How are you?

Time is flying. Since I wrote to you last time, 21 days have past. :-)

Several times, I wished to write, but, I didn’t. Because I had totally involved myself into my art study and creating.

Just like Mr. Wu Tong - Associate Head of Teaching Department of Chinese Painting School at Chinese National Academy of Arts' judgment, I have been having a strong creative impulse since the 5th class-year started.

Since I wrote to you last time, I have created 5 Chinese Xieyi Painting. Each of them is a single painting (97cm x 180cm - 38.18inches x 70.86inches ) and 4 of them can be combined to become a big painting (388 cm x 180cm - 152.75 inches x 70.86 inches), with 21 birds and many flowers.

Originally, I gave it a title: Peace, Happiness and Luck! Since I am preparing for my 5th art exhibition in MO, America in August or September, 2015. I wished to thank my sponsors and the local American people with my nice wishes to them.

So, I chose the pines, tree peonies, dove of peace and golden pheasant. Because in Chinese culture:

-- Pine means something long live, evergreen
-- The tree peonies means happy, rich and honored;
-- The doves means peaceful;
-- The golden pheasant means lucky.

Anyway, since this painting was painted for 18 days, when I painted the 4th part, an long-term idea ( to paint a big painting to match one of the Chinese Classical Painting Ode to the Tree Peonies by the Tang Dynasty (618-907) Poet Liu Yuxi ) jumped into my mind. And for creating a painting for this poem, I had painted from the nature in the Jingshan Part of Beijing, each day 6:00a.m. to 6:00 p.m. for 7 days in May, 2014.

So, I translated this poem and then I sent my translation to Britain and America. Two of my best friends who are native English speakers and my English teachers Mr. Mike Joyce and Mr. John David Lawson corrected my translation and sent it back to me at once.

Here is the poem:

庭前芍药妖无格 -- Ting qian shaoyao Yao Wu ge，
池上芙蕖净少情 -- Chi shang fu qu jing shao qing。
唯有牡丹真国色 -- Wei you mudan zhen guo se，
花开时节动京城 -- Hua kai shijie dong jingcheng。

Peonies in the front yard are pretty but have no character,
Lotuses in the pool are clean but have little sentiment.
Tree peonies are the only true national beauty,
They move the whole of the capital during their blossoming season.

Then I have not created a piece of music for it and I have not written any article for it yet. Because, I am thinking maybe I should paint another painting to match the first 3 parts of the big painting and to make this single painting to match this poem only. :- )

In case I do it, maybe I can complete 2 paintings with two styles. right? :- )

Except creating, I attended some lessons by 3 famous Chinese art Professors and went to an art exhibition:

Dec 1, 2014, Professor Pan Ying (she is on the 2nd and the 3rd photos) from Minzu University of China gave us a demonstration : How to paint a model and flowers with Chinese Mogu Painting Style.

Dec 3, 2014, Professor Zhou Zunsheng (he is on the 4th and 5th photos) from Beijing University gave us a lecture: Painting from the Nature and Creating.

Dec 4, 2014, Director of Chinese Artists Association – Mr. Cheng Zhenguo (he is on the 6th, 7th and 8th photos )gave us a demonstration: How to Paint a Chinese Landscape Painting.

Dec, 6, 2014, I went to an art exhibition of Professor Man Weiqi (he is on the first photo) – Deputy Dean of Chinese Painting School at Chinese National Academy of Arts and His Students ( my tutors).

At the same time, I keep working as a volunteer to write data and to organize the little musical English corner in my classroom. Since Nov 9, more than 35 person-times (the 4th and 5th groups of students on the last 3 photos), include more local people have taken part in it 6 times. We have learned 3 American Songs already:

Time by Glen Campbell
Memory by Trevor Nunn and Andrew Lloyd Webber
Beautiful Dreamer by Stephen Foster

Even though it was cold in Beijing and I could not remind people about the study because there is no the signals of cell phone and Internet connection has broken in my classroom, still there are some classmates and local people coming to me. Now, they have not only been able to read the lyrics by themselves, but also, they have been able to speak 3 or 4 sentences to introduce themselves base on their original level that could not speak any sentence at all.

Can you imagine? A classmate who is from the art school of a famous university told me: in the current Chinese universities, if an art students want to get his /her bachelor degree, they have to pass College English ( Band Two) Examination . He passed it and got his art degree, but, he never speak anything in English when he was in the university. So, this is the first time he opens his mouth to speak in English in the English corner.

I made a record for a girl and two young men when they read the lyrics of an American Song : Time, even though there are still some problems, after all, they have opened their mouths already. You can hit the link below to listen to it if you are interested in it. :-)

At the same time, still I have been keeping doing something for my classmates, usually, there are often 5 to 8 moveable hard disks in my drawers to wait for me to copy data into them. :- )

The good news:

-- After checking my art works, Professor Panying said: “ Your foundation is good, you just need to improve your ability to create big size painting. ” :- )

-- An Exhibition Planner connected me forwardly and she asked me whether I was interested in taking part in an art exhibition in her art gallery. This is the 4th time I got an opportunity to take part in an art exhibition in Beijing. Since I wanted to focus myself on my study while I wanted to develop myself overseas, I had given up these opportunities temporarily except taking part in 3 art exhibitions in Chinese National Academy of Arts 2012 - 2014 and one art exhibition in China Central Academy of Arts in 2011.

-- Professor Fang Zhulan from Renmin University of China has invited me to give a lecture in her university’s Innovation Forum in 2015, to talk about my cross and comprehensive art project.

-- Mr. Xu Yong from Pudong Region Government, Shanghai, has connected some fund company for me and he would like to give me a hand on my project.

-- Mrs. / Dr. Liu Juli who is the Party Secretary of Shenzhen Auditing Bureau and one of my best friends appointed with me to come to see me when she was in Beijing ( but for a traffic problem on the day and we missed the meeting).

With so many thanks, at the same time to improve my creative ability, I am going to keep working down to earth, to seek my dream that have helped and will help many people in the world. I am going to work on two lines: continue to combine Chinese painting, music and poetry together, to create a Cross-culture and Comprehensive Art, to help non-Chinese speakers to learn Chinese arts and language; Meanwhile, to combine Western music and poetry / lyrics (maybe picture in the future), to create a method to help non- English speakers to learn Western culture and English. To find and create a special way to deliver Chinese culture and Western culture each other.

Even though I am suffering the sickness almost every day (at this time I am writing, I can feel some ache in my belly); in my heart and mind, is full of the beautiful dreams, so that I have truly dreamed of teaching, creating and making some presentation for someone somewhere...

As a little potato or a piece of sand in the world, I do hope to give my little energy and limited life to the actual work and service for helping the civilization and the progress of human being.

Would you like to give me a hand in the process? For example, do you say At my English corner or In my English corner? There are two examples in my English dictionary, which one is right? Or both of them are right?

How about you? Do you have any thing special to share?