(Minghui.org) I am a calligrapher by trade, and I have an excellent reputation. Some people see me as a renowned artist; in reality, however, I am just another person, albeit a Falun Dafa practitioner.
I have seldom participated in collective calligraphy activities during the past 20-some years. Surrounded by the temptation of fame and fortune in today's world of art, I have let go of such attachments and followed the cultivation path arranged by Master. I have been utilizing my skills as an artist—a gift bestowed by Dafa—to tell the story of the practice and the persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). As a result, many have understood the goodness of Falun Dafa and withdrawn from the CCP and its youth organizations.
I was born in a farming village and diagnosed with many illnesses. I once slid and fell into a deep ravine at the age of six. I hit my head on a rock and was unconscious for a while. The accident left me with a concussion.
I caught typhoid fever in my teens. I had high fever, chills, and excruciating headaches periodically for three years. My family did not have money to have me treated, so I just endured the pain for years. Consequently, the illness damaged my brain, causing permanent cognitive disabilities.
Due to my mental condition, I did poorly in math, physics, and chemistry in school. I did not understand the concepts and could not remember anything. But I was gifted in calligraphy, and people noticed that.
After I started to work and was exposed to the Party indoctrination, my illness worsened. I often felt lightheaded and sluggish. I also had tinnitus and a bad temper. Reading exhausted my brain, which made me dizzy and irritable. I often put my head down on the floor and my feet up against the wall to relieve the pain.
I would sometimes have my wife punch my head for 30 minutes so that I could go to sleep. When I could not bear the pain, I would hit the back of my head against the wall or the bed board. I also had a herniated lumbar disc, a gastric ulcer, rhinitis, bronchitis, and heart disease. It was painful to be alive.
Because I could not adapt to society, I was reticent. I was forgetful and could not finish a complete sentence. I had to take notes at work or I would forget what I was doing.
The most unforgettable month of my life was June 1996, for hope was finally gifted to me: Someone at work introduced Falun Dafa to me and gave me the books Zhuan Falun and Zhuan Falun Volume II. I knew these books were life-saving treasures, so I held on to them.
My brain damage made reading nearly impossible, but I finished both books within a few days. It was amazing that I could do that, so I then decided to cultivate.
I joined other practitioners to do the exercises and read the books. Master cleansed my body three times in one month and eliminated karma over and over. I recovered from all of my health problems within a few months. I felt light and noticed my xinxing had elevated. I knew Master endured tremendous amounts of karma for me. Without Master cleansing my body, I would not be alive today. I am so grateful to Master.
To repay Master, I traveled to Beijing six times beginning in 2000 to appeal for justice for Falun Dafa, and I twice held up Falun Dafa banners in Tiananmen Square. I have been illegally arrested more than 20 times, sent to forced labor camps, sentenced to jail, and tortured.
When the wave of lawsuits were being filed against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the communist regime who launched the persecution, I submitted many articles to the Minghui website about the persecution using my real name. While writing the articles, I often noticed I did not have enough compassion, and I experienced the consequences of my actions.
Thus, I decided to improve my xinxing to become more compassionate. One time, I wrote more than 40 scrolls and encouraged people to withdraw from the Party. I improvised the verses and wrote them on the spot while standing in public. People who watched me write were exhausted, but I was calm and full of energy.
Many commented, “Although you're almost 70, you look like you're only 50.” Some even thought that I looked as if I was in my 40s.
“I practice Falun Dafa, and Master purified my body,” I told them. “I was ill and disabled, but the practice gave me good health.”
Prior to the practice, I pursued trends and drew modern-style calligraphy. But I followed the Fa principles after I became a practitioner. I discarded many human notions after reading the lecture Teaching the Fa at the Discussion on Writing Music and Creating Fine Art.
After I understood the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance more fully, I destroyed nearly one hundred scrolls that I had drawn and discarded calligraphy from famous artists that I had collected because they were filled with Party-type information.
I realized that hosting my own calligraphy exhibition was not the proper way to clarify the truth. Instead, I used three methods: accepting calligraphy exhibition invitations at out-of-town locations, inviting people who wanted my scrolls to my home to tell them about Dafa, and clarifying the truth while writing calligraphy at social functions and gatherings.
A prefecture-level city leader asked me to draw calligraphy at a luncheon a few years ago. The 14 guests were bureau-level chiefs, business owners, newspaper reporters, and artists. I asked the host to allow me to give a short speech and he agreed. I then talked to them about Falun Dafa and the persecution. All of the patrons except for one withdrew from the Party.
I noticed that many people did not really know what Falun Dafa was, so I usually spoke in a way that allowed them to understand better: “Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an upright practice, and it offers salvation to mankind. Falun Dafa follows the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and those who align with those principles are good people, while those who turn away from them and persecute practitioners are not. Jiang Zemin has brutally persecuted Falun Dafa, and many of his followers have been arrested. There is not much time left for those who want to atone for their sins.”
