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Calligrapher and painter Wang Fei

Calligrapher and painter Wang Fei
Personal Profile
 Holding the Steel Pen to Depict Life, Inscribing Legends of Past and Present —A Profile of Contemporary Female Artist Wang Fei, Master of Both Calligraphy and Painting          Wang Fei, female, styled Xianjing, pseudonym Xiuxin, a native of Hangzhou and a member of the Communist Party of China, is currently a National First-Class Artist in both painting and calligraphy. She serves as Vice President and Secretary-General of Jiangnan Hanlin Academy of Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting, General Manager of Hangzhou Banding Cultural Innovation Co., Ltd., and Director of Extracurricular Expansion in Hangzhou. Formerly a psychological counselor and having worked as a teacher for ten years, she remains youthful in appearance despite nearing middle age. Proficient in calligraphy, painting, and fluent English, her work has been widely reported by numerous media outlets including Artists Encyclopedia, Calligraphy & Painting Headlines, Toutiao, Sohu.com, Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Network, Yimeng Calligraphy and Painting, Dongfang Jindian Headlines, Yuantong Art Forum, International Watercolor Online, People's Artist Network, and Ziyu Xuan Academy. She has been honored as a "Red Artist of the New Era," "One of the Nation’s Top 100 Outstanding Calligraphers and Painters," "Renowned Calligrapher and Painter of the New Era," "Elite Figure in Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting," "Outstanding Master of Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting," "Chosen Artistic Figure Promoting the Charm of China," "Chinese Art Master Featured on World Stamps," and "Influential Figure in Chinese Calligraphy and Painting." From childhood, Wang Fei was inspired by her family and teachers, developing a deep love for calligraphy and painting. Through persistent practice, continuous reflection, and active exchange with nature and society, the true, good, and beautiful elements of humanity and nature have converged and surged within her heart. She has had the privilege of studying under two highly influential mentors. One is Mr. Ouyang Guoan, a council member of the China Calligraphers Association, under whom she specialized in Ouyang-style regular script. The other is none other than Mr. Guo Hang, recognized as the first master of steel-pen landscape painting in China. Through years of dedicated study and artistic cultivation, Wang Fei has gradually developed her own unique artistic style. Her works in painting and calligraphy have repeatedly won international and national awards and have earned acclaim from senior artists and recognition from collectors. Ancient scholars believed that calligraphy and painting share the same origin and are inseparable, yet calligraphy is considered more difficult than painting. For an artist, achieving excellence in painting may not be overly challenging, and mastery in calligraphy may also be attainable through disciplined study. However, becoming an artist equally accomplished in both calligraphy and painting is no easy feat. Ms. Wang Fei stands out as a rare female talent in the art world who excels in both disciplines. With exceptional skill in both fields, she has become a leading figure in contemporary Chinese calligraphy and painting. In calligraphy, Ms. Wang Fei demonstrates mastery in both hard-tip (steel pen) and soft-tip (brush) techniques. Most renowned calligraphers are male, making female masters relatively rare. Wang Fei stands today as an outstanding and powerful female calligrapher. Her regular script is elegant and graceful, yet firm and brisk—captivating at first sight. Chinese painting enjoys worldwide reputation for its long history, remarkable achievements, and distinctive styles. As early as the Han Dynasty, mural bricks depicted scenes of forests, lotus ponds, buildings, and courtyards. Ancient artists deeply observed nature, thus achieving “measuring images to capture their truth” and “seeking the wondrous to create authenticity.” In their works, “secluded streams, winding paths reflected in water, bamboo fences, thatched cottages, broken bridges, and perilous footbridges” were portrayed with natural simplicity and rustic charm, creating vivid and emotionally compelling artistic images that surpassed real landscapes. Their ingenious composition and spiritual resonance established diverse personal styles. Learning painting should not be confined to a single school, but rather follow the principle of “embracing broadly, examining widely, and forming one’s own style.” Through sketching from life, artists use brush and ink to express genuine feelings, simplifying complexity and evolving from objective realism to subjective expression—a poetic transformation integrating personal sentiment into vast mountains and rivers. Thus enriched in spirit, her landscape themes are abundant and varied, producing beautiful and moving artistic conceptions. Historically, landscape painters were mostly officials, recluses, or scholarly monks—predominantly men. Meanwhile, figure and flower-bird paintings were often pursued by women. Viewing Wang Fei’s paintings, one is struck by their refined, fresh, and