Lydia Duanmu

Would you please brief us on the novel The Plum in the Golden Vase? What’s its significance and status in the history of Chinese literature?

Wang Yifeng

In the history of Chinese literature, The Plum in the Golden Vase is mentioned in the same breath with Dream of the Red Chamber. And in some sense, the former has an even more special historical significance. Dream of the Red Chamber presents the nobility’s view and vision of life, while The Plum in the Golden Vase deals with the life philosophy of the man and woman in the street. This makes them seem to be at opposite ends of the continuum. Nevertheless, they depict and dissect human nature with similar profundity. Though having a history of 400 years, The Plum in the Golden Vase has not been adapted for comic strips as most of other major Chinese literary works. For centuries, the book had been officially banned as a hard-core pornography. When the idea of presenting the full story in the form of comic strips hit upon me, the General Administration of Press and Publication singled me out, warning that such a picture book would be banned from publication. So I gave it up.

The Plum in the Golden Vase, or Jin Ping Mei in Chinese, takes its name from the three central female characters — Pan Jinlian (literally “golden lotus”), Li Ping’er (literally “little vase”), and Pang Chunmei (literally “spring plum blossoms”). The story unfolds chronologically like a diary, presenting a picture of Chinese patriarchal society at that time, to which each of the female characters fall victim. However, it also shows their personality and expectations as well as their struggle and resistance against the social system.

Lydia Duanmu

What prompted you to create illustrations for The Plum in the Golden Vase, since many other artists have done so and among their works an exquisite one dating back to the Qing Dynasty is now in the collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art?

Wang Yifeng

I am a professional painter, and my creations deal with moments and little things in life based on my personal observation. I like painting street mutton peddlers, a bowl of steaming hot noodles, and people sitting in the shade… With an observant eye for life, I present in a new fashion the moments of life, including daily joy and sexual pleasure. Although the original story is critical of the old society, my illustrations are a vivid picture of the people from all walks of life, conveying a message of freedom that is true to human nature.

Lydia Duanmu

Have you used your own art language in the illustrations?

Wang Yifeng

The Plum in the Golden Vase features a bold and unvarnished description of sexuality. It is of great anti-establishment and sarcasm at that time, with strong dramatic effects, hence its uniqueness in the history of Chinese literature.

The focus of my illustrations is to express the tenderness of romantic love. I spent over a decade trying to tell the story with my language, working on the characters’ images, facial expressions, dressing styles and colors as well as the architectural styles, etc. I think I’m just like a director adapting an epic for a modern stage. And this is a thrilling and enjoyable experience — a process of self-expression with my own artist style. The creation of the illustrations allowed me to round out the system of my own art language.

Lydia Duanmu

What do you think of people’s understanding of love in the context of Chinese culture?

Wang Yifeng

I have never been abroad. I know little about foreign cultures, nor am I a fastidious researcher in Chinese culture. Why are Chinese people liable to make concessions and settle for what they already get? Chinese culture is a culture of contradictions, or rather, the balance between them, which constitutes the theme of my “steelyard balance” series. When we try to judge our modern life by the moral standards left by our ancestors, we feel like walking on a steelyard balance, tired and precarious.

Chinese culture is full of opposites. It is said that home is not for reason, but for love. Due to this tradition, kindness is often distorted, turning love into slavery. It takes much self-sacrifice to meet what is conventionally expected in the name of love. In a Chinese family, excessive love has become a fertile ground for indulgence: the spoiling of children at the expense of filial duty, unconditional concessions for marriage, forced acceptance in the name of friendship, and undignified compliance with a system… Anyone capable of reason would be stressed out in such circumstances. Love comes together with life. Love can be capricious in nature, but not in manners — there must be a limit to the so-called “tolerance.” And my works encourage people to pursue true love, truth, and freedom.

Lydia Duanmu

What do you think is freedom?

Wang Yifeng

It is human nature to pursue freedom and truth. The success of a person is measured by how much life is in his or her control. Greater control means greater freedom.

Lydia Duanmu

This is now a new era of contemporary ink painting. Do you think we can have ink painting masters?

Wang Yifeng

What makes a master? A master is often born out of a time of great changes. Without such condition, it’d be unlikely.

Lydia Duanmu

I don’t think you use colors in a pretty much Eastern way, especially for the “steelyard balance” series. How would you describe your works?

Wang Yifeng

I tend to be a non-conformist, but sometimes I also prefer pureness and simplicity in the vein of ancient artists. Reflective of daily life, these paintings are old-school enough, but quite elegant and spiritually nourishing. My latest works are also inspired from daily life. On a trip to a remote small village in Xi’an, I met a pig-raising couple. They watched us photographing with curiosity and envy. And their looks became suspicious and disturbed when I offered to take a photo of them, then enormously grateful when I handed them the photo… Their looks moved me so much that after I came back I created a work and wrote the story down in the caption.

Lydia Duanmu

What’s your conviction?

Wang Yifeng

I only believe in hard work. I think a religious conviction is to cure mental diseases, while my conviction is secular. By working hard, I earn bread and butter for myself and my family. This is my conviction.

Lydia Duanmu

There seems to be nothing profound in your conviction. (Both laughing)

Wang Yifeng

I think it is notoriously difficult to be a profound thinker. However, even though you are one, you can easily get bogged down in the depths of thinking. Many of those who live for profundity never manage to resurface throughout their life. Why bother? Life is nothing but three damn things. The first is survival, for which you have to work hard. The second is emotions, the trickiest issue, for it decides how wonderful your life can be. And the third is death, which is decided not by yourself, but by God. What is left to do is to enjoy, and to earn a living by working hard. We should believe as much in science as in karma. It is impossible to triumph over destiny. All things are balanced.

Lydia Duanmu

Ah, now you come back to your golden mean.

Wang Yifeng

Absolutely. It is also about balance. As I told you earlier, Chinese culture is a culture of contradictions. And I’m 100% Chinese — every cell of mine carries this cultural gene.