Depiction：
The creation of Conquering the Earth came as a temporary improvisation after the Domineering the World completed last year, during a prolonged period without a defined creative theme. At that time, while discussing about the upcoming projects with Mr. Wu in Taipei, without a preferred subject matter, I spontaneously proposed to create another piece related to the theme of Genghis Khan based on Domineering the World. Sometimes, a sudden whim can serve as an unexpected opportunity.
The imagery of Domineering the World is relatively static, portraying the scene of Genghis Khan rallying his troops before an expedition. Why not creating another painting to depict Genghis Khan leading the Mongolian cavalry in battle? This would complement the Domineering the World as a pair of twin works, one static and the other dynamic. At the same time, it would further enhance and deepen the historical theme of Genghis Khan. Naturally, Mr. Wu wholeheartedly supported this concept, thus paving the way for the continuing endeavors of large-scale oil painting in 2024.
Numerous figures, a grand battlefield, the clash of whistling weapons echoing, and one movement transited into another action. It is an arena where warriors embrace death without fear, where the tension of life force pushed to its absolute limit—swords glinting and blades flashing, an aura of bloodlust filling the air. The pounding war drums and the restless neighing steeds, battle flags whipping in the wind, and thousands of cities crushed in their wake. Standing in front of the canvas, it’s a totally immersive feeling—your heart ups and downs with the rhythm of the scene. You imagine, recreate, and weave together each fragment out of nothing, letting your thoughts soar freely into a boundless realm of imagination. You embrace the thrills of pushing the envelope and the overwhelming passions that creation bestows upon you.
In this artwork, a special attention must be given to the significance of horses. The atmosphere of battlefields cannot be fully realized without the thunderous charge of warhorses, nor without the commanding presence of brave warriors riding with the wild ferocity. One could say that warhorses serve as the spark that ignites the entire battlefield. Each horse is like a blazing flame, fueled by the fire of passion, driving the momentum of the scene to soaring heights; it’s a sharp arrow manifesting the tension to shatter barriers and to cut through thorns.
The entire creation process of a large-scale oil painting inevitably involves multiple adjustments, and the constant revisions become a routine. The fatigue and sluggishness would set in to the long-dragged process from time to time, and the picture occasionally seemed stiff or even clash (as seen in the image above). In the ten-meter-long canvas with numerous figures, Genghis Khan naturally takes center stage. Cladding in battle uniform on a white horse, exuding an air of heroic grandeur, he brandishes his sword in the air with unwavering composure. He should be prominent, but not isolated. Therefore, in designing the composition, I placed another warrior on the left side of the picture riding a white horse, also adorned with a mink tail, creating a distantly visual echo. This arrangement introduces another focal point on the left side of the horizontally extended painting. However, to avoid stealing the show, this secondary focal point remains subtle without diverting attention from the primary one. By the end, I shifted the mink tail from draping in the front to resting on the back, reducing its visual competition with the central figure, Genghis Khan. Additionally, the original white horse looked mediocre because of its rigid movements. I ultimately painted over it and reworked the composition, transforming the horse into one raising its head in a powerful neigh. This immediately enlivened the left side of the painting while enhancing the overall sense of momentum and cohesion.
Surely the deeds of Genghis Khan must be viewed within the grand context of history. From a modern perspective, we cannot cling to the hollow moralistic preaching or the hypocritical guilt tripping, but to re-examine his historical role and academic significance instead. The evolution of human society is a history of bloody wars, and the emergence of human civilization is a narrative of relentless struggle. Yet history allows no assumptions—every rise of a civilization is an opportunity granted by the era, and the transition of dynasties is an inevitable outcome of social transformation. Moreover, the destruction wrought by wars and the cultural integration among various ethnic groups, indirectly propelled the progress of human civilization within the specific historical contexts, although it is accompanied by bloody killings and even the destructive trampling of other civilizations.
It has to recognize his illustrious historical significance first before the decision to immortalize Genghis Khan, a once-in-a-generation hero; meanwhile, his bloody conquests must be viewed impartially and objectively. For sure that I must craft a dignified argument for him in a broader and inclusive perspective. Firstly, he was a groundbreaking hero, a prairie eagle rising up in adversity; he was also the immortal "Tengri" in the hearts of the Mongolians
