Interview with Ling Jian

2008-08-15

By Zhang Yizhou

Zhang: When did you start your artistic career?
Ling: When I was young, my grandpa was a landlord. So he had some trouble during the Cultural Revolution. I was only five or six year old then. I dared not step out of my home, because whenever I went out, I got a bout of the jitters. So I just stayed home all day long with my two sisters to do some handcraft, painted pictures and sang songs. My first painting was a little fish painted with ink on my hand-made bamboo kite.
In primary school, we needed to paint the blackboard report. Lei Feng, Pan Dongzi, Chairman Mao and figures of workers, farmers and soldiers were all the themes. I guess that I was probably quite gifted when it came to illustrations. I was just painting, from primary school to high middle, all day long. So when I could go to the University after reform, I wanted to study arts.
Zhang: Did you have your abecedarian?
Ling: My mom’s dad loved calligraphy and Chinese painting. And I stood aside and watched all the time when he practiced calligraphy and painting. My uncle specialized in architecture. He was a University student in the 1940s and 1950s so he had many painting books of the former Soviet Union, as well as pictures books of Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci. He also had many watercolor artworks and sculptures. I saw many pictures then and started copying them.
Zhang: Did you also paint girls back at that time?
Ling: No, I didn’t. What impressed me most were the sculptures of Renaissance, because those sculptures were all naked figures. So I thought why Chinese wore so many clothes but Westerners could get naked. It was very exciting to just look at those publications. So I always closed the door and secretly copied the nudities. And I sent the pictures to little boys. But my parents didn’t know that.
Zhang: What school did you go to later?
Ling: It was super difficult to go to a University. I could either stay in Shandong, or go to Beijing. Central Academy of Arts and Design was the only university in Beijing that enrolled art students during that year. And I got accepted there. My goal at that time was only doing Fine Art. In 1984, I had my first exhibition together with several friends. It was in a café in Beijing University. Students from all schools and various departments of Beijing University went to see the exhibition. We stayed sleepless for three days and nights during the exhibition. We were talking excitedly about philosophy, politics and the Arts.
Zhang: Were you influenced by “New Trends of 1985” then?
Ling: It didn’t have much impact on my creation. But I still remember that my school invited Robert Rauschenberg and conducted seminars. Many students raised lots of questions for him. I remember one guy asking, “Why do you create stuff like garbage? What is the essence of arts?” I remembered Rauschenberg’s reply and it was, “I am just joking with the world. So everybody is laughing.” Those words of him have always been of great influence on me.
Zhang: So are your painting also jokes you make to the world?
Ling: I don’t think so. Of course I believe that my works have their reasons. Every artist has his/her own reasons. Rauschenberg had his, too. And so did Andy Warhol. But some reasons may be a little more personal, some are a little bit social and some may be a little avant-garde. Every artist is different.
I believe what I’m doing now is a meaningful process for me. I always oppose or dislike the so-called “Made in China” symbolic artworks of China. I believe that Art should go beyond such external stuff. So my paintings don’t have any Chinese symbols so far. But I also find this kind of opposition wrong. I must review China with a realistic perspective. It may be the age, in which I was born and grew up. Whether good and bad memories, or something personal that can be felt by me alone, I should express those things. There may be symbolic contents in it. But I don’t intend to over-stress the symbols. They only represent my feelings.
I grew up during the Cultural Revolution. So I easily experienced the significance of the Cultural Revolution exerted on me as a boy. If I create a work now, I can naturally express the feelings felt back at that time. It’s memory or the so-called ideal of that time, or the review, criticism and changes from that age till today. It’s a complete process of the truth of life. So to joke is not my goal. My goal is a genuine feeling.
No matter in the past, the present or the future, there should always be some true feelings, some so-called spirit, or sense of time, or so-called creativity. It must touch me in the first place. Then I will be able to reach out to others with my artworks. It’s like wearing clothes. You should feel comfortable yourself. And others can then feel that you have a good sense of dressing.
Zhang: How do you feel about the Cynical Realism movement during that period of China?
Ling: I think many movements present an objective trend of development. It’s just like, during that period when artists had two options. One was going abroad. So many people left. I left China in 1987. I felt that it was impossible for me to realize my wishes or pursuits due to the problems of that time. No one would foresee today. So we had to say “good-bye”. It was one option. I have a painting now called “Don’t cry for me”, which signifies this meaning.