moist style. She excels in depicting poetic scenes such as “misty rivers and distant ravines, willow-lined creeks and fishing banks, sunny mists over cliffs, cold woods and secluded valleys, peach blossoms by streams and reed-covered villages”—scenes often beyond the reach of literati poets, imbued with deep lyrical emotion. Her depictions of winding streams, broken cliffs, rising peaks, shifting clouds, ancient temples hidden deep in mountains—all captivate viewers and earn high praise. Her brushwork triumphs in seeking density within sparseness. Seemingly simple strokes contain multiple layers of fine outlining and texturing, executed with loose yet expressive elegance. Texturing dominates over washes, revealing richness and depth even in dry, light, and restrained tones. Some small-scale works feature bold, sweeping strokes—free, unrestrained, with dry-brush effects yielding delicate beauty and delightful charm. Her sketches display mature, vigorous, wild, and unpretentious brushwork, creating richly atmospheric scenes—difficult to imagine created by a delicate and graceful young woman. Her profound love for traditional Chinese culture stems from her focused research, tranquil mindset, reverence for past masters, inner-driven creativity, and noble pursuit of virtue and artistry—refusing to fall behind others. Maintaining such a state of mind amidst modern distractions is truly precious. Traditional landscape painting emphasizes livability and wanderability—this embodies its philosophy. Chinese painting serves as a spiritual sanctuary. As ancients said: “The benevolent delight in mountains; the wise delight in waters.” Thus, landscape painting acquires added romance, offering an ideal space for spiritual journeying. Throughout history, renowned masterpieces each possess distinctive qualities recognized by the world. A good artwork must possess aesthetic and intellectual appeal, conveying beauty and spiritual joy desired by people. Beauty should move the heart; paintings should be elegant and pleasing to the eye, providing enjoyment while subtly educating—inspiring appreciation of beauty and moral goodness, conveying auspiciousness and blessings. In recent years, Wang Fei has embraced solitude and diligently cultivated her art. Pouring emotion into her brush, using her heart as ink and her soul as paper, she allows artistic spirit to dance at her fingertips. Most striking is the romantic aura in her work—rooted in life yet transcending it, evoking a mysterious sense of natural wonder. Creating a masterpiece is demanding—it sometimes costs not just sweat, but blood and soul. These artists awaken human aesthetic consciousness through life and passion, dedicating themselves to discovering and creating beauty. They offer viewers a sensuous world they perceive as beautiful, uniting heaven and man, object and self, expressing deep love for life and fervent pursuit of beauty through brush and ink. Her steel-pen landscape paintings emphasize grand vision and composition, without neglecting meticulous detail. The compositions are full and generous, layered and rich, with refined brushwork exuding clarity, serenity, romance, and harmony. Viewers feel immersed in the scene, enchanted by the vitality of her ink lines. She is also intellectually astute. Keeping pace with the times and rooted in cultural continuity, she fully embodies the profound principles of “learning from nature externally, attaining inspiration from the heart internally” and “adopting the highest models, yet having no fixed method.” “Learning from nature externally, attaining inspiration from the heart internally” means experiencing, sensing, and capturing creative insights from the real world, then subjectively shaping them through inner filtering. For years, she has tirelessly labored between external nature and internal inspiration, absorbing nourishment from nature, gathering from fertile life, and exploring the spiritual realm. The traditionally graceful Jiangnan water towns have nurtured within her a subtle blend of delicacy and solemn depth, using robust brushwork to convey the spiritual character and individual language of landscape painting. It is widely acknowledged that among Chinese painting genres, landscape is the most difficult—due to the abundance of great masters in tradition. As the saying goes: “Ten years lost in a dream of landscapes, only those within understand its mystery.” Reviewing Wang Fei’s steel-pen landscape works, viewers are often instantly captivated and refreshed. Beyond the visual beauty, this attraction arises largely because her passionate heart has become inseparable from mountains and waters. Her works touch the soul, achieving a natural, free, and elevated synthesis of formal beauty and artistic conception. Wang Fei advocates grand vision, grand aesthetics, and grand expression. She brings to perfection the ethereal spirit of white clouds and the majestic beauty of misty mountains. Contemplating her landscapes, one feels the infinite cosmos, the magic of white clouds, and the mighty vastness of nature—one senses surging passion and longing. Artistic height lies in insight, but beauty requires public recognition and affirmation. Wang Fei has achieved both. The landscapes she creates are spirits of beauty: graceful in