How are you? Are you enjoying your weekend now? I do hope you are.

It is the 6th week of my new term in Chinese National Academy of Arts.

This week, in our lesson, except I was touched by the famous artist Mr. Tian Yunpeng who has been teaching himself for more than 50 years and became one the most famous Chinese Gongbi Flower and Bird artists, I was so surprised for what I have seen with my own eyes -- instead of wearing glasses, at the age of 66, Mr. Tian could paint the thin lines on his Chinese Gongbi painting fast and easily.

Wow! My God. It is really the best eyesight that I have seen indeed. It is also the best inspiration news for me. If I protect my eyes carefully, maybe I can paint a Chinese Gongbi painting at a very old age ? :-)

Then, another thing that has touched me was: when my classmates are preparing to go to paint from the nature in the Taihang Mountains in Hebei Province according to the arrangement of the school in April, I have booked my tickets and I will fly back f Shenzhen to see my doctors and to paint from the nature in the warm south if I can.

My health has not been improved as my doctors and I wished. Sometimes, I wake up because of the stomachache; I feel difficult to stand up, sit down or crouch; plus the frequent edema on my hands and some deviant health index somewhere, I do not dare to take the risk since the price I went to paint from the nature in Shandong for 15 days last April was to go back Shenzhen to treat my sickness for 45 days. And the price to paint from the nature for 2 days in Beijing Arboretum was to be transfused in the hospital for 3 days last Oct.

Anywyam I still keep the confidence to fight and to overcome the sicknesses. Since I knew all my health problems come from the too much work, too less sleep and the irregular eating habit. Therefore, since March 12, I have had 8 breakfasts already ? I have not been eating breakfasts since I started to work in the newspaper office in 1993. So, I am learning to look after myself from correcting my bad life habit, even though it is a little difficult for me to eat 3 times one day, I am trying to do my best... : -)

Anyway, something I am most interested in CNAA not only the lessons, painting jobs, but also the work style that the professors and the tutors taught us, to do something more out of the classroom -- reading, thinking and writing.

It is helping my painting by osmosis day and day.

Since I came back Beijing Feb 12, in the 45 days, except attending lessons for 14 days, made note in English and it has been full one and a half notebook. Painted 19 paintings filled 5 Chinese poems into my own music, practise to sing them in Chinese and in English each week for 6 or 7 hours, every night, I read for 3 or 4 hours and I have re-written 5 Comments on Chinese classical poems in English.

Many times, for singing a poem for 2 or 3 minutes, I made the practice for 7 or 8 hours; for writing a sentence to introduce a poet, a background or a history event, I had to read few nights. Sometimes, I felt my heart could not stand the extremely tired so that I must lie down at once; sometimes, I was locked in the teaching building alone and I had to jump out of the window with the sharp ache on my legs in the deep night. However, I do feel that my mind is very clear and full of the inspirations from the reading and the studying.

The more I read, think, write or sing, the more have some new understanding about painting, the more I feel the extensive and profound of Chinese culture, the more I feel I have not really entered the gate of these arts, they do need me to study and to absorb for whole of my life.

I also find that even though so many Chinese seniors have done so much great work to study and to research Chinese cultures, there are still many subjects new and wait for us to study and to research.

For example, when I wrote the commons on the poem by Mr. Liu Yuxi ? Ting Zhu , except the original poem, I could not find any reference material to help me to explain it. One hand, my writing was more difficult, the other hand, I did have a huge space to develop myself. So, after working on it for all of the business nights this week, I do feel that I have had my own understanding about the poem, then my painting and music for it have had my own ideas inside.

Along with the work out of the classroom day and day, I have gotten more and more praise from my classmates, professors and tutors:

-- After seeing my assignments, Prof. Liu Xuanran who is the dean of the department commented my work with a quite positive words and he said that I do have much potential.

-- Mr. Wu Tong who is the associate dean and offered the most directions to me said that I have made so much progress;

-- Mr. Lu Wenqing who is my tutor on flower and bird painting said that I have done a good job and he told me that after learning to paint from the artists in Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1912) now, I can try to learn from the artists in Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) then in Yuan Dynasty (1279 - 1368) and Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) … step by step, go forward…. Also, except painting Xiyi painting, I should also go back to paint some Chinese Gongbi painting again, even though I have learned to paint from the Song Dynasty artists last term, because, Chinese Xieyi pursues the artistic conception and Chinese Gongbi pursues the detail…

With a grateful heart, I would really like to do my best to fight with the sickness and to learn as much as possible, to return my professors, tutors and the schools with my continuously effort on cross-culture and cross-art study, think and exploration.

How about you? Do you have anything special to share?

I am just a student on Art of Painting, Music, English and Management, 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 Inter-Art & Cross - Culture Exchange, Chinese Language Learning & Friendship Making. To help the others while to improve myself.

I would like to appreciate you for your understanding, directions, supports and help.

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, you are welcome to write to shirley@ebridge.cn or leave your message on Message Board.

Shirley Yiping Zhang
March 25, 2012(Chinese Time)