Another option was staying behind in China. I guess they also experienced a very hard time in China then. So their feelings about that period were just expressed in such a way. I think it’s reasonable. If they kept doing so after that period, or other artists just follow suit, it wouldn’t be realistic.
Zhang: What was your creation like before you went abroad?
Ling: Abstractionism was quite popular in 1980s before I went abroad. It was also fashionable in the Western world. So my works in my early years were quite abstract. Zhang: How did you slowly change to realism later, such as Buddha and women?
Ling: I think it’s free for an artist to paint anything. If he/she is good enough, he/she can paint anything. It mainly depends on what you want to express. If abstractionism was believed to be able to express the so-called sense of era, you paint abstractionism.
Later on, I realized that due to the social factors after WWII, most in America and Europe just liked the pretty stuffs, which didn’t have a special content. But abstractionism was quite revolutionary at the very beginning, because there was no abstractionism before the dawn of the 20th century. But abstraction was so abused later that even housewives could make abstractive works. There are also theories in the Western world, such as when Joseph Beuys said that, “Everybody is an artist and everything is art.” It’s a question of time. It’s an artistic expression of different aspects of humanity when capitalism developed to a certain stage. It’s reasonable.
But abstract art didn’t have any meaning for me. I couldn’t express my feelings or the interesting times that we live in with it. Age strides such big space in time, from the proletariat 1950s and 1960s when I was a boy, when there was a revolutionary ideal in difficult economic situations, to 1980s and 1990s when I was abroad, discovering that the economic development in the West gave rise to the high quality of the cultural life, till I came back to China in later 1990s when China has already started its substantial boom. Those huge changes formed my ideas about many things. Many questions, contradictions and ideal impacts.
Zhang: You used to paint Buddha. Why did you stop?
Ling: Buddhism is the spiritual support that Chinese people can get most easily. Buddhism is very helpful in the transmigration states and the views about the worldly world. So I used to paint portraits of Buddha indeed for myself. I needed a process. I needed an attitude for life and worldly things. I developed myself through that process.
There is a strong dark atmosphere in the old houses in Europe. You can feel the history of hundreds of years. Or you can have the feeling of having a soul. But now in China, I can hardly feel these things. The buildings around me are all new. There’s no dark atmosphere at all. Moreover, you can’t even feel the spiritual energy in today’s social environment. Everything is materialized. Everything is related to making money and the profit of success. They are all fake and hyped. It’s a Chinese fever.
Zhang: So did you keep creating during the years in Germany?
Ling: Yes, I kept creating there. In the first few years, I did some labor works and went to language school. After that, I started painting and selling my works. I have been a freelance artist since then. I have been cooperating with galleries for 20 years. In the years in Europe, many of my works were quite “European”. But there were few people who knew me in China then.
Zhang: Your paintings were quite popular in Germany, weren’t they?
Ling: They were quite popular then. It’s been a very short history since the West started to perceive China. They didn’t know the Cultural Revolution in China. What they know was only shallow things, such as Tian’anmen Square, the Great Wall, terracotta warriors, horses and bicycles etc. Most commoners didn’t know about China because they didn’t care. However, China is having an economic boom now and they can come to China to make money. So they started to care about China. You are Chinese. So you are an artist from China. It’s an objective fact, no matter you like it or not. They would think that a Chinese artist should create works such as Chinese contemporary calligraphy or something. If you don’t do that, it would be difficult for you. Therefore, you will create those works naturally for your survival. But I believe that if you keep treating art seriously, a good outcome will be attained sooner or later. We should do things seriously. Even household cleaning should be done seriously, only by which we can have a very clean feeling. If your paintings are outstanding and you keep working hard, with added factors such as talents and opportunities, people will eventually accept it.
Zhang: So do you think you have had good opportunities?
Ling: I don’t know either. Sometimes, I ask myself: if I hadn’t gone abroad, what would I be now? I can’t answer that question either. My history has been written this way. I grabbed my own chances. The economy and culture in China are both in their adolescence. And they are in a very free state for creation. Meanwhile, they are changing and developing. The impacts and all kinds of problems brought by the changes will cause many interesting things. All of them are quite tempting. The development is relatively dull in Europe and America. I had a young feeling when I came back to China. And I have a strong desire for creation. What’s happening in China will absolutely affect my creation. So the works now are totally different from those I created in Europe.
