Preface
One is a 53-year-old master of Chinese painting who has been gifted since childhood, and the other is a female college student who has just graduated from an African tribe.
People who should be two parallel lines are intertwined by the word "fate".
A person who can be a girl's "father" has become the girl's husband after going through hardships.
But after all, the two still couldn't escape the itch of 7 years, not only did the two separate, but the master of Chinese painting even escaped into the empty door.
What's going on here?
Master of Chinese painting
When it comes to masters of Chinese painting, the first person who can be called by name must be Qi Baishi.
But the master of Chinese painting we are going to talk about today, although he is not as good as Qi Baishi, is also a rising star, known as the contemporary "Zhang Daqian", he is Yang Yan.
Yang Yan was born in an ordinary family in Xining, Qinghai, but he liked to paint since he was a child, especially after the age of 6, his ability to imitate painting became stronger and stronger.
Yang Yan's uncle is a famous local painter, he was amazed after seeing Yang Yan's paintings, and then he focused on cultivating Yang Yan and gave him many paintings to copy.
Later, Yang Yan moved to Nanjing with his parents, and after being away from his uncle, his parents found a professional teacher for Yang Yan again to continue his painting studies.
It wasn't until Yang Yan was 20 years old that he joined the tutelage of Mr. Hua Tuo that Yang Yan's painting skills improved by leaps and bounds, and in the process of painting, he slowly found his own painting style.
Yang Yan's 20-year-old "Daning River Tour" has attracted wide attention from the art world.
This work not only shows his exquisite skills, but also reflects his unique understanding and expression of the natural landscape.
In the end, "The Daning River" sold for $22,000, an astronomical price at the time enough to buy a property in Beijing.
After that, Yang Yan came to Beidaihe again and worshiped Li Keran as his teacher.
As Qi Baishi's protégé, Li Keran enjoys a high status in the Chinese painting world.
Under the guidance of Li Keran, Yang Yan's artistic attainments have reached a higher level, and his painting techniques have become more diversified, whether it is landscape painting or figure painting, they have reached the realm of perfection.
At the age of 35, Yang Yan published a personal collection of paintings, Yang Yan's Paintings, which marked another milestone in his artistic career.
As his fame grew, Yang Yan received the honorary title of World Chinese Artist, which further established his position on the international art scene.
Yang Yan's artistic achievements reached a new peak in 2014.
His magnum opus, The Fu of Huangshan, sold for a staggering 66 million yuan at an auction in Beijing, setting a record for his own work.
This work vividly shows the majesty and magnificence of the eighteen peaks of Huangshan Mountain, and is considered to be the representative work of Yang Yan's artistic career.
But even a person who has such attainments in painting is emotionally a lonely traveler.
Find true love
Yang Yan has extremely high requirements for painting, and he is equally strict with his feelings.
One day, Yang Yan came to a friend's house as a guest, and on the table in the friend's study, an ebony statue of an African girl caught his eye.
The statue is lifelike, the girl has dark skin, more than twenty curly braids on her head, black and white eyes, and full and sexy lips.
At that moment, Yang Yan made a crazy decision: he wanted to find an African girl as beautiful as this statue as his wife.
Over the next decade, Yang Yan traveled all over the world, especially on the African continent.
He took advantage of the opportunity to participate in art exchange activities and traveled to nearly 50 countries, including Italy, France, and Mexico. Everywhere he went, he was hopeful that he would meet that statue-like African girl.
However, there is always a huge gap between reality and ideals, and Yang Yan is full of expectations again and again, and returns disappointed again and again.
In this long search process, he also entered the 50-year-old mark, and his relatives and friends were worried about his life's affairs, but Yang Yan knew that he was in a hurry.
Just when he was disheartened, a friend introduced him to an African girl, Maria.
Maria was once loved by the public on the "Avenue of Stars" with a song "I want to marry a Chinese".
When Yang Yan saw a passionate Maria, his heart began to jump faster, but before Yang Yan could have any illusions, Maria met Yang Yan, and the sentence "Dad" instantly extinguished Yang Yan's hot heart.
Because Yang Yan, who is in his 50s, is wearing a Mao suit and still has a beard, isn't he a proper "father"?
After this time, Yang Yan's heart was already disheartened.
But no one expected that Yang Yan's dream wife, who had been pursuing for many years, would meet him on a journey.
In the spring of 2011, 53-year-old Yang Yan was invited to Sierra Leone to participate in the celebration of the country's 50th anniversary of independence.
At the celebration site in the capital Freetown, Yang Yan saw a group of African girls performing.
One of them, a 21-year-old girl named Ida, instantly attracted Yang Yan's attention, Yang Yan seemed to see the vivid incarnation of the statue ten years ago, his heart beating violently, as if he had been waiting for a lifelong dream to finally come true.
