Wang Xi San and His Teacher, Cao Ke Jia – 王习三雨夜拜名师

Inside painted snuff bottle traditionally had very limited subjects. The most common themes seen are: Landscape, Still Life, Insects, folklore and portrait.

Wang Xi San wanted to broaden the themes and began to experiment with painting cats, his favor animal. However, with a traditional bamboo pen, the painting tip was too hard for painting fur with soft texture. Wang tried to solve the problem by splitting the tip of bamboo pen into finer nibs, he also tried to tie a few pig bristles on the tip of the bamboo pen, but the effect was not satisfactory.

Finding the Right Mentor

In the summer of 1959, Wang Xi San seek the advice of Master Yang Shi Hui, an ivory-carving teacher. Master Yang pondered for a moment and said to Wang: “I think I knew of a man that could help you. His name is Cao Ke Jia. He is a knowledgeable art teacher and is best known for painting furry animal, especially cats. “Wang Xi San listened with excitement and begged Master Yang to introduce him to Master Cao Ke Jia.

The next day, Master Yang contacted Master Cao and set up an appointment for Wang Xi San:

“I contacted Mr. Cao. He will be waiting for you at home this coming Sunday.” He then gave Wang a detailed map to Master Cao’s home.

Braving the Storm

On that Sunday afternoon, the weather changed suddenly and a storm started. Despite the bad weather, Wang Xi San decided to brave the storm for this important appointment.

Master Cao Ke Jia, on the other hand, saw that the thunderstorm was not going to stop and thought that it was impossible for Wang to visit him. He was just going to start on his new painting when suddenly, the doorbell rang. He opened the door and in front of him was young Wang Xi San soaked wet by the heavy downpour.

“My name is Wang Xi San, from the Beijing Institute of Arts and crafts, I am here to see Mr. Cao. ” Wang said respectfully.

“Come in quickly.” Mr. Cao was very pleased to see the determine young artist and warmly said:

The Master’s Notes

Wang Xi San explained the intention of his visit and showed Master Cao his painted bottles with themes of animals with furry hair. Impressed with Wang determination and eagerness to learn, Master Cao immediately took out his notes and shared his technique of painting animals’ fur. Wang Xi San was impressed with the extraordinary skill that Master Cao had, especially his skill of drawing the cats fur and eyes. Master Cao’s cat was almost photo like and captured every detail of the playful animal.

Master Cao’s notes fascinated Wang Xi San. He wanted to borrow it home to study carefully but felt inappropriate to ask. Master Cao understood what was on Wang mind and smiling said: “If you like, you can borrow the notes for a few days.”

“Thank you, Master Cao, your works were fantastic and exactly what I needed.  I will borrow your notes and returned them within three days.” The delighted and gratefully Wang said

Master Cao nodded with a smile and bid farewell to Wang Xi San.

A Breakthrough

Wang Xi San could not believe his luck. He has met a master that could help him with a breakthrough in his painting career.

Three days later, Wang Xi San returned the original notes to Master Cao and brought along his own copy of the note. Master Cao look through Wang work and was very impressed with Wang painting ability and tenacity to learn.  He turned around and took a book that he had written on the technique of paint and told Wang Xi San: “I will accept you as a student if you are willing.”

Wang Xi did not expect Master Cao to take him in as a student. He immediately stood up respectfully and bowed to Master Cao. Master Cao was also delighted to have such a talented student and shared whole heartedly his painting techniques to Wang, include the secret of painting the animal fur and eyes.

With what he had learn from Master Cao as the foundation. Wang Xi San developed a new painting technique that could realistically paint the fur of animals like cats and wolves in snuff bottles.

Master Cao Ke Jia

Cao Ke Jia was born on April 1906 in Beijing, alias Ru Xian. He specializes in Chinese painting, particularly detailed painting of cats.

He used to be a teacher of the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts, a cadre of arts and crafts companies under the Ministry of Light Industry and a member of the Chinese Artists Association.

In 1924 Cao Ke Jia graduated from the Shanghai Zhong Hua Vocational School. He also graduated from the National Peking Art Academy school of Chinese painting in 1933. Cao Ke Jia became a professional painter in 1937

Cao learn from many master like Chen Shi Zeng, Wang Meng Bai, Qi Bai Shi, Chen Ban Ding Zhu. He is especially fond of cats, and is most famous for his painting of life like felines. Cao Ke Jia is the author of two books: “how to draw a cat” and “Song porcelain pattern”.

