United States: Free Exhibition of Priceless Chinese Paintings in New York Exposes the Suffering of Falun Gong Practitioners

A special art exhibition entitled "Genuine Traditional Chinese Painting & Calligraphy by 19th & 20th Century Masters" was held from October 21st to 24th, 2004, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. A collection of priceless masterpieces was exhibited free of charge to the public. The exhibited artwork included masterpieces by Chinese traditional painters Wu Changshuo, Qi Baishi and Huang Binghong. There were also paintings by Chinese painters Xu Beihong, Zhang Daqian and Li Keran, who embraced western art forms. Scholarly painters such as Fu Baoshi and Pan Tianshou were also exhibitors.

About 1,000 visitors came to the exhibition in an endless steam every day, quietly lining up in the entrance corridor of the exhibition hall and waiting patiently for the opportunity to look at these rarely seen original artworks. Besides Chinese visitors, many artists, connoisseurs, renowned western and eastern scholars, and experts on traditional Chinese painting came to the exhibition.

On October 24th, Mr. Zeng Shanqing, an elderly man who had been a student of the renowned Chinese painter Xu Beihong, came to the exhibition. When he saw the painting "A Horse Looking Back" by Xu Beihong, he told the guide that this painting was one of the highest quality paintings by the artist during his lifetime.

Traditional Chinese painting focuses on conveying feelings or ideas. Whether a painter can produce, with a simple piece of rice paper and a bottle of ink, a refined and valuable artwork that transcends the worldly realm, depends not only on his skill and ability to express feeling with each stroke, but also on his moral standard and character.

The guide talks about the famous painter Mr. Qi Baishi and his granddaughter Qi Bingshu

During the tour, the guide told the audience about Qi Baishi, one of the most famous Chinese painters and a person of moral courage. He valued benevolence and righteousness. During the War of Resistance against Japan (1937-1945, World War II), he posted a note on his front door saying, "Qi Baishi is dead" to stop the Japanese and those who assisted the Japanese in the invasion of China from asking for his paintings. In a painting of a crab that was given to a Chinese assistant of the Japanese, he wrote, "See how long you can tyrannise." In another painting of a tumbler, he wrote the following poem:

"Wearing black gauze and holding a white fan,

but still acting as an overlord.

Never tumbling down as you are just a handful of mud.

Suddenly break you open,

and nowhere can I find a heart in you."

Xu Beihong, another famous Chinese painter, lived a simple and hard-working life from childhood. He was honest and upright and always respected others. He invited Qi Baishi to visit him three times and painted horses for him in exchange for letting Fu Baoshi pursue advanced painting studies in Japan. In the circle of painters, he was called "Bole," which refers to an ancient person extremely good at discovering winged steeds, now synonymous with people who are good at spotting others with talent. A master of painting, he had a reputation for chivalry and benevolence. Li Keran, a student of Mr. Qi Baishi, was renowned for his paintings of bulls. He valued a person's character. During the Cultural Revolution, he was regarded as a "reactionary authority" and imprisoned in a cowshed. Like many other intellectuals at that time, he was forced to raise livestock and was deprived of his right to do research or other intellectual work. In such difficult circumstances, he still tried his best to protect and help those less fortunate than he.

In a painting of shrimp by Qi Baishi (1864-1957), they are depicted so carefully and in such detail that the shrimp, not commonly the subject for a painting, appear alive and full of energy and vitality. The painting combines the fun of folk art and the refined tastes of scholars. In the painting "A Horse Looking Back" by Xu Beihong (1895-1953), the horse stops suddenly mid-gallop and listens quietly. The painting is bold and straightforward, with a harmonious mix of movement and stillness. The enthusiasm and liveliness of the alert steed were so perfectly expressed that we felt as if we could hear its breath. In the steep mountains painted by Fu Baoshi (1904-1965), a waterfall filled the picture with buoyant spirit. Four scholars in white gowns calmly view the scene with only their backs visible, creating a contrast of stillness and motion The bright waterfall is shown in the shadow of black mountains reaching as high as the sky and to depths unknown, to contrast large and small. Many people were struck by the painting and sighed in front of the work, "The sky is as high as seventy thousand feet, and I am less than seven feet tall. Who in the world could ever control his destiny?" Mr. Fu condensed this profound understanding into one small scroll.

Visitors write down their comments

A Chinese immigrant came out of the exhibition hall content yet concerned. She said, "I haven't seen such excellent Chinese paintings for so many years. It's such a rare luxury for the mind. Chinese people always talk about patriotism, but many of them don't know what the essence of Chinese civilisation is. The patriotic propaganda in China is no more than frantic politics which encourages ignorance and spiritual violence." She added, "An exhibition of such a high quality truly enriches people's minds and favourably influences people's sentiments. It validates the artistic concept and helps me understand why Chinese traditional artists all emphasise moral standards and moral courage."

There were more than 100 masterpieces by more than sixty of China's most influential and revolutionary artists from the end of the Qing Dynasty through the beginning of the Republic of China and up to the1960's. With limited space, only about 30 paintings could be displayed without the protection of thermostats or glass cabinets. Who would hold such an extraordinary painting exhibit and why?