This environment also gives rise to the changes in art. An art piece loses its value of existence in a broken environment. It means that art must be close to reality and express a strong sense of time. You can play quite well in your own cultural range, but it would be very difficult in other cultural contexts. For example, it would be difficult for foreigners to come to China and express the changes in China, because it’s connected with history, culture, language and value. If Andy Warhol came to China, what would he do? By the same token, it’s difficult for Chinese artists to go the West to develop. But there are so-called successful artists. In the fields of culture, arts, music and film, they are Jackie Chan, Ang Lee, Yo-yo Ma, Lang Lang and etc. I think if an artist loses his source or desire for life or creation, he’s done. But where is this source of creation? It’s in life.
Let’s take Joseph Beuys and Andy Warhol as examples. Their sources were from the life in the Western society of 1950s and 60s. Being good or bad is another issue. That’s about personal aesthetics. And market is another. If you ask everybody whether he’s affected by the market and commerce, no one would give you a definite answer. And the so-call good and bad in art can’t be defined clearly either.
Zhang: Why did you come back to China?
Ling: I have been paying attention to the development of China itself and the changes in local art. So I roughly know what’s going on in China. I come back every year and have new feelings every year. In 2000, I went to Lhasa when I came to China. Then I started to consider about coming back. I had my first exhibition in China in the Courtyard Gallery in 2003. And I didn’t come back formally until 2004.
Zhang: What is the charm China poses to the world?
Ling: I think it’s that of the economy. So many people come to invest here just for its economy. Those ideologies, cultures and arts are just a gloss. Economy is the fundamental.  
Zhang: The twenty years in Germany is also very important for your creation now, isn’t it?
Ling: Certainly. Twenty years is a long time. I went there when I was 23 years old. I was certainly influenced by Europe in every aspect of life, including my creation concepts and directions. I saw too many contemporary artworks in the West, because I went to four or five art exhibitions every year. If there were about twenty thousand works at each exhibition, I could see at least a hundred thousand works a year. The influence was inevitable. Besides, when you saw so many works, you would bring forward some sharp perspectives in many issues. But it calls for your own abilities to handle yourself under the influence of the outside world.
Zhang: Can you name a few artists you admire?
Ling: Locally, Xu Wei, Shi Tao and Fan Kuan are all interesting artists. They are completely distinctive. They are also noble and their artworks evoke a transcendent feeling. During that period, traditional architecture and the field of painting were coherent. This kind of traditional cultural system was quite high-end and very pure. So I feel very proud when I see these superior classical cultures of China.
As for Western artists, I prefer those that express feelings of reality, such as the ones from the Renaissance to 19th century, including Repin of the former Soviet Union and the artists during the Romanticism period in France, as well as a few artists after WWII. I also like the Young British Artists in London during the 1990s and recently, those making video and photographic works. I put my eyes on a great range of artists and works. For me, I can enjoy more from some of their works and enjoy less from the rest of them. But it doesn’t have much effect on me. It’s just like watching a fashion show. It’s just a kind of cultural entertainment. There have been some many exhibitions. But it doesn’t matter what is better. What really matters is who does it in what kind of environment. I first saw Damien Hurst in 1991 at Köln Art Expo. I didn’t think that his works were any special. I just felt that he was really young. We were about the same age. In 1997, people stood in lines to watch Saatchi’s Sensation Exhibition in London. I didn’t go to see it. I didn’t want to spend such a long time waiting in queue. If there hadn’t been the exhibition by Saatchi, there wouldn’t be today’s Damien Hurst, who is a significant artist in the world. China is about in an era like that. It’s time that the Chinese present exhibitions of their own. It’s a terrific thing. I still remember that I participated in the First Biennale of Chinese Canvas Painting in 1993, when I had a great chance to talk with the public at a conversazione. I remember I said that the excellencies for arts in China would appear in 20 years, because only when China’s economy developed steadily could the local Chinese present their artists in a Chinese attitude and by then, the so-called outstanding artists could show up.
