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The Old Man Selling Flour Tea

Tags: art | Hsi De-Chin | painting

Hsi De-Chin (1923–1981), 1961

Sketch painting, 38 x 53.5 cm

Born to a rich family in South County of Xichuan, Hsi learned Chinese painting in a private school in 1931. When studying in Chengdu College, he was enlightened by painter Pang Xun-qin. Hsi then transferred to Shapingba National Arts College and received training under Lin Feng-Mian while he acquainted many painters such as Tsao Wu-Ji, Chu Teh-Chun and Li Chun-Shan. He moved to Taiwan after the war and never set foot on Chinese soil again. The Old Man Selling Flour Tea is Hsi's 1961 sketch work, done when he was 38. With the old man's back view in the front and the flour tea stand at the rear, the shades of color go from dark to light. The wheelbarrow and wooden cupboard framed with glass are vividly outlined with charcoal pencils, as if recounting the story of their years on the road. Like a one-scene play, the script of this painting is a real life sketch.

Department of Graphic Communications and Digital Publishing, Shih Hsin University Digital archiving project of the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines

Original Chinese text is composed by Professor Cheng-Ming Su, Department of Visual Arts, Taipei Municipal University of Education