posture, vibrant in character. They inspire imagination and hope. She offers viewers aesthetic pleasure and uplifts their spirits. Some say poets and painters are spiritually gifted sages who comprehend the mysteries of creation. Indeed, Wang Fei—a talented female artist skilled in both rugged northern scenery and delicate southern landscapes—is exactly such a person. Wang Fei’s steel-pen landscape paintings differ from traditional blank-space techniques. Nearly all her works achieve a sense of depth and ethereality, reflecting a sophisticated treatment of space, a dialogue and interaction with nature—or as Zhuangzi said, “exchanging spirits with heaven and earth”—a kind of inquiry, search, and reverent emotion. In her paintings, one sees poetic ripples like drifting mist—romantic and passionate. In her creative process, Wang Fei adheres to the principle of “daring to dream, striving to act,” gradually forming her own style. Her hundreds of recent works balance strength and gentleness, yin and yang. They exhibit the grandeur of masterful works by eminent artists, yet sparkle with the finesse of feminine craftsmanship. Majestic peaks and sweeping vistas coexist with intricate, lifelike details of flowers and leaves. Most of her works reflect her admiration and affection for her homeland’s landscapes. Art is not merely a technique, but a forging and elevation of inner growth. Perhaps due to years of uninterrupted ink-and-brush practice, she has cultivated a life attitude of simplicity and restraint. She cherishes every flower and blade of grass in nature, like an orchid emitting subtle fragrance—simple yet dignified. Her paintings are light, honest, fresh, and free. Each stroke expresses her unique understanding of art. In today’s era of national prosperity and cultural revival, we recognize art’s rightful place. Calmly re-examining traditional culture, we realize the profound depth and breadth of Chinese painting. Temporary pluralism and chaos are inevitable, but will gradually fade and clarify over time. Yet the landscapes that truly touch the soul are those brewed deep within the spirit. We sincerely hope Wang Fei continues advancing further, reading thousands of books to seek knowledge, traveling thousands of miles to learn from nature. May she remain humble, avoid pride and impatience, advance in both calligraphy and painting, and shine alongside her nation’s glory.
Award Record of Wang Fei’s Works:
1. Calligraphy work "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Poems" won the Silver Award at the 2018 "Hanmo Jiangnan" National Calligraphy and Painting Excellence Competition, and was collected by Zhejiang University of Technology in October 2018.
2. Painting "Fishing Joy on Autumn River" won the Bronze Award at the 1st "Hanmo Danqing" National Calligraphy and Painting Competition in November 2018, and was included in the competition’s anthology.
3. Calligraphy "Record of the Peach Blossom Spring" won the Gold Award at the 1st "Hanmo Danqing" National Calligraphy and Painting Competition in November 2018, and was included in the competition’s anthology.
4. Painting "Tea by the Stream" won the Special Gold Award at the 1st "Chadian Cup" National Fine Calligraphy and Painting Competition in November 2018, and was exhibited at Hangzhou West Lake Longjing Tea Museum and Jianggan District Dingqiao Neighborhood Love Service Center.
5. Calligraphy "Ode to Tea" won the Silver Award at the 1st "Chadian Cup" National Fine Calligraphy and Painting Competition in November 2018.
6. Painting "Buddha Ri Longchang Temple – Hall of Universal Penetration" was collected by Furi Temple in November 2018.
7. Painting "Spring River Reflecting Peaks" won the Professional Group Silver Award at the 3rd Renwen Cup Exhibition of Masters in Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting in December 2018.
8. Calligraphy "Record of the Peach Blossom Spring" won the Professional Group Silver Award at the 3rd Renwen Cup Exhibition of Masters in Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting in December 2018.
9. Work "Autumn Peaks Overlaid with Emerald" won the Silver Award at the 2nd "Dongfang Hong. Ode to Great Men" National Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting Competition in December 2018, and she was awarded the title of "New Era Red Artist."
10. Painting "Spring River Reflecting Peaks" won the Excellence Award at the 1st "Huayuan Cup" National Calligraphy and Painting Competition in December 2018.
11. Calligraphy "Record of the Peach Blossom Spring" won the Excellence Award at the 1st "Huayuan Cup" National Calligraphy and Painting Competition in December 2018.
12. Calligraphy "Heart Sutra of Prajna Paramita" and paintings "Tea by the Stream," "Deep Autumn Mountain Dwelling" were included in the special publication *Nostalgia for Hometown* anthology in December 2018.
13. Painting "Intoxicated Spring on Verdant Cliffs" won the Gold Award at the 2019 "Yingchun Cup" National Fine Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition in March 2019, and was displayed at the award ceremony in Shaoxing.
14. Painting "Intoxicated Spring on Verdant Cliffs" won the Gold Award at the 2019 "Art New Era" National Calligraphy and Painting Competition in April 2019, and was included in the competition’s anthology.
