In 1999, the Southeast Asian Art Association of Singapore held a grand exhibition of calligraphy works and paintings in the city Museum of Suzhou in China. I displayed 6 of my paintings. The exhibition was a success and attracted many visitors. After the exhibition, we had cultural exchange meetings with Suzhou and neighbouring Yangzhou city painters.
While in Yangzhou, we also visited the former residence and garden of famous painter Shi Tao who lived during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Shi Tao’s human figure and landscape paintings are world-famous and command very high prices at auctions of famous ancient Chinese paintings. A more current famous painter Zhang Daqian is known to have copied many of his works to learn his technique.
The full given name of Shi Tao (1641- about 1718) was Zhu Ruoji. He was also known as “Monk of Bitter Gourd.” He was the grandson of the last Ming Dynasty Emperor. Soon after his birth, the Ming Dynasty collapsed. To escape the persecution of the Qing Dynasty rulers, he and his brother became monks under the arrangement of the Imperial Palace of the Ming Dynasty. His home, known as “Fragmented Stone Mountain House,” is a classical building surrounded by a garden built in the Ming Dynasty.
The garden is famous for its beautiful lake stones in varied shapes and sizes. The garden’s design is based on Shi Tao’s paintings of mountain scenery. The rockery is shaped like a three-dimensional mountain-scape painting. He stacked fragmented stones as the central mountain on top of two brick “stone houses.” The stone mountain is surrounded by water of a large pool, the main peak appears steep and majestic, while the minor peak is at the turning point in the southwest direction. There are two roads leading to the stone house, the west road crosses a stream, and the east road goes through a cave before entering the stone house.
A spectacle showing “Bright Moon Reflecting in the Water of the Pond” was cleverly created by drilling a hole at the most appropriate location of the artificial rocks of the mountain range in the garden. Depending on the time of the day and direction of sunlight you can see the reflected moon during the day in the shape of a new moon, half moon, or full moon. It is a fantastic view for visitors to enjoy.
I am pleased to share with you a large scrolled ink-color brush painting entitled “Shi Tao’s Former Residence” that I created after the visit. It features the house and garden where Shi Tao lived and created his paintings in his later years. Before entering the courtyard, there are rockeries with stones from Tai Lake and a patch of bamboo plants. There are four Chinese characters in “Fragmented Stone Mountain House” on the horizontal plaque above the door at the entrance gate. The mountains created by stacking rock fragments together and the view of “Moon in the Lake” are prominently shown in the painting.
Tan It Koon
Before retirement, Dr Tan It Koon was, among many appointments, Head of Clinical Biochemistry at SGH’s Dept of Pathology. He was the Deputy Chairman of the National Theatre Trust and Chairman for Grants and Scholarships of the Spore Cultural Foundation. He received the National Day Awards, PBM, and PPA, for his contribution to cultural and community development and excellence in Public Administration.