After that, Yang Yan put it into action, although the two did not understand the language, but the music was the same.
Yang Yan found a lot of music about love to confess to Ida, and proved it in person with actions.
Under Yang Yan's pursuit, Aida finally accepted Yang Yan's love, but Cuida's parents were extremely opposed.
Their reasons are also normal, they think that Yang Yan is too old to give Aida happiness, and they don't know much about China and can't risk handing over their daughter to Yang Yan.
But this did not dissuade Yang Yan, who personally introduced China to Ida's parents and made promises, which eventually impressed Ida's parents, and the two held a wedding in Africa.
After the two returned to China, Yang Yan was ready to hold another Chinese-style wedding to marry the girl of his dreams.
Escape into the empty door
On October 30, 2011, the Kangxi Palace in Beijing ushered in a sensational wedding.
Yang Yan, a 53-year-old master of Chinese painting, married a 21-year-old African girl, Aida, and the wedding was extravagant and grand, costing as much as 40 million yuan.
Yang Yan carefully arranged the traditional Chinese wedding, and completely recreated the ceremony of "Welcoming the Seven Rites".
Ida wore a phoenix crown and rode 16 large sedan chairs to enter, and the whole process was full of the charm of traditional Chinese culture.
The wedding was attended by a large number of guests, and it is said that as many as 50,000 people witnessed the moment.
Not only that, Yang Yan also arranged for a powered glider to hover in the air and throw candy to the guests, adding a touch of modern color to the wedding.
After marriage, life was not all smooth sailing, and the language barrier became the first problem that the couple had to overcome.
Ida barely spoke Chinese when she first arrived in China, and Yang Yan's English skills were limited, which led to frequent misunderstandings in their daily communication.
For example, Yang Yan once created a painting with the theme of women's underwear, which was intended to appeal to women to take care of their bodies. However, Aida misunderstood that Yang Yan preferred plump women, which led to a big dispute.
The difference in eating habits also makes the two often argue.
For example, instead of eating breakfast, you carry rice with you and eat it directly when you are hungry.
In addition, during Ida's pregnancy, she refused to have a routine prenatal check-up, believing that it was disrespectful to God's arrangement.
Despite these challenges, Yang Yan and Ida's relationship continues to heat up in their daily lives.
In November 2012, Yang Yan and Aida welcomed their first child, a cute mixed-race boy.
In 2015, their second son was also born, and the arrival of two children brought more joy and warmth to this multinational family.
Over time, Aida gradually adapted to life in China, learned to become fluent in Chinese, and even began to experiment with Chinese paintings.
In 2013, Yang Yan held a solo exhibition for Aida and published a collection of her works.
In the autumn of 2014, at an auction of cultural relics and artworks held in Beijing, Yang Yan's huge painting "Fu of the Yellow Mountain" sold for a staggering 66 million yuan, setting a record for his own work.
The success of this auction not only brought Yang Yan a huge fortune, but also further strengthened his position in the international art world. Many art critics have compared Yang Yan to Zhang Daqian, calling him a "contemporary Zhang Daqian".
In 2015, Yang Yan held a solo exhibition for his beloved wife Aida.
Both have received a lot of accolades.
However, at the peak of their careers and happy families, in 2018, Yang Yan escaped into the empty door and became a monk.
The photo shows Yang Yan shaving his ordination at the Jingye Temple in Zhongnan Mountain, Shaanxi.
Yang Yan's decision to become a monk came so suddenly that it was difficult for many people to understand.
Just a few months ago, he was on a TV show with his wife, Ida, to show off their loving life. And now, he has chosen to become a monk and completely changed the trajectory of his life.
As for the reason for becoming a monk, Yang Yan remained silent.
It wasn't until the media and onlookers dispersed that he revealed to a close friend that he had chosen to become a monk "just for wisdom."
To this day, there are still many people who don't understand why Yang Yan became a monk.
epilogue
Yang Yan's life is not without grandeur, from a painter to a temple master.
Looking for a partner for many years, but after marrying the goddess of dreams, he escaped into the empty door.
You can enjoy prosperity and wealth, but you can also endure boredom and poverty.
I have to say that Yang Yan's realm is not ordinarily high.
Resources:
"Eight Extraordinary Story Meeting: The African Love of Chinese Painters" BTV Science and Education Channel
Beijing Satellite TV Panorama Dialogue: Black Pearl and Whitebeard's Transnational Love 2013-12-11
China Broadcasting Network: Contemporary Famous Painting Monk Shi Dajue (Yang Yan)--Hongfa Shows the Spirit of Holding Dajue and Wishing to Do 2021-06-15