舒曾祉   Shu, Zeng-Zhi    1931~

Zeng-Zhi Shu, courtesy name Yang-Zhi and Shi-Zhen, styled as Wu Kan Lao Ren, was born in 1931 in Wanping County, Hebei Province, China. He graduated from the Fu Hsing Kang College and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Sitting at the feet of several renowned masters, Shu has been quite familiar with Chinese landscape painting and become well-known for his watercolors in the art scene. The artist has engaged in arts creation and education for nearly four decades. He not only served as a council member of the Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Association, an art committee member of the Chinese Writer’s & Artist’s Association, and the chairman of the Chinese Watercolor Association, but has also been invited to stage exhibitions both domestically and internationally. Shu is simultaneously skilled at watercolor and dedicated to ink painting. He often applies enthralling ink painting techniques to his watercolors, making each shine more brilliantly in the others’ company. In his opinion, ink painting features the charm of being free and at ease without compromising its expressive power. Therefore, he draws sketches during the daytime and emulates ancient paintings at night, in the hope of enhancing his skills at ink painting. Around 1980, the “Chinese-style” made a comeback in the course of watercolor evolution, and watercolor landscape painting became part of the artistic mainstream. Shu was one of the iconic figures in this respect. He was also highly commended as a distinguished modern Chinese painter by celebrated artist Kenichirō Terada of Fukuoka in Japan, for his oeuvre not only brims with novel styles but also oozes immense charm of the oriental world.