Ge Tuken, Son of Arrow County 我的朋友格吐肯

Mr. Tuken Ge is of the Xibo Ethnic Minority. He was born in December, 1944 in the County of Chabuchaer （察布查尔）under the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang northwest of China. Chabuchaer means“Grain Silo” in Xibo Language.

In 1970 Mr. Ge pioneered the creation of calligraphy for both the Xibo Language and Manchurian Language based on his studies of the Chinese calligraphic strokes. In 1973 he further expanded the Xibo and Manchurian Calligraphy to include both Running and Cursive styles. By 1987 Mr. Ge added new styles labeled as “Pines” and “Clouds”. Together they are referred to as “Pine & Cloud Style” which was created to embody the rugged form of the pine trees and the fleeting spirit of the clouds in nature.

By mid-1990s, Mr. Tuken Ge made yet again milestone contributions to the Xibo/Manchurian Calligraphy by creating the Li Shu branch which manifested in the styles of “Tiger Force”, “Gentle Breeze”, “The Great Wall”, “Thunder and Lightning”, “Floating Clouds”, “Solitude”, etc. In the same period, he also created the “Zhuan Style” for the Xibo/Manchurian Calligraphic Art. His creative contributions to the field throughout the decade made him the most influential calligrapher for Xibo and Manchurian languages.

In 1999, Mr. Ge had a prolific year when he created the masterpieces in both Xibo and Manchurian entitled “Hundred Dragons” and “Hundred Tigers” respectively pushing the art form to the point of artistic perfection. His works in calligraphy and/or painting format have won many prestigious prizes in China and become the sought-after objects among art dealers and museum connoisseurs.

In 1996, Mr. Ge was bestowed the “Special Contribution Prize” by the Xinjiang Calligraphers’ Association which also named him “a member of highest merits for both personal integrity and artistic pursuit”. In 1989, “The Colllection of Ge Tuken’s Calligraphic Works: Perfect Combination of Chinese and Xibo” was published by the Xinjiang People’s Publishing House. In 1991, the German publisher Otto Harrassowitz featured Mr. Ge and “Tuken Ge’s Calligraphy” in its magazine called “Manchurian Time”. Mr. Ge is also an accomplished writer. In 1990 both his novel “Tears and Dewdrops” and his narrative epic “Wrath of Solitude” were published to good critical acclaim. In 1994, he completed his monumental work on “The Bilingual Dictionary of Chinese and Manchurian” which has become the standard for cross referencing and translation between the two languages.

Mr. Tuken Ge has been a member of the All-China Calligraphers’ Association since 1989. He has been a member of the Standing Committee under the Xinjiang Calligraphers’ Association since 1996.

For those who are interested in knowing more about this multilingual calligrapher, please click here: http://www.baozang.com/zt/getuwen/index.html

My Personal Encounter with the Artist:
For the WestLake Expos Fireworks Display, my wife and I took a special trip back to Hangzhou where we hosted my best friends the Zhang couple. When they arrived, they had brought along a new artist friend and his wife. He was Mr. Ge Tuken. Mr. Ge gave us a copy of the World Affairs Pictorial magazine featuring him as the frontcover artist. He took time to autograh it for us, a real honor!

The next day we went to his studio where he showed us his latest creations, calligraphical displays with unique combination of Chinese, Manchu and Xibo inscriptions. He then wrote out three pieces of calligraphy for us. His wife, being a member of Hui minority, cooked a special fried rice dish using an authentic Mongolian butter. The taste was fabulous and beyond description!

For this Christmas and New Year, we presented him with a bottle of 2003 Bordeaux French Red Wine for our gratitude!