These renowned artists have their own merits. But art is art. Germans will boost German artists. Americans boost American artists. It’s a simple logic. Only when the nation is strong, the culture is prosperous and the economy is powerful, you can influence other countries’ economy and culture. If we can’t reach such a state, the so-called becoming internationally is nothing but a joke. Lu Xun is the man I admire the most, because he pointed out the problems of the time and the harmful roots of China. His criticism was very sharp. He was a man that could really think and conduct cultural comparison. I can’t accept the idea that a Chinese person goes to Venice to see the Biennale and he becomes somebody and knows everything. It’s almost like a foreigner comes to China and see the Great Wall. He can never understand China in such a way. It’s too naïve, because it’s too much on the surface. We can’t have the spirit of Ah Q. Generally, the situation in China today is pretty much like that during the Renaissance period. When the river rises, the boat goes up, too. The auction market is in chaos now. But good artists will be groundbreaking as well as the so-called successful artists in China. It’s not like you can make a joke every day and you can become successful.
Zhang: How do you view between the artistic and commercial characters of artistic creation?
Ling: The two are just like angels and devils. Sometimes, they coincide. Other times, they are totally unrelated.
I think, for a good artist, his/her artistic nature and his/her commercial feature are not opposite. It’s not necessary that there’s art and there’s not market. Most people would think that art is spiritual. But that’s not true. Art is only part of life and the society. Artists are no different from others. So we shouldn’t be overtly proud of ourselves.
For example, many Western artists are poor. They are loyal to art. They fix their eyes only to the process of art, because they love Art. But it doesn’t mean their practice is nobler than other jobs. Maybe it’s only because the society needs some artists and a nation needs many of these artists to pass down its culture for later generations to admire and make them especially divine.
The lives of Michelangelo or Da Vinci were not that divine. Van Gogh painted those artsy-fartsy paintings on the lawn. It’s not holy. It’s only that in the later generations, for some reasons, such as social or economic needs, or the needs of a country for its culture which gives rise to such effect of demands today. Take a look at the years of Fang Lijun and artists alike and you will find that their painting path was rather bitter.
Zhnag: Taking painting as an example, do you paint for yourself?
Ling: The reason why I paint is that painting makes me excited. The happiest moment for me is when I hold my brush. It makes me comfortable and treasures my existence. Zhang: Is the price of your painting important for you?
Ling: There isn’t a high or low price for a painting. How much should be considered to claim as a high price? How much should be low? Some paintings were sold for millions of dollars. Is this a high price? No, it’s not. If some of your paintings are bought at a hundred thousand Yuan, that’s quite high. It depends on how you see it. Life needs money. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been wars for economy. People need money. But people need a clear head, too.
Zhang: Say, if you know what kind of paintings can have higher prices, would you paint them deliberately for higher prices?
Ling: It’s hard to do so. Artists need gifts to do so. Some artists can do it. And some can’t. I don’t think I can do it. What I do must be what I like. If I love to do so, I can spend dozens of hours on it. If I spent dozens of hours to do something that I don’t like for someone else, it would lose my value of life, rather than the value of art. Who is this kind of life for? It’s totally slave-like. I will sniff at it and don’t care to even look at it. 
Zhang: What are the differences you feel between Europe and in China?
Ling: The philosophies and values of the Westerners are definitely different from those of Chinese. The s
ubstance and spirit are harmonious in the West. I spent many years in Europe. I feel that the lifestyles, the interpersonal relationships and the cultural standards are all different. Cultural is not high-end stuff. The making of the nation is high. It’s very normal in Europe that you take your children to a museum and go to drink some coffee, talking about culture, or watch some dramas and operas. But in China, it’s described like in heaven.
Zhang: What differences, do you think, are between Chinese men and Western men?
Ling: Chinese men don’t pay much attention to dressing. We don’t have a sense of crisis. But this is also a change of culture. Chinese women didn’t pay attention to dressing either a decade or more ago. But now Chinese women put a lot of effort on their clothes. But men are still the same. However, after a period, they will have some changes when the society forces them to do so.
The so-called androcentrism in China is more about education. The culture that has lasted for thousand years cannot change overnight. But the men in the Middle East and Africa are more androcentric. It’s also a social problem.
Zhang: Do you like Asian or Western women?
Ling: I think both are great. They are good if they are pretty. Chinese beauty is much adored in Europe. And European beauties are seen to be pretty in China too. My ex-girlfriends in Europe were all Europeans. I am quite used to it when I was in those surroundings. But when I am in China now, just let nature takes its own course. I have an open view to aesthetics. If she is nice and suitable for me, she is fine.
