Hu Baocheng

    Hu Baocheng, styled Zhugen, owner of Zhugen Studio, was born in 1958 in Jiande City, Zhejiang Province. He is a member of Jiande Calligraphers Association, Jiande Artists Association, China Cadre Academy of Painting and Calligraphy, contracted painter with China Education Television's "Ink and Wash Danqing," member of the China Calligraphers Association, council member of the China Huaxia Ten Thousand Mile Journey Artists Association, guest professor at Beijing Jinghua Art College, academician and contracted artist of Beijing Xinhua Rongmei Painting and Calligraphy Institute (Executive Director, Director of Landscape Painting Creation Studio), research fellow at the China Artists Association Qiantanhu Creative Base and Xin'an Painting Academy, vice president and director of creation and development department at Jiande Xuyuan Painting and Calligraphy Institute. National First-Class Artist and professional painter.   During his middle school years, he received enlightenment and instruction from Mr. Zhang Jian of the Fine Arts Department of Tsinghua University, establishing a solid foundation in painting.   In 1985, he completed studies in the calligraphy and seal carving program at the Oriental Television Correspondence College of Fine Arts;         In 1991, he joined the Hebei Branch of the Contemporary Chinese Hard Pen Calligraphy Learning Society; later he received significant guidance from renowned landscape painter Li Ming, current dean of the Xin'an Painting Academy at the China Artists Association Qiantanhu Creative Base; renowned landscape painter Li Fu'an; Zhang Li, vice president of Beijing Jieziyuan Painting Academy and president of Beijing Jinghua Art College, a noted bird-and-flower painter; Mei Liqiong, member of Beijing Artists Association, vice president of Beijing Dachao Shengshi Painting and Calligraphy Institute, renowned calligrapher; and the president of Beijing Xinhua Rongmei Painting and Calligraphy Institute, ambassador of Chinese calligraphy and painting, and master of Chinese art dissemination. His calligraphy integrates the Confucian spirit of harmony, firmness, and courage, while also embodying the natural ease, tranquility, and comfort of Taoist thought. His brushwork is powerful, well-controlled, and vigorous.   In painting techniques, he emphasizes learning from nature, insisting on field sketching, studying ancient masters without being confined by them. Particularly during more than 30 years engaged in the design and creation of the folk art form known as the “bench dragon,” he has enriched his artistic philosophy and accumulated extensive experience in artistic expression and creation. Gradually, he has applied the essence of practical craft arts into traditional Chinese painting, achieving remarkable artistic accomplishments in freehand-style landscape and bird-and-flower paintings. His work "Flowers Blooming in Prosperity," a peony painting, praised for its freshness, elegance, richness, and grandeur, was recommended as a diplomatic national gift reference piece. Ten of his works in landscapes, flowers-and-birds, and calligraphy were selected for inclusion in the commemorative album issued to mark the 36th anniversary of Sino-U.S. diplomatic relations. In 2015, he was honored as one of the top ten annual painting and calligraphy figures of "China Good Brand." His artworks are widely loved and collected by art enthusiasts and individuals around the world.       In 1986, his cursive script calligraphy work "Moonlit Lotus Pond" won first prize at the Jiande City Calligraphy Exhibition;             In 2011, he received an Excellence Award at the first national "Ode to Hometown" painting and calligraphy competition, and his work was collected by the Cultural Industry Department of the China Folk Art Association and the Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Navigation Network;             In 2013, his bench dragon artwork won the Silver Award at the Zhejiang Provincial Dragon Dance Art Competition, earning high praise from peers nationwide.             In 2014, due to his outstanding contributions to promoting folk art, his bench dragon creation was specially interviewed by Zhejiang Television, Zhejiang Media Institute Journal, and Zhejiang Daily, nominated as part of Zhejiang’s intangible cultural heritage, and acclaimed as the "Number One Dragon in China."             In April 2016, his traditional Chinese paintings "Everlasting Flow" and "Lofty Mountains, Long Rivers" were selected for the International Masters' Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition at Beijing Xingguang Film and TV Park and won first prize. This year, some of his outstanding painting and calligraphy works were honored with inclusion in the special commemorative stamp album published by China Post to mark the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, establishing him as an influential figure in the national painting and calligraphy community.