The year before last, when the editing work of the history book named Pinghe Christianity Gazetteer was about to be completed, Mr. Lu Yixin, an artist specializing in painting grapes, sent us his new work "Grapes of the World, the World of Grapes". It was published on the first page of the Pinghe Christianity Gazetteer.
As a native of Pinghe County, Fujian Province, Mr. Lu Yixin is a multi-talented painter, poet, and writer. His grape painting adopts a combination of Chinese and Western techniques, which results in a new ink painting method. At the same time, it initiates an aesthetic effect that is different from the traditional one but closer to that of the new era.
Lu said that in order to draw grapes well, he had read many books among which the Genesis in the Bible illustrated the most detailed legends about grapes. Grapes have existed for 60 million years in the world, with a history of more than 3,000 years in China. Therefore, it went without saying that grapes were wonderful. He attributed the grape spirit to the following three levels: First, grapes buried all bitterness in the ground, hanging all sweetness on the branches. This showed the importance of personal efforts, that is, no pain no gain. Second, an individual was like a single grape that was unremarkable, and only a large bunch of grapes could be eye-catching. This showed that each individual needed to be part of a group for its affection and warmth. Third, not flowers but fruits were what we should pursue. The times were impetuous that people needed flowers, applause, and spotlights for their value to be seen. However, 99.9% of grapes flowers were almost invisible in their growth, but they could bear fruits that benefited people.
On December 30, 2021, the international painting and short video theme exhibition, titled "See You in Beijing, Youth Winter Olympics" was held in the capital, Beijing. It was jointly sponsored by the Winter Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, the Press and Propaganda Department of the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee, and the China International Cultural Communication Center. The painter Mr. Lu was invited to attend the theme exhibition with a number of grape paintings. Among them, the four iconic works of "Community with a Shared Future for Mankind", "Great China Bearing Fruits", "Red Clouds like Silk Fiber at Sunset", and "Abundant Fruits like Golden Waves" have attracted extensive attention, becoming a highlight of the exhibition.
Lu, as an artist representative, was interviewed onsite by several official mainstream media such as People's Daily, Xinhua News Agency, CCTV, and Hong Kong Satellite TV. Appearing on the CCTV news program that night, he shared the grape spirit.
- Translated by Shuya Wang