Zhang: Do you paint beautiful girls because you feel there are more pretty girls around you?
That’s true. It may be because I feel there are so many pretty girls. I didn’t see so many pretty girls when I left the country. But when I return to China now, I suddenly find that there are so many pretty girls around me. So I feel excited. But I don’t paint the so-called beautiful girls just because I want to paint them. It’s the embodiment of my creative desires. The contents may be my reaction to the social situation at the moment.
Zhang: What are the characteristics of women in China today?
Ling: Chinese women are still in their adolescence. They are simple. When I am in Hong Kong, I can tell which girls are from the Mainland at first glance. They all dress fashionably. All the clothes are from famous brands. Chinese girls that were born during the 1980s are quite self-centric. They are healthy and possess self-confidence. And these form a sense of beauty.
Compared with Western women, Chinese focus too much on materialism, because it’s still very new to them. Women care about these stuffs when they are young, including what cars to drive or what cosmetics to wear. These things, however, are really new to them and indeed good-looking. This kind of value is still important.
Zhang: Do you then like women that pursue such material comfort?
Ling: I see the pursuit as quite a normal thing. If she wants to wear something only, that’s the kind of poverty that I consider. So I don’t like the ones that fix their eyes too much on material life, which causes the poverty in spirit and substance.
Zhang: You pay great attention to the sense of beauty in your paintings. Which do you think is more important for a person, appearance or personality?
Ling: I think appearance and personality are coherent. Somebody is good-looking, but you won’t feel that she’s beautiful after you have personal interaction with that somebody. She’s only young. If she has a good personality, good taste and cultural foundation, she will be more beautiful in addition to her great appearance. Somebody is not pretty, but she might have inner charm. And her knowledge, culture and social environment will create a sense of beauty for her. This kind of beauty is not about her having bigger or smaller eyes. It’s about the state of the person.
Zhang: What qualities of a woman attract you the most?
Ling: I think a woman should be intelligent. Intelligent women are attractive to me. And a kind heart is important, too. Of course, she must be pretty. But the so-called prettiness is hard to define. In fact, it’s related to her spirit and intelligence.
Zhang: Do you think the females in your paintings are beautiful?
Ling: The model and I should have communication. But of course, she can’t have a side-glance. Her eyes, mouth and body gestures should be harmonious. In addition, the things conveyed through the contents and colors of the image will form an integrated harmony, which will give rise to a sense of beauty and coherence.
Zhang: As to yourself, do you long for the beautiful girls in your paintings?
Ling: I love every single piece of my artworks and every character that I paint. Because only in this way can I paint them out. I love them. But that’s only an artistic kind of love. It’s just a process of creation. This kind of love is refined in the studio. It may be a spirit, an aesthetic feeling or a sense of sex. But this kind of love sounds a little old school, just like philanthropism. But the creation of an artwork is, to some extent, very holy. A piece of canvas is a figure. If you can add a little soul to the figure, it would be very noble. But it’s not that easy to achieve that.
Zhang: You also painted many boys. Do you like them?
Ling: I love their sublimity. They are a little bit like gentlemen. They are open and self-confident. Though they have some sorrow appearance in their looks and eyes, that’s a kind of feeling between expression and secret, which makes them seem to have experienced everything. It’s unexplainable.
Zhang: Do you think you are one of them?
Ling: I have experienced many things. I guess it’s the fun of life. But it should a calm and confident life. This kind of life is meaningful to me. It’s a challenging lifestyle. But it has its principles. It’s exciting, too. If you live such life, you must experience many things.
Zhang: What’s your definition of sexiness?
Ling: The sexiness of females is a special thing. I don’t think the sexiness comes from face or body. It’s a whole. It’s the so-called pose. Some pose is sexy. Some is not. The changes of body, shoulders, clavicles, breasts, waists and heads in acts of turning are all sexy to me. But you can’t tell which pose is sexier, because the pose should be put into a specific environment. Personally, I prefer the poses that are a little decadent or the sexiness on a basis of culture.
Zhang: I find that many of the girls in your paintings are very slim. Do you have a special interest in the slim ones?
Ling: I think that they are slim because they are young. Generally speaking, people tend to be slim in their youth. It’s natural. The youth will make them have this kind of freshness. Just like vegetables or fruits, the fresh ones are very attractive. Young women have this sort of attraction in them, too. Zhang: When you look for a girlfriend, you like to have younger ones, don’t you?