15. Painting "Traces of Zen at Lingyin" won Second Prize at the 8th China Folk Fine Calligraphy and Painting Competition in April 2019.
16. Painting "Echoing Spring in Hidden Valley" won the Gold Award at the 2019 "Yingcai Cup" National Art Exhibition for 100 Renowned Artists in May 2019, and she was awarded the title of "National Top 100 Outstanding Calligrapher and Painter 2019."
17. Calligraphy "Heart Sutra of Prajna Paramita" won the Silver Award at the 2019 "Yingcai Cup" National Art Exhibition for 100 Renowned Artists in May 2019, and she was awarded the title of "National Top 100 Outstanding Calligrapher and Painter 2019."
18. Painting "Autumn Mountain Waterfall" won the Gold Award at the 2nd "Lanting Art Award" National Calligraphy and Painting Competition in June 2019, and was included in the competition’s anthology.
19. Painting "Spring River Reflecting Beautiful Peaks" won the Gold Award at the 2019 "Ode to the Motherland" National Calligraphy and Painting Competition celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the PRC in July 2019, and she was awarded the title of "Renowned Calligrapher and Painter of the New Era 2019." The work was also included in the competition’s anthology.
20. Work "Listening to Clouds, Watching Rain" won the Gold Award in the Calligraphy Category at the 2019 "Chinese Descendants" National Fine Art, Calligraphy, and Poetry Competition in September 2019, and she was awarded the title of "Outstanding Master of Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting 2019." The work was included in the competition’s anthology.
21. Literary piece "Love" won the Gold Award in the Literature Category at the 2019 "Chinese Descendants" National Fine Art, Calligraphy, and Poetry Competition in September 2019, and she was awarded the title of "Outstanding Master of Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting 2019." The work was included in the competition’s anthology.
22. In November 2019, she was selected as a "Figure Promoting the Charm of China," featured as issue No. 1166 of "Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Masters" on Sohu.com.
23. In December 2019, as a "Chinese Art Master on World Stamps," she received a commemorative stamp album published globally by the United Nations World Foundation for Intangible Cultural Protection, American Philatelic Group China Art Foundation, European Philatelic Association, and Shanshui Danqing (Beijing) International Art Center, celebrating the 70th anniversary of the PRC.
24. Painting "Autumn Mountain Zen Temple" won the Gold Award in the Painting Category at the 2019 "Splendid China" National Calligraphy, Painting, and Photography Competition in December 2019, and she was awarded the title of "Influential Figure in Chinese Calligraphy and Painting 2019." The work was included in the competition’s anthology.
24. In February 2020, she was featured on Calligraphy & Painting Headlines.
25. In March 2020, painting "Pine and Maple Welcoming Geese" was successfully exhibited at the Hong Kong International Artists’ Calligraphy and Painting Competition.
26. In March 2020, painting "Pine Wind, Proud Bones" was successfully exhibited in the "Art Against Epidemic" themed exhibition jointly hosted by Beijing Contemporary Hanmo Cultural and Art Academy and New People's Art Network.
27. In March 2020, she was successfully selected into the public welfare event "Art Against Epidemic, Waiting for Flowers to Bloom"—Yandun Corner Haiyi Art Studio supports artists' creations.
28. In March 2020, she was featured by Yuantong Art Forum.
29. In April 2020, calligraphy "Epidemic Is Ruthless But Humanity Has Compassion" won the Silver Award in the Calligraphy Category at the 2020 "Great Love of China" National Calligraphy and Painting Competition for Fighting the Pandemic.
30. In April 2020, painting "Pine Wind, Proud Bones" won the Gold Award in the Painting Category at the 2020 "Great Love of China" National Calligraphy and Painting Competition for Fighting the Pandemic.
31. In June 2020, she was featured by Ziyu Xuan Academy of Calligraphy and Painting.
32. In July 2020, calligraphy "Maxim on Conduct: 'Make Friends with a Touch of Chivalry, Live with a Simple Heart'" won the Silver Award in the Calligraphy Category at the 1st "New Era of China" National Calligraphy and Painting Competition.
33. In July 2020, painting "Autumn Mountain Dwelling on Rocks" won the Gold Award in the Painting Category at the 1st "New Era of China" National Calligraphy and Painting Competition.
34. In July 2020, her works were authenticated in the Chinese Artwork Registration and Certification System.
35. Invited to participate in the publication of thematic stamps titled "Prosperous China, Inheriting Classics" by China Philately Promotion Center.





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