In the mid-1980s, through the recommendation of Yu Feng
Zhao Wuji saw Ding Liren’s paintings for the first time
Kneeling on the carpet, he appreciated a dozen of paintings for half an hour
And he said Ding’s works telescoped eastern and western art
I was born in 1930 in Haimen Town, Taizhou, Zhejiang
I remember that when I was 6
There were three troupes
Of Yue Opera, Beijing Opera and play at my home
Rehearsals were going on day and night
My uncle was the chairman of the students’ union of Shanghai Art Academy
My home was a local salon of art
I didn’t start painting under the influence of the academic artists like my uncle
When I was a child, my nanny told me stories in Journey to the West
Such as the tales of Baigujing and Bajiaoshan
She was an illiterate
I could only understand part of the stories
Some tales were told repeatedly
So magical
I never got tired of listening to them
I could not be satisfied with only listening to them. I wanted to draw them out
I was quite bold as a young man. I changed my major for four times
The Biology Department of Nanjing University
I got enrolled easily
And the Art Department was nearby
I found the major quite interesting
So I dropped out and took the examination again
Xu Beihong used to be the department head and he was a realistic artist
No. I wanted to be a student of Lin Fengmian
Who was in Hangzhou National Art College (now China Academy of Art)
I got enrolled again
At the end of 1959
I was hired by the insect institute
So I went to Shanghai
I painted the roads
Wukang Road, Yongjia Road
Some remain the same until now
Once I was painting the lotus pool in Fuxing Park
Someone blocked my view
Then I found he looked like the man named Liu Haisu in my uncle’s alumni book
So I rose up, asking “Are you Mr.Liu”
He invited me to see paintings at his home on Saturday morning
The house was called Songyuan Villa
When I sketched late here
I went to Liu Haisu’s for dinner
Each age has its own characteristics
In the 1960s, you could just knock on the door
And then went into Liu Haisu and Feng Zikai’s homes without reservation
Xie Zhiguang’s home was often crowded with visitors, and he sent his paintings for free
Later he passed away
There’s no other better than him
Here was the insect institute
I have been fond of insects since childhood
After I worked here, I had a better understanding of them
This is a magnified mosquito
Male mosquitos don’t bite people and they have camouflage in grass
A weevil has a long nose which resembles an elephant's trunk
Besides the work at insect institute
Ding also did toy design and furniture design
He also built tarred road for three years
He had rich life experiences
He learned theatre, paper cutting and western painting
And he turned them into his own language
The materials he used are not limited to paper
He also does oil painting
And even paper cutting, collage, wooden carving and stone carving
In the 1990s
I felt that traditional Chinese seal patterns were all dragons and turtles
I thought we might need to make some change
You could also put a man, or a fish or a hand on it
I’d long been interested in paper cutting
And I liked making patterns that no one had made
I liked insects the most as a child
In the mountains in my hometown
A locust can be as big as a banana
I read novels late into the night
I like reading novels from small counties like Peru, Argentina
Afghanistan
And places like Sicily
Old people are busier than young people
Because their life journey is going to reach the end
Young people can waste time because they have lots of days remaining
But we don’t. We have a little time
We should keep changing and we shouldn’t be conservative
Seize the time and embrace changes