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In 2017, the news that Li Cheng, a security guard at CAFA, was admitted to the Central Academy of Fine Arts was like a thunderclap that summer, waking up countless people.
He has also been reported by major media outlets, and countless people regard him as an inspirational target.
During his time at school, he was also very famous, and he participated in programs and accepted invitations from training institutions.
However, what he didn't expect was that after graduation, he was not only dismissed from various educational institutions, but even failed to start a business and began a "wandering" career.
What has he experienced in the past 7 years?
The source of this article comes from the official media [Shanxi News Network-"Inspirational Security Brother Becomes "CAFA Wandering Brother" after 7 years?"] The specific link is described at the end of the article, but in order to improve the readability of the article, the details may be polished, please read sensibly For reference only
CAFA security guards became CAFA students
In 2017, 28-year-old Li Cheng ranked 8th in the country and scored 92 points in sketching, and was admitted to the Chinese Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, which is undoubtedly the biggest reward for his dedication to pursuing his dreams in the past ten years.
When the freshmen reported to the school that year, Li Cheng had already made a name for himself.
Because of the aura of "CAFA Inspirational Security Brother", major art training institutions have invited him to teach, and the salary offered is also very high.
Li Cheng himself had the idea of studying for further studies, and he hoped to continue to study for a master's degree or even a doctorate, and in the future he would be on the university podium and become a real artist.
With this large income, Li Cheng's university life is naturally beautiful.
Since then, he has confidently plunged into a new university career, seamlessly switching between the roles of student and teacher at CAFA.
However, what I didn't expect was that after graduation, he didn't continue to move in the direction we wanted, didn't become a university teacher, and didn't become a household name artist.
Dreams come to fruition
In the vast countryside of Hunan, there is an ordinary small mountain village.
Li Cheng was born here in 1989, Li Cheng's mother was a tailor, she was good at drawing clothing styles and patterns, and the little Li Cheng often followed his mother to observe and learn.
As he grew older, Li Cheng's love for painting grew.
After entering junior high school, he has been systematically learning painting techniques, and the teacher at CAFA also told him.
In 2005, Li Cheng passed the art specialty examination and was admitted to Hengshan No. 4 Middle School, a key high school in the city.
His childhood dream was ignited again, and Li Cheng wanted to be admitted to the Central Academy of Fine Arts to continue his studies in art.
During the college entrance examination, although Li Cheng tried his best, he was ultimately unable to be admitted to the Central Academy of Fine Arts.
In order to be based on various realities and pressures, he did not choose to repeat his studies, but went out directly to work and became an ordinary assembly line worker.
But he didn't let the reality smooth out the edges, he planned to spend 10 years saving money and then revising.
But in the end, because he had different minds from other workers, he was fired after working in the factory for less than a year.
Fortunately, the dismissal compensation was considerable, and Li Cheng got his salary plus compensation, a total of 6,000 yuan.
When he was in transit in Beijing, he wanted to go to the Central Academy of Fine Arts to have a look.
Standing at the door, Li Cheng took out a pen and paper and began to sketch the majestic stone lion sculpture, depicting the artistic ideals in his heart.
It just so happened that the security guard of the Academy of Fine Arts asked him if he was looking for a job, and Li Cheng had no job at that time, so he agreed.
In this way, Li Cheng became a security guard at the Central Academy of Fine Arts and opened a new chapter in the road of chasing his dreams.
During the years when he worked at CAFA, Li Cheng, the security guard, often splashed ink in the sentry box, and painted everywhere on campus when he had free time.
Although the door of the classroom was never open for him, Li Cheng was deeply encouraged and affirmed every time he saw students stop and watch.
Gradually, he got to know many of his classmates, and later he once helped a graduate student carry a drawing board, and he asked if he could teach him to draw.
At the suggestion of others, he found the principal and teacher of the art training class, and explained that he was a school security guard and wanted to learn to draw, and the other party not only agreed, but also let him learn for free.
In 2016, Li Cheng chose to take off his job as a security guard and concentrate on preparing for the art exam.
On the high school campus, at the age of 27, he became the oldest and hardest working student.
Five months later, his score had soared from 320 at the beginning of the school year to more than 460.
