Road to Mastery

I was born into a family of intellec- tuals in Shiyan Town of northern Jiangsu Province. Influenced by my father， I became obsessed with illustrations in old books and paintings on porcelain in my family’s collection by the age of five. Elegant landscape and female figure paintings were especially seared into my brain. At 11， I started to sketch various seniors I saw on the street.

In 1979， I enrolled in Wuxi Institute of Arts and Technology to study clay sculpture. It was the first time I saw so many statues in my life： Venus， Busts of Michelangelo， Voltaire， the Head of Alexander the Great… Huishan clay， a raw material used to create figurines， was piled in a small courtyard outside the studio. This black clay is oily and soft. With a history of about 400 years， Huishan clay figurines made in Wuxi are one of the well-known folk crafts in China. The white plaster used to craft Western statues and black Huishan clay sharply contrast each other. I saw my destiny somewhere between the two sculpting materials.

My first class at the institute was a sketching course taught by Wu Kaicheng， a renowned Chinese painter. His concise but inspiring instructions as well as his proficient painting skills impressed me immediately. It was like bathing in the warm light of art. Mr. Wu stressed that an artist should depict real feelings about subjects rather than staying confined to any “certain patterns.”

A research trip to Suzhou with my class in the spring of 1980 remains fresh in my memory. In Suzhou， we visited two ancient painted sculptures in the city’s Dongshan Town to copy them. One was the painted statues of the Eighteen Arhats in Zijin Nunnery， which are said to be crafted by Lei Chao and his wife， both renowned folk sculptors of the Song Dynasty （960-1279）. The other was a screen wall and clay statues said to be created by Tang Dynasty （618-907） sculptor Yang Huizhi in Baosheng Temple of Luzhi Town. Those statues are all lifelike and infinitely charming. However， to whom their creation should be credited remains debatable. Whoever it was， the ancient sculpted masterpieces demonstrate the superb skills and subtle designs of masters who achieved integration of form and spirit. As precious cultural legacies left by ancient saints to later generations， they vitalized Chinese culture， helping it continue its inheritance and renewal from generation to generation. Ancient Chinese sculpture is an integral component of greater Chinese culture. It not only carries national spirit and collective wisdom， but also inspires creativity.

Also in 1980， celebrated artist Wu Guanzhong delivered a speech at our institute on the beauty of form， the relationship between craft and art， and how to find beauty in daily life. Renowned art scholar and educator Zhao Daoyi lectured on how young art students should maintain the right direction in life and explore the law of art. Famous sculptor and calligrapher Qian Shaowu expounded on the unique features of the works of Greek sculptor Phidias and Italian sculptor Michelangelo while tracking the aesthetic convergence between calligraphy and sculpture. All these experiences broadened our vision. Back then， my classmates and I knew little about Monet and Cezanne and had no clue as to the distance between an eager student and an art master， the internal connections between abstract Chinese calligraphy and realistic Western sculpture， or the relationship between clay figurines and the creativity pulse of our national culture. Nevertheless， the instruction of such art masters through both words and deeds still influenced us insistently.

During the two years I studied at Wuxi Institute of Arts and Technology， I learned not only from many art masters and famous folk artists but also from unknown craftsmen. To a large extent， the beauty of arts is embedded in the beauty of crafts. The techniques constantly inherited and enriched by generations of folk artisans and craftsmen transmit the unconscious wisdom of our nation.

Later， I attended university and then studied in Europe and the United States. Now， I have been teaching in universities for about 20 years and was nominated as a corresponding member of the French Academy of Fine Arts and a member of the Italian Academy of Arts. Many of my works have been displayed at prestigious museums and public spaces around the world. Nevertheless， I still consider my experience in Wuxi the fundamental source of my art. Like the crystal， tranquil water of Wuxi’s Huishan Spring， it constantly paves my road to pursuits of truth through art.