Wang Xi San’s Self Portrait – 王习三的三件自画像

(by Wang Jin Peng, 王金鹏 – Grandson of Wang Xi San)

Self-portrait, is an expression of an artist’s inner world and his spiritual belief at that point of time. Therefore, one of the best way to understand an artist’s journey is to study his self-portrait.

My Grandfather Mr Wang Xi San

My grandfather is Mr. Wang Xi San (王习三), he is the founder of the Ji style inside painting. He lives an extraordinary life with many ups and downs. During the 60s, just when he was making progress as a promising young artist, he was repatriated to his hometown and left penniless. Instead of giving up, he led the villagers to prosperity with his initiatives of setting up sideline businesses. However, luck was not with him. His house was raided three times by the red guards, arrested twice and he was tortured almost to death, it was a miracle that Grandpa managed to survive through all the hardship.

After the cultural revolution, life gradually became better. My grandfather was invited to give lectures and graced many international snuff bottles exhibitions. He became well known internationally through his art and lectures. One such occasion is when Mr. Ford, chairman of the International Snuff Bottle Society, announced his appointment as the first honorary member of Asia. This was during the 15^th ICSBS meeting in Toronto, Canada in 1983. More than 300 collectors from various countries stood up during the occasions and cheered him on., Holding hands and shouting “Wang Xi San! Wang Xi San! Wang Xi San! Number 1 Number 1.”

Grandpa’s was overwhelmed by the support that was given. To him, the honor given was not just a personal honor, but also a testimony of Chinese traditional culture. From my grandfather’s experience, I realized that it is most important to have self-confidence in our own cultural vitality and creativity. I am also confident that  Chinese traditional art and culture will be a shiny star internationally.

The 1st Self-Portrait

Self-portrait is a dialogue between the artist and himself. It also expresses his attitude towards his art, his dedication to life and the society. The three self-portraits that Grandpa made were good representation of these attributes.

Grandpa created his first self-portrait in 1982. In this bottle, he proudly gave an account of the story why he adopted “One Bottle Studio” as his studio name (一壶斋). The studio name came from a banner that was given to him by an old Tian Jin scholar named Gong Wang (龚望). It was a verse taken from a late Han Dynasty article He Guan Zhi (鹖冠子): “When a boat capsized, a gourd bottle that keep you from sinking is worth a thousand teals of Gold” (中河失船，一壶千金).  The blank used for this piece of self-portrait was an old glass bottle. The self-portrait, painted in monochrome, show grandfather’s proud moment when he was given the Chinese arts and crafts masters gold medal. This award was a major milestone in his life as it usher in a huge turning point in his career as a snuff bottle artist.

The 2nd Self-Portrait

The second self-portrait had many similarities to the first. The only changes were the highlighted lips, the medallions painted with gold powder and his right-hand posture. In this portrait, Grandpa appeared to be more demeanor, relaxed and confident. In his hand, he was showing one of his landscape snuff bottle.

This bottle was a gift to the well-known American businesswoman in Hawaii, Mrs. Su Li Min (苏利民). During grandpa visit to Hawaii in 1983, Mrs Su spend many hours watching his exhibition and demonstration. She brought a collection of his artwork and hosted grandpa in various occasion during his stay in Hawaii. Before returning back to China, my grandfather specially created this self-portrait as a gift to Mrs. Su. That was to thank her for her hospitality and support. He also composed a poem for the bottle: “小中蕴大，壶里乾坤，丹青妙笔，一壶千金””. A universe can be created within this small bottle, using my brush and ink. And it is worth a thousand teals of Gold.

Mr Liang Zhi Xing

My grandfather met Mr Liang Zhi Xing (梁知行) at the Hong Kong Exhibition and Fair. At that time, Mr Liang was a well-known entrepreneur and the chairman of Hong Kong snuff bottle society. Mr. Liang’s love and dedication to the art of Chinese snuff bottles quickly struck a note with Grandpa and they became the best of friends.

Mr. Liang made frequent trip to China to support the four major schools of inside painting. He collected a vast number of bottles and carefully catalogued them. In 1986, he published his research in a book titled “Snuff bottle new look”. In his book, he introduced the genre and system that he used to classify different schools of painting. Upon its publish, the book was immediately regarded as one of the authoritative book of  inside painted snuff bottles. In 1987, Mr Liang  teamed up with Mrs. Agathe, a famous American collector, to publish the English version of the book. The book became a important publication to enhanced the international reputation of inside painted snuff bottle.

