A portrait of ancient poet Li Bai by French artist Jean Yves Simon. Photos by Jiang Dong / China Daily
A French artist, who has made Beijing his home, is captivated not only by the city and ordinary people in it but also by ancient Chinese poetry. Deng Zhangyu reports.
The second time French artist Jean Yves Simon met the Chinese woman who was to become his wife, in Paris in 1998, she read him a poem by Li Bai, a well-known ancient Chinese poet. Simon was instantly enchanted, and began his love affair with China, which he describes as, "a love story with a Chinese woman and Chinese poets".
At Simon's studio in Heiqiao, an art zone in Beijing, portraits of ancient Chinese poets such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi and Yang Wanli hang on the walls. In recent years, the oil painter has put more than 40 poets on canvas, placing the writers in landscapes they describe in their poems.
The 53-year-old usually begins his day by reading and reciting ancient Chinese poems, a habit he has continued for years. He has six ancient poetry books.
"Reading poems for me is as common as taking vitamins. These ancient poets are like my old friends. Their faces come to my mind when I paint," says Simon, adding that his favorite poets are Li Bai and Yang Wanli. The latter's poems about rain remind the artist of his hometown Brittany where it rains a lot.
An artwork by French artist Jean Yves Simon.
Sometimes, the painter sketches imaginary faces quickly and sometimes he spends days waiting for inspiration. He never plans in advance what he will paint but he is fond of letting his brushes take him to places beyond his imagination.
The philosophy of Simon's painting style matches his fascination with ancient Chinese philosophers Laozi and Zhuangzi, pioneers of Taoism who stress naturalness and spontaneity. Taoism is also Simon's life philosophy.
Simon visited China for the first time in 2000. Before he arrived he visualized a country of mountains and lakes everywhere, just like what he saw in traditional Chinese paintings and what he read in the ancient poems.
But the urban face of Beijing surprised him. He drew a self-portrait with his eyes and mouth wide open to show his shock.
A follower of Taoism that advocates change, Simon quickly settled into life in Beijing. He has traveled across China since then, and has discovered the landscapes described in the poems he loves, in different places in China.
He has traveled to more than eight provinces and has made many sketches, illustrating China's breathtaking scenery and fascinating people.
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