Of all the painters in contemporary art circles, Han Meilin is one that never fails to surprise me every time we meet.
　　He can confound my mind with his originality one day and astonish me by transforming his studio into a fascinating visual landscape the next.
　　He changes constantly, recreates himself always. Everyday he bids farewell to yesterday. Everyday he creates new things. Incredible Inspiration visits him as if driven by some supernatural force. It arrives unexpectedly and beats all expectations. It amazes the artist no less than  others. On such occasions he will give me a call, eager to share the moment of joy with his friends. “Come to my studio and have a look at my new work. It's fantastic.” I cannot help expressing my admiration in front of his art. He will then say, “Believe it or not, this is just the prelude.”
　　This is most pleasing to my ear.
　　I sense a surge of irresistible creativity within the artist. Like an erupting volcano, his talent is bursting. What a beautiful moment for the artist himself!
　　II
　　How vast is Meilin's world? It's a mystery to me.
　　I have been following him with great interest for over two decades. I find myself both dazzled and lost. His world includes crude and heavy bronzes, smooth and glimmering porcelain, towering stone sculptures of tens or even hundreds of meters tall, postage stamps as light as feathers, traditional Chinese paintings full of grandeur and dynamism, and lines that grip the hearts of its viewers-lines that are at times forceful and rough, or graceful and flying, or gossamer thin. All images, patterns, means and materials are at his mercy. He uses them as he likes.
　　There is no boundary to his artistic world once his heart is set free. The earth may carry the whole human race, but a human heart encompasses the entire universe, particularly the heart of an artist, for Meilin imagines and creates with his heart. And more importantly, his heart is free.
　　The soul of Meilin's art is utterly free, unconstrained and boundless.
　　Help Meilin secure his heart's freedom and you may expect nothing but brilliance. Restrain him and you cast a shadow over his work. But that is near impossible: like the galloping horses under his brush, Meilin is unbridled.
　　III
　　Meilin baffles all critics.
　　This self-willed artist, whose interests soar, remains an elusive target for reviewers. His art is so rich in content and scope that it surpasses the ordinary critic's understanding. How can one expect mere critics to make any pertinent comment?
　　Diverse beauty from both Eastern and Western art and culture are found in all of Meilin's works. He absorbs the important achievements of art history into his soul: their patterns become the genes of his artistic being.
　　In my view, his art draws from three parts-ancient, modern and Chinese folk art.
　　Meilin fuses Chinese folk aesthetic and modern art without pandering to a Western aesthetic perspective. If he did, he would risk reducing Chinese folk art to rigid cultural symbols, even if they retain their cultural uniqueness. In Meilin's works, Chinese folk art, long past its heyday, finds its life extended in a most natural manner. Its gaudiness, crudeness and earthiness takes a leading role on the stage of modern art.
　　When we probe into the relationship between ancient and modern art in Meilin's works, we find no traces of famous Chinese painters such as Zhu Da and Shi Tao, or modern painters like Picasso and Dali. Yet we are impressed by the spirit of traditional Chinese painting that survives with a modern touch. Meilin rejects any aesthetic discourse that is elite or refers to the work of individual artists. In other words, he refuses to copy. Instead he goes to the sources of Chinese and Western culture for inspiration.
　　I have always thought that ancient and folk art naturally fuse because they arise from the wellsprings of art, they capture the fundamental nature of civilization. They express culture in its most simple and distinctive form, the very thing that we miss in our industrial culture with its machines and computers.
　　So we might say Meilin's art is modern and human. It embodies the soul of Chinese culture.
　　IV
　　Who are the heroes and heroines in Meilin's world?
　　Shut your eyes and you will see a stubborn bull, a wild horse, a clever deer, a crowing rooster, a tame sheep, or a rabbit or kitten so gentle they invite a caressing hand.
　　These animals are more than the subjects of Meilin's drawings. They serve to express his mood while he's painting. Stubbornness, perseverance and honesty in his character as well as his excitement, pleasure and tenderness all become vividly embodied in those lives he creates on paper. It's through his creatures that I read his mood. On the inauguration day of the building of my institute, Meilin brought me a huge painting. It was a galloping horse, big and muscular. One could feel its power; one would compare it to a steam engine. I said to Meilin, “With this vigor, you can live one hundred years!”
