典藏單位:國立中正紀念堂管理處

館藏編號:PT10101300

劉光磊

尺寸:189x80.3x5.1(含框)

劉光磊(1915-1992)，本名劉慎齋，字光磊，出生於山東省平陰縣，台灣墨梅畫家。祖父劉緒森處士為前清學者，自幼家學淵源，喜好文藝，後投身軍旅，畢業於中央陸軍官校第19期，轉戰於華北、華南等地。大陸淪陷後，隨軍隊來台，以中校位階退休，定居於台南市。閒暇從劉慎及蔣承贊學習國畫以自娛。除作畫外，亦兼習拳術養生，晨起練拳，飯後作畫，數十年如一日。
劉光磊於畫壇最為人所津津樂道者，為自創之「梅花太極拳圖」。拳圖共計38幅，將太極拳法融入梅花、書法創作之中，極具個人特色。拳圖中，以梅幹為身體，梅根為雙足，樹枝為雙手，每成一梅，即為一套拳法招式之展現。另創「梅花八德圖」，象徵忠、孝、仁、愛、信、義、和、平；以及「梅花字畫」八種，即為莊、敬、自、強、處、變、不、驚，強調民族氣節，並藉以激勵人心，反映戰後反共文藝之時代影響。
太極拳圖或梅德、梅字圖，悟自太極拳法，透過筆劃使轉、提按、頓挫，以及理氣運氣、拳腳挪移收放之過程，達到身心協調、人畫(拳)一如的境界。評者因稱為：「畫中有拳，拳中有畫」，在戰後畫梅諸家中，獨樹一格。其枯枝寒梅，形似孤高隱士；樹幹則紆曲迴環、蒼勁老辣，宛若扛鼎之力運行紙上；點點白梅綴生枝頭，其輕柔粉嫩之態，適成對比。(505字)

Liu Kuang-Lei (1915-1992), born Liu Shen-Chai, with the courtesy name Kuang-Lei, was a Taiwanese ink plum blossom painter from Pingyin County, Shandong Province. His grandfather, Liu Hsu-Sen, was a Qing-era scholar, and Liu grew up in a scholarly environment with a strong appreciation for literature and the arts. Later, he pursued a military career, graduating from the 19th class of the Central Military Academy, and served in various campaigns across North China and South China. After the fall of the mainland, he relocated to Taiwan with the military, retiring as a lieutenant colonel and settling in Tainan City. In his leisure time, he studied traditional Chinese painting under Liu Shen and Chiang Cheng-Tsan for personal enjoyment. Beyond painting, he also practiced martial arts for health, maintaining a disciplined routine of morning training and post-meal painting for decades.

Liu Kuang-Lei is best known in the art world for his self-developed “Plum Blossom Tai Chi Diagram,” a series of 38 paintings that ingeniously merge Tai Chi movements with plum blossom imagery and calligraphic artistry, showcasing his distinctive style. In these paintings, plum trunks form the body, roots represent the feet, and branches extend as hands, with each composition illustrating a specific Tai Chi movement. Additionally, he created the “Eight Virtues of Plum Blossom,” symbolizing loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, love, trust, righteousness, harmony, and peace. Another of his innovations was the “Plum Blossom Calligraphy Paintings,” featuring eight characters—“dignity, reverence, self-improvement, resilience, adaptability, composure, fortitude, and fearlessness”—which emphasized national integrity and served as an inspirational reflection of post-war anti-communist literary and artistic influences.

Whether through Tai Chi, Eight Virtues, or Calligraphy Paintings, Liu’s art was deeply rooted in Tai Chi principles. By incorporating techniques such as brushstrokes’ turns, lifts, pauses, and flows, as well as breath control, energy circulation, and dynamic balance, he achieved a seamless harmony between body and art, creating a fusion of painting and martial arts. Critics praised his work as “painting within Tai Chi, Tai Chi within painting.” Among post-war plum blossom painters, he developed a singular artistic identity. His depictions of withered branches and winter plums resembled reclusive scholars, while his twisting, rugged trunks exuded a vigorous strength akin to a pillar of resilience. The delicate white plum blossoms adorning the branches provided a striking contrast, soft yet vibrant in their refined elegance.