Ling: I usually find girls that are younger than me. But it depends on whether she can communicate with me on the spiritual level. And there is a limit, which is that she must be at least 18 years old, required by law.
Zhang: Looking at your paintings, there are figures that are covered with traces of bleeding, which, to me, evoke some sense of fetish. What do you think of fetish? Ling: It exists with reasons. Fetish exists in every culture. It’s a way, in which the natures of animal and human mix together. What I like is the stimulating method. But it doesn’t extent to extremism such as “footbinding”, part of Chinese traditional culture. “Footbinding” is extraordinarily disgusting for me. I can understand the extreme changes in sexuality in the feudalistic society. But I still see that as humiliating. Similar cases also include the fully-wrapped Arabic women. It’s a shame as well. It’s uncivilized. But what I paint, though being decadent, is colorful and fashionable. If you take a look at today’s fashion, it has much fetish, too. I guess that I’m fond of this kind of fetishism. I lived in Europe for many years and I have seen a lot of it. So I can feel and sense that.
Zhang: So fetish must be very stimulating for you, isn’t’ it?
Ling: Do you refer to the stimulation for my creation or my sex life? I think I can try it and tell you later.
Zhang: Do you think sex is important for your creation?
Ling: It’s very important. It’s the bliss of God. Only by that can we pass from generations to generations. Under our basic instinct, a good sex life can lift your soul up to another state of mind. A good work is just like an orgasm. It’s a state of surpassing. I like that state.
Zhang: Can women influence or change your creation and life?
Ling: I decide my art by myself. Women in my life will provoke some impact but they can’t decide on my creation.
Zhang: Is emotion important in your life?
Ling: Yes, it is. Human beings are emotional animals. Some express them, while others hid it well. If people in the world didn’t talk about sensations, I think that would be a pity.
Zhang: What kind of love are you longing for now? A passionate love or a mild love?
Ling: Hopefully, I can get them all.
Zhang: But lasting passion is rare. Sensations will become dull after a while, won’t they? Ling: In most cases, they will. There are two reasons. One is that two individuals have different directions of development. And the other is a physical reflection. The freshness gradually decreases. And people become bored with each other. But if a couple can fix this properly, the passion will last. But these cases are rare. It’s like people would still feel bored if they drink champagne or wear similar clothes everyday. Passion is no different. The so-called love is a contradiction. And there’s such a contradiction in the modern life. It’s just up to what you choose.
Zhang: How will you choose?
Ling: If there are no ethics, moralities or responsibilities in our society, or to put it, if people were more like animals, break-ups will happen more often. The higher educated people are, the more they will think about it. And there will be higher continuity. I am living in a social environment. So I have to consider these things. I have experienced a lot.
Zhang: Have had many girlfriends?
Ling: I have gone through a lot, so …… 
Zhang: How long was your longest relationship ever?
Ling: Four or five years. I wish it could be ten or twenty years or more. I don’t want to change girlfriends every month. Some people see me as a playboy. Am I?
Zhang: Many people think that artists are playboys.
Ling: It’s a prejudice. It’s also a prejudice to assume that all artists are maniacs or alcoholics. Well, some artists are, believing only that can make an artist. So people think all artists should be that way. In fact, there are all kinds of artists, including conservative ones. Those images of artists are all inaccurate and stereotypical. They are mistaken social appearances misled by some people.
Zhang: Who is the most important person in your life now?
Ling: Me. I am totally self-centric. The most important person in my life is definitely me.   
Zhang: Do you think you are a dutiful son?
Ling: Yes, I do. You should repay your parents as much as they love you. It’s true love. You will give them as much as they give you. People are alike.
Zhang: Do you think you are a responsible person?
Ling: We should all be responsible. If we don’t, that would be a problem. It’s normal to be responsible for the society, for the family and for your own career.  
Zhang: Do you believe in Buddha?
Ling: There’s an old saying, which is “Man proposes, God disposes”. Human beings have souls. Of course, it’s on a spiritual level rather than from a physical point of view. Buddhism or Christianity has had some deep and significant influences on this world. I think Buddhism has its merits for one’s life and behaviors. Every religion has its own merits. Otherwise, they won’t last till today. It’s a natural choice. Meaningful things will last. Meaningless things will gradually die. Zhang: You believe in Buddha. Do you believe in reincarnation?