Finally, in 2017, 28-year-old Li Cheng was admitted to the Chinese painting major of the Central Academy of Fine Arts with the 8th place in the country, and his examination papers were entered into the school's 2017-2021 excellent examination paper records.
As soon as the news of the admission was reported by the media, Li Cheng instantly became a celebrity on campus, and major art training institutions competed to recruit him, offering a high salary of tens of thousands of dollars per month.
He felt that being admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts was the pinnacle of his life, and even his relatives and friends at home were very excited and happy.
But when Li Cheng really started the campus life of CAFA, he found that the road ahead was even more rugged and steep than he imagined.
It's been a bumpy ride
During his time at school, because of his fame, many institutions invited him to attend classes, he was already an adult, and he also wanted to earn money, so he often went out to do extra money, which naturally delayed his studies.
There is no definite method for art, and those who neglect to practice will inevitably become more and more unfamiliar.
His painting skills plummeted, and he was even on the verge of not graduating at one point.
Even his teacher said that if he put his paintings in an art museum, he would go around.
But at least he still has a CAFA academic background, and he will definitely be able to find a place in society.
After all, in the past few years, he has saved more than 200,000 yuan in savings from teaching fees in the studio.
However, Li Cheng never imagined that he would face more and more dilemmas after that.
The studio that originally hired him was ruthlessly dismissed because of the mediocre grades of the students he brought out.
There is no way to work, but fortunately, I finally got my graduation certificate.
He traveled to many cities, Changsha, Changde, Datong, Wuxi, etc., but none of them could be stabilized, either he resigned himself or others fired him.
In 2021, 32-year-old Li Cheng took CAFA's graduation certificate and went south to Shenzhen to start a business with a few friends and opened a comprehensive art training institution.
At the beginning, he had high hopes for the training course, not only to spread his artistic ideas here, but also to develop it into a professional art trading institution.
But who expected, the institution has only been open for less than a year, and due to the influence of various aspects, the source of students has dried up, and the enrollment is stretched, and finally has to choose to close down.
In this way, all the principal invested by Li Cheng before and after was lost.
Later, he concluded that he had seen the future too well and overestimated himself.
When the organization was dissolved, he and his partners were each saddled with a heavy amount of debt.
Taking a step back, Li Cheng is a fledgling and lacks experience in the industry, so he will naturally have a big cognitive blind spot in business operation.
Unexpectedly, even the few studio teacher jobs he found later under the introduction of a friend, he was ruthlessly dismissed one after another because he did not meet the standards and other reasons.
This undoubtedly hit Li Cheng hard, and he deeply realized that being admitted to CAFA does not mean that he can be high and proud, and if he wants to be based on the art industry, the recognition of others is more important than his pride.
In this way, Li Cheng was simply "laid off" after several jobs.
In order to make a living, he bought a second-hand "Old Man Le" modified RV and began a wandering life for several years.
Everywhere he went, he stopped, put down his bags, picked up a paintbrush or camera, and used his best painting or photography to record the scenery and humanities along the way.
After the video is filmed, it is uploaded to the self-media platform, and in this way, it maintains a living allowance of only more than 1,000 yuan per month.
It's good for him to have a dish to eat every day, and he picks up a lot of things on the street.
Some netizens questioned that he had taken so many detours in vain, and it was better to be a good security guard at that time.
However, Li Cheng didn't care so much about these criticisms.
He believes that these are all self-inflicted, and he can't blame others.
On the contrary, it is precisely because he has personally experienced the hardships and twists and turns of ordinary people's study and job search that he can have a deeper understanding and perception of all things in the world and all kinds of life during his journey.
In addition, Li Cheng did not give up the dream of painting.
It's just that now, he will do it casually, not caring whether his paintings can be recognized and appreciated by more people.
And until now, he also believes that hard work can change everything, and everything can only be created by our efforts.
Reference Sources:
Litchi Video-"CAFA Security Brother Rides a Three-Wheeled Wandering After Failing to Start a Business: Doing Travel We-Media"
Shanxi News Network-"Inspirational Security Brother Becomes "CAFA Wandering Brother" After 7 Years?"
Security counterattack! After ten years of struggle, he was admitted to the Central Academy of Fine Arts