The collectors of these genuine masterpieces are Ms Dai Meiling and her son Dai Dongni. We had a short interview with them outside the exhibition hall.

Reporters: Hello! Can you tell us why you held this exhibition?

Dongni: My mother, Ms Dai Meiling is more than 60 years old. She immigrated to Australia from Shanghai many years ago. In May 1997, she suddenly suffered from dermatasclerosis, a rare disease of the immune system. She was bedridden, and over the course of just a few months, we had to call the ambulance three times. The third time we sent her to the hospital, the doctor told me I should prepare for her death. While she was in the hospital, someone introduced Falun Gong to her, gave her a book entitled Zhuan Falun (or Turning Law Wheel) by Mr Li Hongzhi and recommended that she read it. She started to read this book in bed. Without realising it, she finished a few dozen pages and was pleasantly surprised to discover that she could stand up. From then on, studying Zhuan Falun and practising Falun Gong became part of both our lives. My mother's health continued to improve, and she obtained a whole new life.

Reporters: It's very rare for people to exhibit such a precious collection of authentic masterpieces by well-known painters for free.

Dongni: You're right. This collection is the result of painstaking efforts for generations in my family. After my mother recovered, she thought, "I did not have these precious collections at birth and I cannot not take them with me at death. If I hadn't practised Falun Gong, I would have died long ago." Since Falun Gong gave her a new life, she vowed not to keep these cultural treasures all to herself. She wanted to allow more people to be positively influenced by these cultural masterpieces and to help them understand the essence of our Chinese traditional culture.

Mr Qi Baishi's granddaughter Qi Bingshu is also a painter. She is already in her 70's. Because she practises Falun Gong, she is currently being persecuted in China. She was forced into Daliushu Mental Hospital. My mother felt that intellectuals like Ms Qi Bingshu should be respected and admired. "How could Dafa practitioners and intellectuals in the cultural circle be persecuted and devastated like this?" She decided to bring out our family collection for free exhibitions as a way to raise awareness and gain people's support in rescuing Ms Qi Bingshu.

Ms Qi also suffered from many illnesses before she began practising Falun Gong. She frequently had massive hemorrhaging. She was white as a ghost and stayed in bed unable to move. After she began practising Falun Gong, all her diseases were miraculously healed. What's wrong with her practising Falun Gong? During her illegal detention in the mental hospital, she managed to escape once. But her brother helped the mental hospital to recapture her. In order to avoid trouble, her son made no effort to rescue her. The persecution of Falun Gong has caused the morals in China to deteriorate to this degree.

Reporters: We heard that you had quite a few free exhibitions in Taiwan before coming to New York. Don't they have numerous art treasures in the Imperial Palace already?

Dongni: Yes. We had planned to hold only two exhibitions in Taiwan, but we ended up staying for seven months and held 21 exhibitions. Many people from the upper class came to the exhibition, including many well-known people from political circles. The chairmen of the fifty biggest companies in Taiwan all came. When we held the exhibition in Taipei, the Supreme Court had one day off and rented a sightseeing bus to bring their employees to the exhibition. Many schools also rented sightseeing buses and arranged for teachers and students to see the exhibition to enhance their understanding and appreciation of Chinese culture. When we held the exhibition in Kaohsiung City, Mr Wang Jin-pyng, president of the Legislative Yuan, flew from Taipei especially to see the exhibit.

In Taiwan, the highest local official came to the opening ceremony at every exhibition and gave a speech. Most officials condemned the persecution of Falun Gong in China in their speech. They said that they were deeply impressed by my mother's breadth of mind after cultivating Falun Gong.

Reporters: What's the current situation of Mr Qi Baishi's granddaughter?

Dongni: We haven't heard any updates since the report in mid-March 2001 on the Minghui website. We are all very concerned about her. Many people who came to the exhibition asked about how they could help rescue her after they viewed the paintings. Everyone wanted to help. The Chinese Communist Party has made persecution second nature. Afraid of international condemnation, they used all their human resources and spent vast amounts of the nation's finances to block all information about the persecution. Ms. Qi is already over 70 years old. She has lived through so much and now faces this ludicrous tragedy. We can only imagine how difficult her situation is.

The audience listening to Ms Qi Bingshu's experiences sighed. Some burst into tears. They all expressed their concern for Ms Qi's safety. Many accepted the rescue postcards and expressed their intention to help rescue Ms Qi.

Ms Zhao, one of the visitors to the exhibition, couldn't stop her tears. She said, "I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to view these valuable artworks by master artists. If I were in China, I couldn't possibly have seen this remarkable work. When I heard about Mr Qi Baishi's granddaughter, descendant of such a famous artist, suffering inhumane torture for cultivating Falun Gong, I couldn't believe my ears. We should protect the descendent's of such famous artists, not persecute them. I have heard of Falun Gong. Everyone should have the right to choose his or her belief."