In 1986, with the help of Mr Liang, Grandpa and his students were able to hold their exhibition at the Hong Kong Arts Center. The event was very successful and well received in Hong Kong.

Mr Liang invited Grandpa to his home many times. On one occasion, Mr Liang’s wife told Grandfather that only a cracked Wang Xi San bottle would cause Mr Liang many sleepless nights (The cracked bottles were due to improper annealing process during manufacturing of the blank). Upon hearing this, Grandpa immediately started work to reproduce and replace the damaged painting with natural crystal bottle for free. Returning the favor, Mr. Liang gave Grandpa three cars in separate occasions. Grandpa, in turn transferred all the cars to the relevant state departments.

The 3rd Self-Portrait

Grandpa drew his 3rd self-portrait as a gift to Mr Liang, using a rock crystal bottle. He composed 2 poems specifically for this bottle. The first poem was titled “Best of Friend” (知音). In which, he wrote: “The hooked brush can paint a universe within the small bottle. After thirty years of painting, I have found my best friend Mr. Liang”. (方寸烟壶内，勾笔绘乾坤。丹青三十载，知音数梁君). The second poem is titled “My Wish” (心愿). In this poem, Grandfather wrote: “For half a century, I have worked hard to perfect my painting skill. My wish is to see that the art of inside painted snuff bottle flourishes in the hands of my students” (蹉跎度半世，只求技艺真。呕血育新秀, 唯愿玉壶春)

Grandpa believe that the purpose of art is to awaken and enlighten the spiritual needs of people through its beauty. It should also help a person in his relentless pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty. With these belief, he has created an everlasting and legendary story for himself and the art he so loves !

The Changes in Wang XiSan’s Studio Name Part 3 – One Bottle Studio (1968-1988) 从王习三的堂名变迁看历史——一壶斋（1968～1988年）

Improving the Village

In 1968, Wang had established his painting business in Yang Zhuang. However, Wang realized that it was impossible to for him to save the village from poverty. To reverse the situation, he would need to involvement all able men, women and children to help.

Wang decided to travel to Tian Jing to persuade factories owner to start-up in the village. He managed to convince a gelatin. a pin factory and some oil mills to set up businesses. With these, the manpower in the village was fully utilized. This brought rapid economic development to the village.

With the extra cash, villagers could improve infrastructure for irrigation and electricity.The could also purchased fertilizers and better farming equipment. These developments increased the financial status of the village. For the first time, the village leaders could distribute cash to the peasants.

Wang felt the sense of fulfillment when he saw tears rolling down the faces of poor farmers. Because of his contributions, Wang became a highly respected person. The village leaders gave him more freedom and time on his own. Wang took this chance to do research on various new techniques of painting and developed the modern brush for inside painting.

One Bottle Studio (一壶斋)

An old Tian Jin scholar named Gong Wang (龚望) heard about Wang successes in helping the poor. As an encouragement, he invited the famous calligrapher Yu Ming-shan (余明善) to write a banner for him on a piece of Song dynasty rice paper that he had kept for many years.

He selected a verse taken from a late Han Dynasty article He Guan Zhi (鹖冠子) as the encouragement verse for Wang: “When a boat capsized, a gourd bottle that keep you afloat is worth a thousand taels of Gold” (中河失船，一壶千金). In his opinion, he felt that when the time is right, Wang’s painted bottles will also be worth a thousand taels of Gold.

Wang Xi San took this verse as his lifetime motto. Subsequently, he changes his studio name to “One Bottle studio” (一壶斋) as a constant reminder to work hard and strive for the best.

Traitor of the Communist Party

Luck ran out very fast for Wang Xi San. A new initiative by the communist party to uproot capitalization swept over the nation in 1970. The new village leaders was not pleased with Wang Xi San because of the side businesses that he had brought in. Because of that, Yang Zhuang village was declared as “counter-revolutionary” and Wang was named as a traitor of the communist party. For eight months, Wang suffered all kinds of personality and physical tortures and he tried to commit suicide twice. During that horrifying period, the villagers were very sympathetic to him. However, they were powerless against the authorities. The only thing that they could do is to encourage him to live on.

Saved At Last

No evidences can be found and Wang cannot be convicted. In the meantime, since all businesses were put on hold, the village became poor again. This brought a lot of unhappiness between the new leadership team and the villagers and they were withdrawn soon after. This saved Wang Xi San and the villagers immediately restarted the factories and Wang painting studio.