May 15, 2025
Editor’s Note:In 2025, the online art initiative Reimagining Eastern Aesthetics, underthe banner of its program “Art World Morning Bell” led by Yipeng Lin and drivenby young artists, has sparked sustained attention since its launch on NewYear’s Day. Leveraging new media platforms, the project showcases works and philosophies thatredefine contemporary interpretations of Eastern beauty.
Entering its second phase, the initiative will unfold through a series of dedicatedfeatures that comprehensively explore the creative universes of participating artists. These in-depth profiles will trace the trajectory of artistic conceptualization, maptheevolution of their creative explorations, and illuminate how their works embody bothpersonal spiritual essence and a resonance with the pulse of our era. By layeringindividual narratives with broader cultural dialogues, this multidimensionalpresentation not only offers a panoramic view of the artists’creative journeys butalso underscores how their practices respond to pressing questions of our time througha uniquely Eastern lens.
This series of features will be released in installments, inviting audiences to engagedeeply with the authentic core of art—where tradition and innovation, individualityand zeitgeist, converge. Stay tuned for this profound dialogue on artistic truth.
Doctor, freelance artist
Graduated from the School of Fine Arts at Nanjing Normal University under the mentorship of Professor Lin Yipeng.
Selected Exhibitions & Highlights:
• 2011 – Ink Sea and Crimson Ink, joint exhibition with Wu Guobao, Changzhou; Duan Yijian Chinese Painting Collection published
• 2012 – Resounding Brush and Ink, joint exhibition with Wu Guobao, Jiangsu Art Museum
• 2014 – Reversal of Fortune joint exhibition, Zhangjiagang; solo exhibition, Hefei Yaming Art Museum
• 2014–Present – Participated in the National Nine-City Art Exhibition tour
• 2017 – Contemporary Ink Triennial, Yanhuang Garden Art Museum, Beijing
• 2021 – Joint Exhibition of Teaching Achievements of Lin Yipeng and His Students, Nanjing Normal University Art Museum
• 2022 – Wan Bian – Seven-Person Modern Ink Exhibition, Zhangjiagang
By Duan Yijian
A child who loves to draw lives in a vast and boundless world. In that world, he is free, uninhibited, and supreme in his imagination. Whenever he feels the urge to create, he does so with complete freedom. When inspiration arrives, nothing can restrain him. He draws with his hands, his feet—spreading his vision across the floor and walls without hesitation. Immersed in the moment, he pays no mind to rules or boundaries. His drawings fill every corner, turning even blank walls into his private universe. Wild and fearless, this child creates with abandon—shouting, laughing, drawing—until the whole room becomes his canvas. Even in the cold, he draws until his forehead steams and sweat drips down his back.
This child possesses a powerful spirit. With a brush in hand, he is like Ma Liang wielding a magic pen. With ease, he conjures flowers and grasses, rare beasts and mythical beings. The universe answers to him; he summons and disperses humans, ghosts, and gods from all three realms. The wind rises, the clouds churn—whatever he imagines comes to life. His world pours from the tip of his brush, spilling over his clothes, staining his round face, and filling the air with wonder. His creations leap from the paper, burst beyond the frame, and soar skyward like blossoms cast by a fairy. Or they crash down in radiant bursts of color.
But as he grows older, this magical power is buried—hidden in a deep, bottomless place. He becomes obedient, cautious, like a timid little bird. Something in the world seems to make him afraid.
Picasso once said that by the age of eleven, he could draw like Raphael. But he spent the rest of his life trying to learn how to draw like a child. Not because he couldn’t, but because he no longer wanted to draw like Raphael. He admitted that it took him eighty years to regain that childlike freedom—to finally draw again with the innocence and brilliance of youth.
Drawing is magical. The kind of person you are shapes the pictures you create.
A child who loves to draw is truly happy. Mischievous and free, he draws whatever he wishes, whenever he wants.
This is the dream I still pursue.
May 6, 2025
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Planning | Diao Xiuhang
Text and images | Duan Yijian
Arrangement | Fang Yuchen
Translation | Ning Yao
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