　　Everything in Meilin's artistic world speaks about his life. I know of no one else's works that can boast a similar liveliness. He might pick up a piece of shining funny earthenware and say to you, “Look at this cute boy! Doesn't he look smart!”or at another, “Oh, he's panting! Isn't he lovely!”
　　Life runs from the physical to the abstract in his work and from every line in his paintings to his unfathomable calligraphy.
　　Meilin is captivated by the countless characters seen on Han Dynasty bamboo slips, ancient potteries, rock paintings, stone carvings, and inscriptions on bones, tortoise shells, bronze bells and wine vessels, that remain untranslated to this day. These characters convey more than mysterious messages from the long past for him. They express the vigor and sentiments of our ancestors. Meilin reproduces those characters not out of aesthetic curiosity, even less for the purpose of tampering with human vision. Instead, he breathes life back into those remote symbols.
　　Actually, the characters in Meilin's artistic world only reflect himself. All accomplished artists are self-centered. This energetic artist produces works full of movement. As he likes to do things on impulse, he often creates works at one breath. An unrestrained and uninhibited personality, he wields his brush freely and his calligraphy with power. He never dwells on trifles. He cares nothing for human relationships to the point of being naïve. That's why diverse human characters never enter his works. He was once asked, “Why don't you portray the human being?” I replied for him, “ That's the business of a writer.”
　　V
　　What force drives Meilin's creation?
　　There is a long wall in Meilin's Gallery on which hang more than a hundred small porcelain plates. In the center of every plate there is a small drawing, each different from the others. Yet, they have one thing in common: all the birds, rabbits, flowers and other designs are singing. These were created at the time when Meilin and his future wife Jianping were head over heels in love. One day he got a phone call from Jianping, who told him she was coming from another city to see him. His heart began to sing. He sang and drew, drew and sang. Wonderful things appeared under his brush. Love created a fairyland for him. Meilin couldn't stop drawing until Jianping pushed open the door. In a single day, he made 179 pictures. They were later put on the center of those porcelain plates, which became living evidence of love of the artist.
　　To give love brings greater happiness than to receive love, though most seem to want the latter. Love means giving without being asked. It's the same with art, because art, too, is about giving, not taking. Love is the force behind Meilin's passion for creation. Meilin's love is by no means narrow. He loves his friends, acquaintances and everyone he meet. He treats them with warmth and generosity. Sometimes he seems to be spendthrift. No wonder this loving man often has to swallow the bitter fruit of his love. More than once did I see him upset at the betrayal of his“friends”and then a few days later, forgetting everything and opening his arms again to those same honey-mouthed “friends”. It is this self-intoxication that enables him to keep making new things. No matter what happens, feeling grateful and keeping the heart pure is all that an artist needs, even though what he feels is largely idealistic.
　　Philosophers seek truth from reality. Artists create wonders out of illusion.
　　Is it his nature or his warmth of heart that compels Meilin always to make his friends happy? He considers his friends' happiness as his own. His works are happy: no tears, no sadness, no bleakness. This man, who has encountered death several times, never darkens his drawings with life's misfortunes but always lightens them with sunshine. He swallows the bitter juice of life, brews it into honey in his heart and then distributes it to everyone who sees his works. Meilin is the most optimistic and warmest painter I have ever met.
　　Like all great things, like the sea and the sky, his art is shadowless.
　　However, love has its rewards. Meilin is rewarded with so many friends and so many admirers across the world. Today, Han Meilin is a symbol of China's fine art and the contemporary Chinese culture. That symbol is enjoyed by the whole world: they can see it on international flights and in the“Five Friendlies” (mascots of Beijing Olympic Games, 2008). People love the figures in his works. What are the messages of this symbol? As I see it, they are free soul, true love, old tradition and boundless creation, all of which are melted in the unique beauty of Meilin's works.

作者：Feng,Jicai