The Woodcut Prints of Zheng Kunsong, a deceased Christian artist, were exhibited at the Fuqing Art Museum in Fujian Province on March 20.
Zheng Kunsong, a native of Fuqing City, Fujian Province, was born in 1933 to an ordinary family in Yuxi Town, Fuqing City, Fujian Province. He began experimenting with woodcuts to express his life when he was in college. After graduating from the Department of Fine Arts and Wood at Fujian Normal University in 1957, he obeyed the state's assignment to teach in local schools in the mountainous area of Pinghe, where he was engaged in arts education. At that time, he was deeply moved by the rural life in the mountainous areas where laboring scenes were in full swing, which triggered his enthusiasm and inspiration to create many prints of its times.
Also a member of the Chinese Printmakers' Association and the Chinese Society for the Study of Tibetan Book Stamps, he was a director of the Fujian Provincial Artists' Association and the Fujian Provincial Art Education Research Association. Suffering from bronchial asthma for a long time, and as woodcut printmaking WAs a laborious task, he often insisted on teaching and creating prints despite his illness. In 1964, “Fruit Harvest” was selected for the National Art Exhibition in East China, and in 1984, “Tulou Welcomes Spring” participated in the printmaking exhibition in Fujian Province to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Lu Xun's birth. He is the author of articles such as “Art Classes Should Be Attached” and “A Brief Discussion on the Art of Tibetan Book Stamps”, and his works and articles were published in more than thirty newspapers and magazines nationwide, including “Fujian Education”, “Fujian Daily” and “Ta Kung Pao” in Hong Kong. He was one of the few prolific painters in the printmaking industry back then, and created over 300 woodcuts during his lifetime. Many of his works were published in newspapers such as Guangming Daily, Wenhui Daily, Fujian Daily and Hong Kong Ta Kung Pao, etc. He participated in many art exhibitions at various levels and won awards, and his deeds were compiled into the Famous Contemporary Artists of China.
Zheng Kunsong was my brother in the Lord, my teacher as well as a close friend and a colleague. He suffered from asthma and I was, in his words, his personal doctor. He was a devout Christian who said the Bible was the best book he had ever read in his life, and he insisted that the first book he would read every morning was the Bible on the desk by his bed. He said, “I suffer from asthma and it is God who gives me the strength to create”. He often had to inhale asthma medication at night, and after that, he would feel sleepless, so he gets up and creates prints. During his 30 years of work in Pinghe, Mr. Zheng had always been concerned about his hometown and relatives in Fuqing; he created a number of prints that are nostalgic for his hometown, such as “The Moon at the Home Village Is Exceptionally Brighter” and “Love of the Hometown”.
With love for his family, he insisted on sending five yuan out of his monthly salary of 20 yuan to his family to support his younger siblings after graduation. Whenever he returned home to Fuqing or wrote letters home after he got married, he would spread the gospel to his younger siblings, neighbors and friends. Zheng educated his children with the Bible's Romans 7:18 to be kind-hearted, exhorting them to rather suffer themselves than bully others.
As a teacher, he started up many art classes with hundreds of students, but he has never charged the students (or their parents) a single penny for training. Some rural students from difficult families took interest in painting; he bought and sent them papers and brushes so they can continue learning to paint, with many of them becoming well-known painters. He rested in the Lord's arms on August 24, 1987.
(Thanks to Zheng Kun Song's brother Zheng Kunhuai and his son Zheng Jilu for providing some photos and information.)
- Translated by Wylie Sun
3月20日，《郑昆松木刻版画作品展》在郑昆松先生的故乡福建省福清美术馆展出。
郑昆松先生是福建省福清市人，1933年出生在福建省福清市渔溪镇的一个普通家庭。郑昆松先生大学期间，就开始尝试用木刻表现生活。1957年从福建师范大学美木系毕业后，服从国家分配到山区的平和三中、一中任教，从事美术教育教学工作。同时，深入山区的农村生活，火热的劳动场面深深地打动了他，触发了他的创作热情和灵感，创作了许多富有时代感的版画作品。
郑昆松先生还是中国版画家协会会员、中国藏书票研究会会员、福建省美术家协会理事、福建省美术教育研究会理事。 郑先生长期身患支气管哮喘病，木刻版画是力气活，常抱病坚持教学和版画创作。1964年《水果丰收》入选全国美术展览会华东地区作品展，1984年《土楼迎春》参加福建省纪念鲁迅诞辰100周年版画展，著有《应该重视美术课》、《浅谈藏书票艺术》等文，作品与文章刊载于《福建教育》、《福建日报》、香港《大公报》等全国30多家报刊杂志。他是当年版画界少有的高产画家，一生创作了300余幅木刻作品，不少作品在《光明日报》《文汇报》《福建日报》及香港《大公报》等报刊发表，多次参加各级美展并获奖，事迹被编入《中国当代艺术家名人录》。