I was invited by a private art gallery to draw calligraphy. Most of the attendees came to buy calligraphy scrolls, including two public security officers and two security plainclothes men. I was not afraid and talked to them about Falun Dafa and the persecution while drawing the scrolls. The atmosphere was peaceful.
The head of an art gallery, who was also a business owner, all of a sudden yelled, “Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!” He used his mobile phone to broadcast a New Tang Dynasty TV program about forced organ harvesting of practitioners by the CCP and the lawsuit against Jiang Zemin.
Most of the attendees knew that Jiang will soon face judgment. They also understood the facts about Falun Dafa and the reasons for quitting the Party.
A plainclothes officer gladly quit the CCP and told me, “I've had insomnia for quite some time. I'd like a calligraphy scroll in hopes that it will give me peace of mind.”
I wrote a virtuous poem on the scroll for him and suggested, “Please be a kind officer and often recite 'Falun Dafa is good! Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good!' You will sleep well if you can do that.” He thanked me and left with the scroll.
I treated those who came to my home for scrolls as my honored guests. I would create a scroll for each person depending on their situation and help them quit the Party at the same time. I realized that giving them scrolls was not as important as helping them understand about Dafa and the persecution. My compassion increased as I improved in my cultivation.
Little by little, my deeds were spread by word of mouth. People learned about a Falun Dafa practitioner who drew calligraphy. As such, I did not care how much people paid me—or if they even paid at all. And many came to me for help in withdrawing from the CCP.
This spring, a government official accompanied me to a company headquarters to draw calligraphy. He introduced me to many politicians, including a political commissar of the army, a bank president, and a member of the CPPCC Standing Committee
Their expressions changed as soon as they heard me talk about “renouncing the CCP.”
“You want me to renounce the Party? Never!” said the bank president. Nevertheless, as a practitioner, I wanted to leave them a good impression, as perhaps I would see them again. So I took extra care to draw the calligraphy, and I gave each of them two scrolls without charge.
Very soon, someone reported me to the director of the Public Security Bureau, saying that I publicly talked about “renouncing the CCP” while drawing calligraphy. Another person who knew about the goodness of Dafa prevented the public security officer from arresting me. A friend sent me a message asking me to be careful. It was Master who helped me get out of danger.
I know that as long as I walk steadily and rationally on the path of Fa-rectification, there are friends and acquaintances who will provide opportunities for me to talk about Dafa.
For example, the chairman of a company affiliated with the provincial government is honest and talented, and he has a lot of connections, including with middle- and upper-level managers. I visit his company several times a year to participate in art events.
The chairman knows that the CCP is corrupt and vicious, and he is very supportive of and sympathetic toward Falun Dafa. Before the events, he asks his friends to come for support and to do some preparation work. This makes it easier for me to encourage people to withdraw from the Party. Almost everyone who attends the events agrees to withdraw.
His good deeds and righteous support have brought good energy to his company. Many companies in his area have folded, but his business continues to thrive.
Dafa has brought blessing to business leaders who believe that the practice is good while enabling righteous supporters to help practitioners. Among my acquaintances are several people who have helped me organize truth clarification events that have had over 100 attendees. When we organized art events in Beijing, Baoding, and other cities, people from all rungs of society have talked to others about Falun Dafa.
A medical professor, for example, introduced a calligraphy lover to accompany me to another city for an art event. The event took place inside an ancient building complex. The owner of the building was a former public prosecutor official. When I talked to him, he immediately wanted to quit the Party.
A young police station chief later asked me to write a scroll for him. While drawing the calligraphy, I urged him to no longer persecute practitioners, to be more concerned about their situations, and to do good deeds. He agreed and said that practitioners are good people. When I asked him to withdraw from the Party, he quickly agreed.
Many of those who know the story of Falun Dafa are telling others about the extraordinariness of the practice. Others support practitioners and do good things for Dafa.
This summer, a section-level official was at the local market where he saw a female practitioner returning 200 yuan to someone who’d lost it. That really touched the official. Later the practitioner was arrested and detained in the police station.
The official happened to be at the police station on business that day, and he saw the detained practitioner. He told the police officer who'd arrested her, “She is a good person. I saw her returning 200 yuan to the person who lost it. Heaven will not tolerate persecuting good people. I'm afraid those responsible will incur karmic retribution!” The police then released her.
I later wrote a scroll to thank that kind official. His wife said, “I don't know why, but my husband likes to be around you. He says you are different from other people, that he feels comfortable around you.”
The official told me, “In the future, please let me know when a practitioner is arrested. I'm also a part-time correspondent who reports on the public security bureau.”
The wonders of Dafa, as shown by the examples in this article, are manifestations of Master's compassion. I'm merely doing my insignificant part under Master's care. Everything is arranged, done, and given to me by Master.
Master said:
“Do well what you should do. This predestined opportunity is hard to come by. Cherish all of this, there won't be a next time. Developing any attachment will ruin you halfway along! Don't entertain or get attached to any human thoughts, and just do what a Dafa disciple should do. Everything that's wonderful, that's the most magnificent, and that's the most glorious awaits you!” (Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference)