H
Southeast Asian Personalities of Chinese Descent: A Biographical Dictionary 310 Hà Lãn Hùng ( , He Lanxiong, 1913–93) Artist,Vietnam H à Lãn Hùng was originally from Tân Hoäi ( ) district of Guangdong province, China. On the year of birth of Hùng, the Tây Ðeà Niên Giám ( ), records his year of birth as 1919, but according to his wife, Ðinh Lan Phöông ( ), it should be 1913. Hùng’s real name was Duy Hùng ( ) and he also had another name, Nhó Sôn ( ). When he was young, his paternal grandmother, Lý Liên Töû ( ), taught him traditional painting. When he reached the age of thirteen, he went with his father to a painting exhibition by famous artists who belonged to the Hoã School of Painting ( ) that was usually associated with Shanghai city. While there, Hùng was fortunate enough to have been noticed by Vöông Nhaát Ðình ( ) — then leader of the Hoã School. Ðình took Hùng in as a disciple and taught him the essence of the school. From then, Hùng progressed very quickly and soon became very famous in Guangdong province. He even participated in the organizing committee for the Exhibition of Traditional Paintings to raise funds for the Xinhai (Tân Hôïi ) Hospital in Guangdong province. Hùng was also taught seal carving by a famous practitioner called Dòch Hy ( ). He therefore learnt both carvings and painting and later excelled in them. During the Sino-Japanese War, Hùng migrated with his family to Hong Kong and met up with Ðình. After this reunion, Hùng continued his studies under Ðình, which took him completely into the Hoã School.But Hùng did not stay in Hong Kong for long. He soon migrated to Vietnam and, at the beginning, lived in Hanoi,where he taught at the Chinese Secondary School ( ). Together with another man called Hoàng Nãi Sí ( ),they opened a branch of the Chinese Secondary School. In 1945 Hùng moved to Saigon, where he also taught, there but at the same time, he maintained contact with fellow painters and artists in China. After the Japanese surrendered, he joined an artist group called Boài Phong Hoaï Xã ( ), which was based in Hong Kong.Hecollaboratedwiththeminorganizing an exhibition of calligraphy and paintings of overseas Chinese in Vietnam, for the purpose of contributing to the national salvation fund to rebuild China. At this exhibition, the owner of Khaûi Sinh ( ), a factory which was making hats in Chôï Lôùn (Cholon ), bought a painting by Hùng entitled, Tiên Viên ñoà ( ). The purchase caused a big stir because the price was a hefty five thousand dollars. After this landmark achievement, Hùng continued to organize many other exhibitions showcasing his paintings on the southern provinces of Vietnam so that overseas Chinese might have the opportunity to contribute to their country of origin. Other than his achievements in painting, Hùng was well known for his carvings. Many H Southeast Asian Personalities of Chinese Descent: A Biographical Dictionary 311 contemporary artists such as Dung Caûnh Ðaïc ( ), Tröông Quýnh Sô ( ), and Löu Kinh Sôn ( ), who migrated from Guangzhou city to Chôï Lôùn had requested Hùng to carve their seals. Through these requests, he established personal friendships with them.In May 1960 the PacificAssociation of Freedom organized an exhibition in Saigon on the works of NgôTöû Thâm ( ), who was then known as one of the Four Great Artists of the Republic of China. While in Saigon,Thâm met Hùng and they had a very good exchange of views. And through that, they forged a good friendship despite their age differences. In 1966, at the Global Exhibition of Overseas Chinese Art organized in Taiwan, The Taipei Central Museum ( ) bought two of Hùng’s paintings. In 1971 the same museum organized a sculpture and seal-carving exhibition and again acquired two works by Hùng. Earlier in 1968, the magazine, Good Friends’ Pictorial, published in Hong Kong, introduced the seal carvings of Hùng, and published a brief biography of his artistic career as well.In 1974,to celebrate the sixtieth birthday of Hùng, his students collected all his seal carvings and published a book called Hà Lãn Hùng AÁn Phoå ( ) — the only publication on seal carvings that has emerged from Chôï Lôùn in fifty years...
OR
Buy This Book in Print