How are you? I do hope that you are doing well and enjoying your new week.

Since I wrote to you 7 days ago, I have done so many things: worked as a volunteer teacher for about 20 elders at the Resident Community of Shuangqiou Road, Beijing; attended a class by Professor Man Weiqi - Executive Associate Dean of Chinese Painting School at Chinese National Academy of Arts; painted a picture from the nature; painted 14 small size paintings for the school in a team in a High Intensive Training, wrote a study summery over 3,000 Chinese characters and so on...

In the afternoon May 7, over a phone call, Mrs. Zhu Pei (shi is on the 3rd photo)-- the Class Adviser of the Art Class of the Resident Community of Shuangqiu Road and I confirmed to give them the first class at 9:00a.m. May 9. Then on May 8, after the class by Professor Man Weiqi, I was informed to work as one of the members of the team consisted of about 20 graduates from previous 7 class years and 2013 class year, to paint some albums of paintings for the school again.

It was full of the appreciations to the school in my heart and I had a good reason to give up the volunteer job, since I would not make any coin from the job, but I would pay the expensive cost of taxi, while to miss a part of my school assignments that would be paid according to the workload.

However, instead of giving up the volunteer job, I got up at 5:30a.m., started off at 7:00 a.m. May 9 and reached Shuangqiu Road at 8:00a.m. I was there ahead for 1 hour because it was impossible for me to catch a taxi around the school in the new area, and it was also impossible for me to catch the subway that is far away and to transfer with many things at the rush hours. I was lucky enough for I had found a taxi driver who lives in the same building, but he leaves for work at 7:00 a.m. every morning.

Aim at all of my Chinese students ( except Mrs. Zhao Chunlan(she is on the 6th, 7th and 8th photos on the left) who met me in Jingshan Park, and had her first painting from the nature April 27, 2014 ) had no any experience of painting from the nature even though they had learned painting for 2 semesters, after sharing my understanding about Chinese painting with pictures, music, singing and reading Chinese poems with them together, I taught them to paint from the nature and to share the comments (where is good and where is bad) of my professors on my own paintings from the nature, since I had found so many flowers by the river in a park and on the fences by the roads near their classroom. Since they are retired elders, to paint from the nature, not only can help them to learn some new skills that each Chinese painting learner must learn and master, but also, they can enjoy the beauty of the nature, to improve their sensitivity to beauty and their health level in the process to go into the great nature. :- )

It seemed like “ the mind acts upon mind ”, before we went out of the classroom. Mrs. Dong Xiuyun (she is on the 1st, 2nd and 7th and 8th photo on the right)another new student who had met me in the Jingshan Park April 27 walked into the classroom with some Chinese Roses -- the City Flower of Beijing that she had picked up from her own flower garden. They would like to welcome me with the beautiful flowers, while they wanted to paint in the classroom first time since there was no much time in the first class and many of them were shy to paint in the public occasion at once. :- )

That would be fine, then we did and finished the first class with cheerful chatting and laughing.

There were really many things touched my heart in my first teaching experience in Beijing indeed:

First of all, I do feel that elder people in Beijing have gotten so much good looking after by the government and the society. They are enjoying their retired life with so healthy style and so many meaningful and wonderful events.

-- In the short time by the Shuangqiu Road from 8:00a.m. to 1:30p.m. May 9, I saw a lot of elder people doing exercises in the beautiful park. They were in the sport dresses, jogged, did physical jerks together in the park.

When I met Mrs. Zhao Chunlan at about 8:20a.m., she was running and people said, every morning, they see her running outside. Also, since we met April 27 first time, she has been keeping painting from the nature...When I checked her new job in the park, another lady asked us where she can learn painting free? :- )

-- There is a specially single building for the elder near the park, and there are classrooms and many offices service for them, include Dancing, Painting, Singing and so on...

-- From their smiling faces, I did feel their happy and delight inside.

Secondly, I do feel the local Beijing people and grass root organizations respect knowledge, education and work on the spiritual civilization so much:

-- Before I started my first lesson, Mr. Jin (he is on the 3rd photo) -- Chairman of the Painting and Calligraphy Association of the Resident Community of Shuangqiu Road came to the classroom, to welcome me and to announce some news: They would like to take part in some cultural and artistic event that was organized by Chaoyang District, Beijing. They encourage the students to join it and the Resident Community would like to reward the winners.

-- When my students were painting, Ms. Li Jiuan (she is on the 4th photo) -Director of Culture and Art Office of the Resident Community of Shuangqiu Road came to the classroom to welcome me and to thank what I have done for their residents.

