How are you? Have you had a good weekend?


October 1 is China's National Day. All of the Chinese residents have a national holiday for 7 days since this day. The people who have to work in the holiday have a salary 3 times higher than usual and they will be able to have the same days’ holiday later.

Instead of having a travel to see my family members in China or abroad as usual, or to visit some famous historic and cultural sites in the crowded people, I went to see a doctor as soon as the last health result was offered. Then I chose to stay at home to read, to write, to paint and to sing; to enjoy a peaceful time after going over a hard time in the hospitals for about 50 days.

Some friends surprise my serenity in the bustled holiday and wanted to know why.

There are some reasons below:

-- The long-term art dream of painting, music, language and cross-cultural learning and exchange has helped me to live with a peaceful heart in most of my weekends and holidays for about 10 years, since I started to learn to translate my first series of books from English into Chinese in 2000 - It was published by Jinan (Guangzhou) University Press in 2002. After all, to make a dream to be true is a long process of learning, working and improving step by step; it is also a process to bear the alone and the silent transforming and improvement day and day. :-)

-- The continuous art learning and creating has brought me endless enjoyments with its special and quiet style. Every new idea, new correction, new found and new feeling has offered me so many inspirations on life, work and art itself. The more I have learned, the more I enjoy it.

This week, an American friend's good question -- What is the main characteristics of Hangzhou City, made me think of its big environment - the Jiangnan (The South of the Yangtze River)'s geographical feature; the geographical feature reminded me the rivers and the lakes in the area; the different water helped me think of the words of "Region of Rivers and Lakes". And the soft wind, the beautiful landscapes, the winding water and the green mountains in the area may be just the basic source of the special cultures of the South of the Yangtze River.

The thinking and recalling of Jiannan (the South of the Yangtze River), not only gave me some idea to write, but also, it “painted” some new pictures in my mind, so that I could not helping going to the biggest art book store and bought more than 10 art textbooks, to teach myself to paint some new paintings that relate to the houses and the villages in Jiangnan (the South of the Yangtze River).

During the process of the learning, painting and creating, I have some new feelings on the art expression form itself, too -- I did found that the pure color with Chinese Ink, can really create something beautiful specially indeed.

Sometimes, the simplest and purest thing is the most beautiful one.

-- To keep a dream stably as a mountain, to deal with the details flexibly as a river, to keep a grateful and satisfied heart to the others and this world while to pursue an ideal with a calm and realistic mind, is the precondition to meet the balance of our dream and the reality, to keep a peaceful and serene heart to live and work.

I am not satisfying with most of my art and music creations at all; I am satisfying with my current life and what I have gotten from this world.

I hope to get the support and help from the other people and the organizations as much as possible for I want my art- dream to be developed a great career, to service more people and to return the world; I have also prepared to work alone as a pure artist in case my ideas cannot be accepted.

I am going to hold my dream as a stone unhesitatingly; while I am going to deal with every thing as the water flexibly and softly. Do not worry about the fail and do not expect success too much. No matter what will happen in the future road, I am Shirley still - a student who is learning, thinking, creating and exploring something new and meaningful every day with a grateful, peaceful and serene heart in the noisy and the beautiful world.

How do you think of my idea? Do you agree with me? Are you living and working with a peaceful, grateful and serene heart?

I am just a learner on art of painting, music and English, to work on the web site in my free time. I would really like to do a few things with what I have learned to make this little web site to be an Electronic Bridge of Culture Exchange, Chinese Language Learning & Friendship making. To help the others while to improve myself.

I would like to appreciate your understanding, directions, supports and hope to get your friendly direction and help.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, you are welcome to write to shirley@ebridge.cn or shirley004@yahoo.com, or to publish your opinions in the forum.

Shirley Yiping Zhang
Sunday, Oct 2, 2010