Hong Yi (23 October 1880 – 13 October 1942; , or ''Hung Yit'' and ), born Li Shutong (李叔同 and 李漱筒) was a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

Buddhist monk, artist and art teacher. He also went by the names Wen Tao, Guang Hou, and Shu Tong, but was most commonly known by his Buddhist name, Hong Yi. He was a master painter, musician, dramatist, calligrapher, seal cutter, poet, and Buddhist monk.

Life

He was born in

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...

to a banking family originating in

Hongtong County Hongtong County () is a county in the southwest of Shanxi Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Linfen. The county spans an area of 1,494 square kilometers, and has a population of approximately 766,579 as ...

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

, that migrated to Tianjin in the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

, though his mother was from

Pinghu Pinghu is a county-level city in the east of Jiaxing's administrative area, in the northeast of Zhejiang Province, bordering Shanghai to the northeast. It sits next to the East China Sea and the north shore of Hangzhou Bay. Prior to the Ming ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiang ...

province. In 1898 Li moved to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

and joined the "Shanghai Painting and Calligraphy Association", and the "Shanghai Scholarly Society" while he was attending the

Nanyang Public School Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU; ) is a Public university, public research university in Shanghai, Shanghai, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Education of China ...

(later became

Jiaotong University Jiaotong University, Jiao Tong University or Chiao Tung University () may refer to: * Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China * Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, People's Republic of China * Southwest Jiaotong ...

). In 1905 Li went to Japan to study at Tokyo School of Fine Art in Ueno Park where he specialized in Western painting and music, and met a lover by the name of Yukiko who was to become his concubine. In 1910 Li returned to China and was appointed to Tianjin's Beiyang Advanced Industry School. The next year he was appointed as a music teacher in a girls' school in Shanghai. He went to

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

in 1912 and became a lecturer in the Zhejiang Secondary Normal College (now

Hangzhou Normal University Hangzhou Normal University (), or Hangzhou Teachers College, is a public university in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, China. Having merged with Hangzhou Education College and Hangzhou Medical Junior College, HNU comprises nine ca ...

). He taught not only Western painting and music but also art history. By 1915

Jiang Qian Jiang Qian (; 1876–1942), courtesy name Yiyuan (), art name Yangfu (), was an influential Chinese scholar and educator. Biography In his early years, Jiang studied at the Ziyang Academy in Huizhou, Anhui, and Wenzheng Academy in Nanjing. In ...

hired him as a teacher at Nanjing Higher Normal School (renamed in 1949 to

Nanjing University Nanjing University (NJU; ) is a national public research university in Nanjing, Jiangsu. It is a member of C9 League and a Class A Double First Class University designated by the Chinese central government. NJU has two main campuses: the Xianl ...

), where he taught painting and music. He also taught at Zhejiang Secondary Normal School (浙江兩級師範學堂), the predecessor of the famous

Hangzhou High School Hangzhou High School (), or Hanggao, established in 1899, is one of the most famous high schools in Southern China. It was the earliest-founded public high school in Zhejiang Province. Its history dates back to Yangzheng College founded by Lin ...

. During these later years, Li's reputation grew, as he became the first Chinese educator to use nude models in his painting classes, not to mention as the first teacher of Western music in China. Some of the students, like Singapore artist

Chen Wen Hsi Chen Wen Hsi (; 1906–1991) was a Chinese-born Singaporean artist, known for his avant-garde Chinese paintings. Early life and education Chen was born in Jieyang, Guangdong, China, and had his early education at Chen Li Primary School and St. ...

(陳文希）whom he personally groomed, went on to become accomplished masters of the arts in their later days. Li Shutong himself was also an accomplished composer and lyricist. Many of his compositions are still remembered and performed today. In 1916 refuge in the

Three Jewels In Buddhism, refuge or taking refuge refers to a religious practice, which often includes a prayer or recitation performed at the beginning of the day or of a practice session. Since the period of Early Buddhism until present time, all Theravada ...

of Buddhism. After spending another year there, Li began a new chapter in his life by choosing to be ordained as a monk, and thus began a holistic life dedicated to propagating Buddhism and its code of conduct. After becoming a monk he practised only calligraphy, developing a simple and unadorned, yet unique style, which was treasured by everyone who received a sample. He became known to all as Master Hong Yi. In 1942, Master Hong Yi died peacefully at the age of 61 in

Quanzhou Quanzhou, postal map romanization, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metrop ...

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

Province. Li is one of the three great poetic monks in the late Qing Dynasty.(others for

Su Manshu Su Manshu (, 1884–1918) was a Chinese writer, poet, painter, revolutionist, and translator. His original name was Su Xuanying (), Su had been named as a writer of poetry and romantic love stories in the history of early modern Chinese lit ...

, Shi Jingan).

Commemorations and Exhibitions

Beijing-based progressive-metal rock band the

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

recorded a rock-version of Master Hong Yi's famous romantic ballad, the ''Farewell song'' in their second album ''Epic''. A special 130th anniversary celebration of Master Hong Yi showcasing his calligraphy and painting works took place in 2010 in Shanghai, partly sponsored by the Pinghu Municipal Government, and attended by a granddaughter of Hong Yi.

Important works

;Publications *''A Graphical Explanation of the Bhikhhu's Precepts in Dharmagupta Vinaya'' (

: ''四分律比丘戒相表記'') *''The Guide to the Nanshan Vinaya for Lay Buddhists'' (

: ''南山律在家備覽'') ;Collections *''Happy Stones'' *''Li Shutong's Seals'' ;Articles *''How to Paint'' (

: ''圖畫修得法'') *''An Introduction to Watercolors '' (

: ''水彩畫法說略'') ;Lyrics *Song: '' Song Bie Ge'' (Farewell Song) (

: ''送别歌'') ;Music *Song: ''Childhood memories'' (

: ''憶兒時'') *Song: ''Song of Spring Sightseeing'' (

: ''春游曲'') *Song: ''Song of Three Jewels'' (Buddhist Refuge),

Taixu Taixu (Tai Hsu) (), (January 8, 1890 – March 17, 1947) was a Buddhist modernist, activist and thinker who advocated for a reformation and revival of Chinese Buddhism by drawing upon eclectic domestic and foreign sources and ideologies. Biogra ...

lyrics (

: '' :zh:三寶歌'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hong, Yi 1880 births 1942 deaths Qing dynasty painters Hangzhou High School alumni Qing dynasty Buddhist monks Republic of China musicians Republic of China Buddhist monks Painters from Tianjin Qing dynasty calligraphers Republic of China calligraphers Musicians from Tianjin 20th-century Chinese painters 19th-century Chinese people 20th-century Chinese people Buddhist artists Chinese music educators Chinese art educators Tokyo University of the Arts alumni Shanghai Jiao Tong University alumni 20th-century Buddhist monks

Life

Commemorations and Exhibitions

Important works

See also

References