Chinese Herald PEN column
Cangmang Mountain Pavilion Jin Ou
On September 6, 2024, on the 5th of the week, I got up at 6:30 in the morning and hurriedly drank a glass of milk, and took the train at 7 o'clock to the Waseda University International Conference Center in Tokyo to participate in the "2024 International Metaverse Conference" held there. In the morning conference, there was a keynote speech by Mr. Leng Jun, a famous contemporary Chinese oil painter.
In 2019, the Chinese art world set off an unprecedented storm, and an oil painting titled "Little Ginger Sweater" was sold for a staggering 70.15 million yuan, shocking the entire art circle. This painting was created by Mr. Leng Jun, an oil painter known for his hyperrealism, for a year. At that time, when I saw this oil painting, I was also amazed for a long time. Before Mr. Leng Jun's painting was auctioned, the number of likes on Douyin quickly exceeded one million.
Many people marvel at the lifelike details of the work, as if the model is ready to step out of the canvas at any moment. The whole work seems to be a high-precision enlarged photo, the little ginger in the painting has the gentle beauty of an oriental girl, the superb background and the use of light and shadow, the skin exudes a warm luster, the extremely detailed lines outline the dark and thick hair, the arm revealed between the seams of the sweater outlined by the wool line, looming, very moving.
This time, Mr. Leng Jun delivered a half-hour keynote speech, mainly talking about how to make artworks more vibrant and vibrant and highlight their personality in the AI era. At 11 o'clock, the conference began with a roundtable of art interviews, which was attended by 11 people, and I was among them. The moderator talked about the content and requirements of the speech, and emphasized that each person should speak for 5 minutes. In order, I was the 8th to speak, and when I finished speaking and looked at my watch, it was already 12:10, I hurriedly got up and wanted to leave, Ms. Zhao, the person in charge of the organizer, made a gesture in the audience to signal me not to leave, but I returned to my seat, but it was like a pin.
Originally, the "Jinou Art Institute 20th Anniversary Calligraphy and Seal Carving Exhibition" was being exhibited at the Tokyo Cultural Center. At 13 o'clock in the afternoon, Mr. Moriyama, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, wanted to visit the cultural center at the same time, and at the same time, Director Luo Yuquan of the Cultural Center specially informed me to go to the cultural center early to introduce the art academy and the cultural and artistic exchanges between China and Japan to Minister Moriyama, which is a great thing.
At half past 12, the interview finally ended, and Director Luo called me and asked "Where have you been"? I said, "I just finished attending the event at Waseda University, and I'm on my way to the cultural center, so I'll be there at about half past one." Director Luo hung up the phone after listening. I rushed to the station to catch the train, and thought: I hope that Minister Shengshan will get to the cultural center at night due to traffic jams on the road. At 13:35, I ran to the cultural center sweaty, and the students on duty immediately greeted me and said, "Teacher, Minister Sheng Shan left the cultural center 10 minutes ago, and he also wrote an inscription for the cultural center." After speaking, the student showed me the photos taken with his mobile phone, "undressing and pushing food".
This is a Chinese idiom that describes a person who cares deeply about and takes care of others, and does not hesitate to give their own clothes, food, etc. to those in need. This idiom is often used to describe the spirit of selfless dedication and helpfulness. It seems that Minister Sheng Shan still has a certain cultivation of Chinese classical culture. Seeing that I was sweaty, the student hurriedly brought a tissue and a drink, and said, "Teacher, you wipe your sweat and drink saliva." I said, "Did you drive here today"? The student said, "Yes." "You send me to the Japan-China Friendship Hall right away, where there is an opening ceremony of oil painters from Beijing at 14 o'clock, and I will go to cut the ribbon." The student looks at his watch and says, "Teacher, let's go." The journey was quite smooth, and I arrived at the hall at 14:10, and when I entered the venue, I saw that everyone was still chatting, and my heart was also steady. After the opening ceremony, I attended the symposium and dinner again before dragging my tired body home.
When I got home, I made a cup of Longjing tea, sat down and began to reflect on what I had done today.
I thought to myself: I gritted my teeth during the interview and left the venue, if I could meet Minister Shangshengshan and introduce him to the 20 years of running the Jinou Art Academy, then today's day would be very perfect. But then I thought about it: I left in the middle of the interview, and there was a person in the seat empty, and it didn't look good in the photo, and I was sorry for the organizers.
Yes, everything in life cannot go smoothly and perfectly, no matter how hard a person works, there will always be regrets or unsatisfactory points, this is providence. Life is full of unpredictable challenges and twists and turns. No matter what stage they are in, everyone will experience difficulties, failures, and setbacks, and will face various shortcomings in life, and need to accept and tolerate imperfections.
The wisdom of life lies in learning to accept those shortcomings that cannot be changed, to be tolerant of oneself and others, and to find balance in the imperfect reality. At this time, I suddenly remembered a couplet I often wrote for my friends: everything in life can be as you wish, and everything is only half satisfied.