-- After the class, Mrs. Zhao Chunlan kept inviting me to go to her home to have a lunch. You cannot imagine how many dishes her husband had prepared for us: 10 native Beijing dishes and 3 staple foods :- ) Even though I was born in Beijing, this was the first time, I touched the so special Beijing food in a family. :- )

Thirdly, I did feel: to help the others, was just to help myself.

-- Before I went out of the classroom, Ms. Zeng Qiang (she is on the left on the first photo) who works in a college in Beijing told me that she really thought what I have done to combine traditional Chinese painting and modern Chinese language together, to work from the core of the Chinese painting – poetry, and extend it into the field that Chinese as a foreign language via the help of music, picture, translation, articles and talking, singing and reading face to face is really a wonderful method to teach non-Chinese speakers to learn Chinese language in enjoying the multi-media arts naturally. So, she would like to connect the international department of her College, to see whether I can offer some classes for the students abroad in her school in Beijing.

How a lucky Chinese art student I am!

With so many appreciations to the enthusiastic Beijing people and my Alma Maters -- Chinese National Academy of Arts and China Central Academy of Fine Arts, as soon as I came back to the school, I involved myself into the painting jobs and completed 14 paintings until noon, May 12, 2014.

The good news: within the same time, I painted 7 paintings last time; but this time, I painted 14.

Do you know why? This time, when I worked on the 2nd painting, Mr. Lu Wenqing – My tutor of flower and bird painting asked me: “ Can you give up the process to make a draft and to draw with your brush directly? ” I said, yes, I could (in fact, I had done that before I came to Beijing). But I did not dare because the material was really too good and each album of paintings includes 12 pictures by 12 people, I was afraid of my painting would destroy whole of the album in case I painted a wrong brush, until next afternoon, May 10, I decided to follow the direction of my tutor. Then, I painted another 10 of the 14 paintings directly.

I was so tired during the time, beacuse I knew I worked slower than the others, therefore, I walked into the classroom at 8:00a.m. or earlier, and left for home at about 10:45p.m., even I did not dare to speak when I just started to paint with the brushes directly, so that I told my classmates: If I did not respond your words, I was working on my painting, please not feel bad for it. :-) Anyway, in case I finished a new painting, my heart was full of the happiness and appreciations, my painting skill was improved quickly in the High Intensive Training naturally.

To be honest, the more I study here, the more I feel the teaching style of Chinese National Academy of Arts is wonderful: It does not only lead us to learn from the tradition and the nature in the classroom and out of the door, but also, base on it, CNAA has offered us some so uncommon opportunities to service the society directly, just in the quite strong and tight High Intensive Trainings, we can learn from those excellent schoolfellows, see our own weaknesses, our painting skills and the understanding about Chinese paintings were improved quickly and naturally. At the same time, we have been trained to be a specially strong, friendly team. In this team, I have felt so much warmness, friendship, respect and strong academic atmosphere, I can learn something new every day.

Maybe just for this, I can keep studying here for 3 years as a student who lives in a quite hard student life (there is no TV, no refrigerator, no washing machine and no hot water in the kitchen) in Beijing. :-)

As soon as we finished the job to paint, we were asked to filled some forms and to summary our study in CNAA.

Instead of summarizing the study in 2013 class year with more than 300 Chinese characters as the school asked, I summarized my study 2011 – 2014 in Chinese National Academy of Arts with more than 3,000 Chinese characters, and copied about 1,000 characters into my student registration form. I would really like to remember what I have learned, who have helped me, what the weaknesses I have had, what is my effort goals in the future 3 years.

The gratifying news: I got a lovely greeting on Mother’s Day from my son from far away Australia when I worked on my 11st or 12nd painting.

Even though there are only 10 days before I walk into the National English Examination Room and I have no time to study English yet. I am not in a hurry. Because, I have tested myself with the model / former exam papers 7 times and I passed all of them even though the marks were not high.

Though a lot of people include my tutor Mr. Lu Wenqing advised me to work on the English examination with 100% of my time. I did not, I would never give up anything I wanted to learn in the Chinese painting field. Since I am now in Beijing, my priority choice is to learn Chinese painting. After all, my project is base on Chinese Painting, I must do my best to learn it as much as possible in the best studying environment. In case I am fail in the English Examination, I will improve it in my international travel, and I will certainly pass the English Examination in 2015. I am sure about it.

Do you think I am too foolish on the option?

How about you, do you have anything special to share?
Sincerely,


Shirley Yiping Zhang
May 14, 2014 (Beijing Time)