How are you? Have you had a good week and started a relaxed weekend? I do hope you have.

Can you imagine? This week, I have had a " girl student" who is 91 years old actually. :-)

Her name is Wang Yuzhen. She was a mathematics teacher at high school, an educator of universities and the mother of one of my best friends -- Mrs./ Dr. Liu Juli who is the Party Secretary of the Shenzhen Auditing Bureau.

As a filial daughter, every weekend, as soon as Dr. Liu Juli has time, she drives her mother to see the scenery and to visit friends. After inviting me to have a dinner, checking up my Chinese paintings and music, Mrs. Wang Yuzhen asked me to be her Chinese painting teacher. :-)

With a big smile, I offered her the first " lesson " -- to show her the best and the most classical works in the Song Dynasty （960-1279）, to show her the big American book that I bought from NYC after going to the art museums three times to find it and be punished much money at the airport for it was really too weight – Audubon’s Birds of America .

Do you know? Since I knew the name Audubon and looked his works first time from my first and deceased American art teacher -- Mr. Charlie K.in 2002, I have been feeling something similar or same between American and Chinese paintings. Really, I do feel the styles of expressing birds of Mr. Audubon and Chinese Goingbi Painting are quite similar, the difference is just the tools and materials.

Then I fixed 3 of drafts of Chinese Baimiao for her and gave her the assignments to paint each one 3 or 5 times with the work attitude to be responsible to every line since it is the basic skill to learn Chinese Gongbi painting; then I wrote down some notes about the tools, materials of Chinese Gongbi painting and how to use a Chinese brushes for her; sent her some brushes, paper... with so much respect to the elder lady, I sent her to their car in the moon light. I am sure, she will certainly do a good job since both of she and her daughter had the very good artistic sensitivity and they said when they looked at the Song Dynasty's paintings, they felt their hearts were getting cool and peaceful.

I am confident in myself to have the eldest student in China. :-)

The most important thing I did this week was: I have signed a contrast with a network company and entrusted it to upgrade my web site. My work partner Mr. Charlie Quanzhang will take charge of the work as the deputy for me during my absence. Whole of the upgraded work will last for 3 months.

It was not easy for me to make this decision, but, I guess I have made a right choice if I truly want to found a new career. After all, since I want to develop my project, I must have a platform; before I get investment, support or cooperator, I must found my own business model; In the other word, I must know what I want to do and to fix a model at the first.
To upgrade my web site is just to create a new platform and the channels between the target users and the producers. Then I can work with the others together and also I can work independently. The difference will be just the scope.

Base on the idea and for improving the work quality in my upcoming travel on the first land that I reached in USA years ago, to return the helpful professors, kind organizations, friendly local people and their children who are interested in Chinese art and culture, except I had bought Chinese brushes, this week, I have also sent 50 of my new books and DVDs; 200 pieces of Chinese painting paper (97cm x 180cm (38.18 inches x 70.86inches) and 68cm x 136cm ( 26.77inches x 53.54inches); 50 of albums of my new paintings to Springfield, MO, USA. Plus my kind "American Son" – Qiu Xiao had carried to the US in August, I will carry a few of them with me, there will be have about 70 books, DVDs , more than 60 albums, 210 pieces of Chinese paper and 60 Chinese brushes to help the local students who would come to my lessons in the near future...

Since the geographical distance is over 8,000miles ( more than 10,000 kilometers), you can imagine the post cost.

Looked at me itself living a simple life, knew I myself slept on the floor in the Chinese students' dorms for saving the living cost when I had my art exhibition at Missouri State University in 2010, and when I participated in the Kentucky World Language Conference in Lexington in 2011, and saw me paying the high postage without any hesitation for my free Chinese poetry lessons and Chinese painting lessons for those strange students in the other side of the Ocean, my cleaning lady and the clerks in the little post station near my home were surprised so that they could not help wondered Why I wanted to do a job no any benefit and what aim I wanted to reach?

Instead responding my cleaning lady directly, I played my music instrument and I sang a classical Chinese poems with I just created music in Chinese and in English for her. You cannot imagine, after I did one, she asked me to sing and to play another one. The especially interesting thing was, she did not know any English word at all, but she did not want me to stop the singing in English for she said she enjoyed listening to it...:-)

Since the clerk was young university students, I told them directly, I wanted to do things below:

1. To create a new subject in the field that Chinese as a foreign language. Its position should be similar with Daily Chinese, Travel Chinese or Chinese in Current Affairs, its name is Comprehensive Art Chinese. It should be a voiced, bilingual Chinese classical poems and painting series; a story series behind Chinese painting and music, and a general Chinese painting series. The last two series are the background of the first series, the Chinese poetry is the core of the first series. My book and the DVD is the summary of my study, think and exploration in the past for 12 years.

2. To endow the ancient traditional Chinese painting a new function -- to transmit Chinese traditional culture, art and language and to help non-Chinese to learn them naturally, easily and artistically in the Internet Times.

3. To create a special business model. It should have my own characters and it should be able to be copied and to be used in the different places in the world, just like Mcdonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken or Wal-Mart. To work follow a same model in the difference places. However, these business giants are working on helping and filling people's body and I am working on helping and filling people’s spirit.

As a little potato among the ten billion people, I am just like a little and new moon in the boundless sky in the last time of my life, at the beginning phase that I am studying, thinking and exploration. Sincerely, I am perfectly happy to work free for my target users, and I would really like to thank them for their time with me, even though this phase maybe last for many years.

I am sure, as long as what I am doing is helpful and meaningful, I will certainly find a road that belongs to me. I would certainly get more help and support from those people and organization far-sighted, and to create benefit for all of the work partners who have worked and would like to work with me.

After all, plant melons and get melons, sow beans and get beans, the God will certainly help those who help themselves. Right?

With this idea and a peaceful heart, this week, I have re-created two pieces of music for two Chinese classical poems and painted two paintings for the volume two of my cerise books. Until now, I have re-painted 50% of my paintings for the second book, and all of the articles and music have had drafts years ago.

With many hopes and expectations, I am going to find my English supporters and hope to carry back some more beautiful English translations of the Chinese poems, better articles or records in English; more suitable music for both of the art conception of Chinese poetry and the ears of my target users... :- )

Now, I would like to share a little poem, my singing practice and the article I have drafted with you via this letter, and hope you find that I have had a little progress, and hope to get your kind feedback... :-)

With an appreciated heart, this week, I have called the Dean of Chinese Painting School at Chinese National Academy of Arts – Prof. Man Weiqi, who is one of advisors of my book and DVD, to ask a leave sine the school will be started Sep 10, he has approved my leave and gave me some advice; I have sent a box of moon cakes to my father since the mid-autumn festival will come soon; I have also invited my first Chinese painting teacher -- Prof. Tao Hui, his wife and son to have a dinner and sent them my new book, DVD, album and the book that CNAA published for its students and me in 2013.

My teacher was so happy that he said he had a sense of accomplishment because of me as his student. This was the third time, he said, in case I choose to come back Shenzhen some day, he would like to help me to found a Chinese Painting Training Class and he was really confident in me indeed. :-)

I told him: no matter what would happen to me, he would be my teacher forever. Because, if there was no his teaching for 8 years, I would not have today's progress.

With the same idea, I am going to visit every professor and tutor in my upcoming travel in the US, to thank them for their good education to me face to face.

How about you? Do you have anything special to share?
I am just a student on Arts of Painting, Music, English and Management, to work on the web site in my free time. I would really like to do somethings with what I have learned to make this little web site to be an Electronic Bridge of Cross - Culture and Comprehensive Arts Exchange, Chinese Culture and 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
Sep 07, 2013