Ling: Yes, I do.
Zhang: If yes, do you want to be a man of a woman in your eternity?
Ling: I think I still want to be a man.
Zhang: Why?
Ling: That’s because I love to be initiative. 
Zhang: Are you initiative in every aspect of life?
Ling: Almost. 
Zhang: Will you be scared if a girl courts you?
Ling: Of course not. It depends whether her initiative can make me initiative too.  
Zhang: You have had so many girlfriends. Have you always been welcomed by girls since your childhood?
Ling: Why do you think so? I am not an Adonis. Do they like me? I don’t know. 
Zhang: Sure you know. Which part of your body are you most satisfied with?
Ling: My hair.
Zhang: Is that an attraction for girls?
Ling: I don’t know. I don’t think so. I grow long hair just for fun.  
Zhang: Did you ever have your hair cut?
Ling: Many a times, I even had my head bald before. My father was in the army. So he asked me to have short hair. But I just like long hair. It’s like a challenge. But this kind of challenge was not allowed in my family. But I gave myself the green light after I came to Beijing. But when I was in school, students with long hair couldn’t be registered for each coming terms. All my friends in school had long hair so we went to the barber’s together and had our hair cut bald. And we could finally be registered. My hair was the longest when I was in Europe. It was more than a meter long. I also had two braids, like the Indians.
Zhang: What are your interests in your spare time?
Ling: I’m interested in everything. Music, movies, politics, fashion, reading, food, wine, beautiful shoes and nice clothes etc. I like them all. It’s quite normal to pay attention to many things in modern life.  
Zhang: Do you read fashion magazines?
Ling: Yes, I do.
Zhang: Your paintings transmit a strong sense of fashion. What’s your understanding of fashion?
Ling: I think fashion is an attraction. And so is sex. Idealism is an attraction, too. The reason why fashion is so seductive now is due to the existence of different materials, aesthetics, sex, the sense of time and the desire for possession. All of them can be clearly expressed in fashion.
Fashion is not only about what you wear. It includes home decoration, automobiles, movies and etc. everything has fashion in it. And fashion doesn’t simply mean famous brands. Fashion is a seduction.
Zhang: Do you think of yourself as fashionable?
Ling: I think I am. I don’t mean I always follow the trend. And I don’t know what trend is now. There isn’t a standard trend either but fashion is foreseeing a sense of time. I’m not interested in things lagging behind time.
Zhang: You think fashion is a seduction. Are you a man that can resist seduction?
Ling: It’s hard to resist seduction. It is just a choice for me. I choose what is seductive to me and what is not. For example, creating my best piece of work is a seduction. An excellent idea, a perfect expression or an astonishingly good artistic structure, they are all very exciting.
Other seductions, such as sex, materialism and power, are like wild fire. It’s endless. I used to live in Europe. And I’ve been to Hollywood. There are too many seductions there. It’s unhealthy if there are too much of that. It’s unhealthy because it’s too toilsome and boring.
For example, there are numerous beauties around the world. When I go to Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Africa or just a forest, I can find beauties everywhere. If you have the taste, they are everywhere. Also, if you feel you are rich in Beijing or Shanghai, you will find that there are lots of richer people in Paris or New York City. And so is power. It’s endless.
If someone is led on the nose by these beauties every day, he must be a fool.
Zhang: Have you ever been tortured by a desire? Such as the pursuit for a thing or a woman?
Ling: I have gained all I ever wanted. I didn’t court girls when I was young. What I longed for was freedom. I needed to choose what I do. It’s the most important. If I wanted to go after girls, it should not be a problem. Of course, it’s not like a hundred percent sure. I didn’t care too much about the materialism either when I was young. I just carried a little money and a backpack and I hit the road.
Zhang: Do you think you are free now?
Ling: I think to some extent I’m freer than before.  
Zhang: Do you still take freedom as the most important thing?
Ling: I think the most important thing now is being young.  
Zhang: Do you want to be young again?
Ling: I am young now! I want to keep truly young. It’s not only physically young, but also young in my spirit and mental thought. Youth is vitality. It includes the body, mind and the lifestyle. It’s a good thing. Or course, I will gradually feel the sense of crisis. So it’s important to feel young. I need to try to maintain and enjoy my youth.