Teacher Gu Shengyue whom I respect

　　 My respected teacher Gu Shengyue passed away on September 15 at the age of 85.
Mr. Gu was born in Shenjiamen, Zhoushan, and his ancestral home is Ningbo Daqi. He is one of the pioneers of Zhejiang School of figure painting. He has been engaged in art teaching and creation throughout his life. He was the dean of the Chinese Painting Department of Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts for ten years. He is humble and noble in style. Senior professor.
　　 When I was in middle school, I was copying teacher Gu's sketches. I graduated from the art class that year and didn't take a job as an art major. Instead, I majored in electrical measurement technology. Then for 35 years, my amateur has been working hard on sketching and Chinese figure painting. Because of my preference for sketching, I admire the painting master Gu Shengyue, because his simple, dignified, high-simplified and atmospheric meticulous figure paintings and his refined sketches with both form and spirit bring us wonderful visual art enjoyment. It is always me. A model of learning.
　　 In the spring of 2004, I missed the opportunity to get close to Mr. and report my work to him and get comprehensive guidance. At that time, my mother, who was in Hangzhou, went with her old classmate Chen to visit Teacher Gu and his mother's home. My mother called me and said that Teacher Gu was hard and in good spirits, and she was still taking care of his wife who was wheelchair-bound for years. And I was busy with business, and failed to rush to visit Teacher Gu's home in Hangzhou. Over the years, the harder I have been in sketching, the more regretful I have left.
　　 On October 26, two years ago, at the opening ceremony of the "Teachers and Distinctions: Pan Tianshou Student Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition" at Ningbo Art Museum, I was overjoyed to meet the ribbon-cutting guest teacher Gu Shengyue. As a disciple of Mr. Pan, Mr. Gu brought his works such as sketches of charcoal characters from that year to the exhibition. I learned from the accompanying babysitter that the 83-year-old Gu came to Ningbo from Hangzhou by bus with the group. His wife has passed away for several years. Because the children are overseas, living alone makes her husband feel lonely and painful. Not easy. This made me feel more compassionate for Teacher Gu, so that I stammered when talking to the elderly about my mother and Aunt Chen going to his house. But the old man had a clear consciousness, remembered that, and asked about the current situation of Aunt Chen and her family, but I couldn't answer more. After the visit, with the help of the nanny, I realized my dream of taking a photo with Teacher Gu.
　　 Now Mr. is gone, but his superb sketches and meticulous figure paintings have become national art treasures and have been preserved. Seeing these works, I feel that my husband’s life is continuing and still inspiring everyone to move forward.

Picture 1. On October 26, 2010, at the opening ceremony of the "Teacher and Distinguished Path: Pan Tianshou Student Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition" at Ningbo Art Museum, Mr. Gu Shengyue's photo as a ribbon-cutting guest (the one in the middle);

Figure 2. A group photo of Mr. Gu Shengyue (middle), Mr. Wang Lihua (right) and the author (left) at Ningbo Art Museum.