郑昆松是主内兄弟，也是我的老师、知心的朋友和同事，他身患哮喘，用他的话说，我是他的私人医生。他是一位虔诚的基督徒，他说《圣经》是他一生博览群书中最好的一本书，他坚持每天早上要看的第一本书就是床边案头上的《圣经》。他说：“我患哮喘病，是上帝给我创作力量……”。患病中夜里常要喷哮喘雾药，喷完以后，晚上睡不着觉，他就起床伏案刻版画创作。
郑先生在平和工作30年，时常牵挂福清故土和亲人，期间创作了一批怀念故乡的版画作品，如《月是故乡明》《故乡情》等。 郑昆松先生爱家人，刚毕业时，每月工资只有20多元，却坚持每月寄5元钱给家里，帮助弟弟妹妹成长。成家后每当回福清老家或写家书，都会给弟妹及邻居亲朋好友广传福音。
郑昆松老师以圣经的罗7：18”教育儿女，要他们心存善意，“宁愿自己吃亏一点，也不要欺负人家”。作为一名老师，他办很多美术班，学生好几百人，但他从没向学生（或家长）收过一分培训费，有的家庭困难农村学生喜欢画画，他就买纸笔送他，让他们继续学画，不少如今已成为知名画家。
郑昆松先生于1987年8月24日，安息主怀。
（感谢郑昆松弟弟郑昆槐、儿子郑季禄主内兄弟提供部分照片及资讯）
怀念主内弟兄版画家郑昆松先生
The Woodcut Prints of Zheng Kunsong, a deceased Christian artist, were exhibited at the Fuqing Art Museum in Fujian Province on March 20.
Zheng Kunsong, a native of Fuqing City, Fujian Province, was born in 1933 to an ordinary family in Yuxi Town, Fuqing City, Fujian Province. He began experimenting with woodcuts to express his life when he was in college. After graduating from the Department of Fine Arts and Wood at Fujian Normal University in 1957, he obeyed the state's assignment to teach in local schools in the mountainous area of Pinghe, where he was engaged in arts education. At that time, he was deeply moved by the rural life in the mountainous areas where laboring scenes were in full swing, which triggered his enthusiasm and inspiration to create many prints of its times.
Also a member of the Chinese Printmakers' Association and the Chinese Society for the Study of Tibetan Book Stamps, he was a director of the Fujian Provincial Artists' Association and the Fujian Provincial Art Education Research Association. Suffering from bronchial asthma for a long time, and as woodcut printmaking WAs a laborious task, he often insisted on teaching and creating prints despite his illness. In 1964, “Fruit Harvest” was selected for the National Art Exhibition in East China, and in 1984, “Tulou Welcomes Spring” participated in the printmaking exhibition in Fujian Province to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Lu Xun's birth. He is the author of articles such as “Art Classes Should Be Attached” and “A Brief Discussion on the Art of Tibetan Book Stamps”, and his works and articles were published in more than thirty newspapers and magazines nationwide, including “Fujian Education”, “Fujian Daily” and “Ta Kung Pao” in Hong Kong. He was one of the few prolific painters in the printmaking industry back then, and created over 300 woodcuts during his lifetime. Many of his works were published in newspapers such as Guangming Daily, Wenhui Daily, Fujian Daily and Hong Kong Ta Kung Pao, etc. He participated in many art exhibitions at various levels and won awards, and his deeds were compiled into the Famous Contemporary Artists of China.
Zheng Kunsong was my brother in the Lord, my teacher as well as a close friend and a colleague. He suffered from asthma and I was, in his words, his personal doctor. He was a devout Christian who said the Bible was the best book he had ever read in his life, and he insisted that the first book he would read every morning was the Bible on the desk by his bed. He said, “I suffer from asthma and it is God who gives me the strength to create”. He often had to inhale asthma medication at night, and after that, he would feel sleepless, so he gets up and creates prints. During his 30 years of work in Pinghe, Mr. Zheng had always been concerned about his hometown and relatives in Fuqing; he created a number of prints that are nostalgic for his hometown, such as “The Moon at the Home Village Is Exceptionally Brighter” and “Love of the Hometown”.
With love for his family, he insisted on sending five yuan out of his monthly salary of 20 yuan to his family to support his younger siblings after graduation. Whenever he returned home to Fuqing or wrote letters home after he got married, he would spread the gospel to his younger siblings, neighbors and friends. Zheng educated his children with the Bible's Romans 7:18 to be kind-hearted, exhorting them to rather suffer themselves than bully others.
As a teacher, he started up many art classes with hundreds of students, but he has never charged the students (or their parents) a single penny for training. Some rural students from difficult families took interest in painting; he bought and sent them papers and brushes so they can continue learning to paint, with many of them becoming well-known painters. He rested in the Lord's arms on August 24, 1987.
(Thanks to Zheng Kun Song's brother Zheng Kunhuai and his son Zheng Jilu for providing some photos and information.)
- Translated by Wylie Sun
Remembering Mr. Zheng Kunsong, Print Artist in the Lord
