her spur into flank and horse into charge. Behind her, triangular war-flags show only their tips, yet you can almost hear them snapping over pounding hooves.
Spring Breeze beneath the Fan, 41.5×27 cm
A duet of steel and silk inside a single frame. The half-length portrait traps time like settled incense. In brow and eye flows a softness that justifies the title—strength wrapped in a breeze you can feel. Peonies riot across the fan’s face; their scent seems to leak from the pigment, joining the implied wind and waking the still image to life. Head-dress crystals catch warm light like small stars dropped into cloud-black hair. That same light washes over her cheek, skin luminous under a veil of sheer powder, the faint rouge unable to hide the martial spark in her gaze. The background is a calm, clear blue—morning sky holding the whole balance in quiet check.
20、Opera Fan,41.5×27 cm
Fan shadows hold fragrance; gaze bears charm. A deep, serene emerald spreads across the canvas, like ancient jade mellowed by time—warm yet magnificent, setting a calm yet vivid tone.
The half-length dan figure emerges from this emerald realm, encapsulating the beauty of strength and softness in Peking Opera. On the left, a peony-embroidered folding fan stands tall, dominating half the frame as the visual focal point.
Her left fingertips brush the fan’s edge gently, as if fearing to disturb the flower spirits embroidered upon. The slender, nimble fingers contrast delicately with the fan’s solidity, adding tenderness to the ornate costume.
Pearl Tassel Draping,41.5×27 cm
Warm light floods the canvas in a single flash, darting into a fixed gaze. The dan actress in the painting has cheeks slanting slightly like a dewy peony, yet her eyes pierce through time and space to lock straight onto the viewer—hoarding whole novels behind her lashes. The half-body composition fits perfectly, condensing her elegance into a square yet rippling endless charm. In her right hand holds a folded fan; the wide, soft sleeve is like spring water overflowing gently, only slightly unfurling at the fingertips to reveal half a slender knuckle—delicate against the rich brocade, adding a whisper of restraint.
21、Rosy Glaze Caressing the Crown,41.5×27 cm
The graceful figure of a Peking Opera dan is immortalized in blended oil paints. Her magnificent opera costume takes center stage.
Most striking is the divine light piercing through lattice windows, like heavenly silver threads slanting across her costume’s shoulders and lapels. Interlacing window shadows carve varied textures on the golden backdrop. The interplay of light and shadow lends poetic haziness to the structured garment, merging theater curtains with dawn light.
The shadows and rays resemble morning sunlight filtering through ancient temple lattice windows, or flickering stage lanterns, cloaking the painting in a mysterious aura of reality and illusion.
Locked Gaze, 41.5×27 cm
Purple haze, locked gaze—pink face inside a warrior frame. A pale violet wash drifts over the canvas like daybreak mist or the first breath of lucky cloud, giving the bust portrait a hazy, regal ground. Her skin outshines snow, smooth and moist against the lilac, girlish and bright. The cheek angles softly; the jaw-line curves, the lip is baby-pink, a half-smile that cracks the armor’s edge and lets warmth leak in. But the eyes nail you—clear as autumn water yet weighted with resolve, looking through the curtain of years toward some distant country only she can see.
22、Painted Divas of the Beijing Opera Stage,41.5×27 cm
Cinnabar floods the dream. The big red field feels like centuries of Beijing-Opera rouge suddenly let loose, wrapping the half-length dan role in heat and ceremony. This isn’t loud scarlet—it’s vermilion aged in oil, satiny and fragrant, rolling from background into costume like a spotlight that has decided to keep her forever. Pom-poms plump as ripe red cherries, tassels swaying gently with the tilt of her cheek, adding a touch of liveliness. The white fur collar is a streak of clear snow in the red sea, with fluffy texture and soft luster, balancing the intensity of the bright red and highlighting the delicate elegance of her neckline.
24、Robe in Gentle Flutter,176 × 116 cm
Centered on a group of full-length Beijing-Opera dan roles, the painting assembles a chorus of resplendent yet distinct figures. Each costume erupts in its own palette; each gesture bears a private music. One dan lifts a folded fan, the silk barely parted as if sheltering every unspoken longing; another lets water-sleeves slide through her fingers, the falling cloth turning into slow-moving cloud-scrolls; a third freezes her hand in an orchid-shape, the curving fingers fluent with delicate life. Their poses answer one another across the canvas—glances, tilts, echoes of sleeves—so the whole group seems to breathe as one, caught in a single hush of movement. Most arresting are the eyes: every dan looks straight out of the picture, meeting the viewer with a silent question that makes the painted stage feel suddenly intimate. A warm, diffuse light washes over silk, embroidery, and skin, softening textures and tempering colors until the entire scene glows like a lantern of rose-tinted ivory. In this hush of radiance, the quintessential grace and lingering perfume of Beijing-Opera are revealed in full.
25、Victory at the First Strike,196 × 141 cm
This painting, Victory at the First Strike, stands as a signature work in the Beijing Opera Figures in Oil series. Through the consummate techniques of realist oil painting, the artist recaptures the iconic moment when the legendary heroine Mu Guiying dons her armor and leads her troops into battle on the Beijing Opera stage.
In the composition, Mu Guiying wears an indigo-blue female armor (kao), with four pennants thrust into the back, and a seven-star headdress (ezi) adorned with pearls and kingfisher feathers. Her makeup is vivid and striking, her gaze sharp and resolute, while a subtle upturn at the corners of her mouth reveals the quiet confidence and martial spirit of one who has already mapped the path to victory. The artist employs meticulous brushwork to render the intricate embroidered patterns and tasseled ornaments of the costume, punctuating the dominant indigo-blue with touches of gold, crimson, and white. This approach not only restores the sumptuous texture of Beijing Opera attire but also amplifies the heroic aura of the figure through layered color and compositional tension.
The title Victory at the First Strike alludes both to Mu Guiying’s legendary triumph at the Mu Guiying Breaks through the Tianmen Gate and to the auspicious wish that women may match men in valor and that every campaign may end in swift victory. The work merges the expressive spirit of traditional Chinese theater with the realist techniques of Western oil painting, giving this classic figure new life in a contemporary context. It stands as a bridge between tradition and modernity, East and West.
