The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword: The Power Of Master Yun's Paintings (1)

I last mentioned: Master Yun's paintings and calligraphy works are distillations of his meditation.

Everyone has a different way of meditation. Some achieve it through sitting in the lotus posture, some through running. Master Yun gets into his mode when he is painting and writing calligraphy.

I want to go into something slightly technical here. Most people write calligraphy with their wrist resting on the table. Some rest their elbow. Master Yun, regardless of the size of the word he is writing, or whether he is painting peonies or the golden details on the leaves, he uses the "elbow-hanging style 悬肘 xuan zhou". Perhaps from the discipline of practicing Taiji 太极 (Master Yun was the gold medal awardee of international Taiji competitions when he was much younger), despite "hanging the elbow" is no easy attainment, it actually allows his Qi to flow into his strokes, the petals, the painting.

So here's the key question: what kind of Qi are you bringing back, when you display Master Yun's art of fengshui at home, and office?

Then let's take a look at what has Master Yun painted. Simply put, Master Yun's Qi finds its way into the forms and colors of the painting. His meditation sets his imagination running, and his imagination imprints itself onto the rice paper. A man whose heart is laden with petty affairs would never produce glorious works, at most cheap and empty imitations. While a man who has greatness in his blood creates nothing but art of prosperity.

Master Yun paints bright, full-blossomed peonies. The peony is the king of flowers, the flower of riches, prosperity and power. Some grow on the mountains, wishing for your prosperity to have a solid foundation. Some are with succulent peaches, with prosperity, there is harvest and good health. Which blessings would you receive?

Look at the leaves. Leaves represent your career, your empire. And they are not ordinary leaves. Master Yun paints leaves with golden veins. This is the first instance ever in art history that leaves in Chinese painting are brought alive with gold streaks, shining.

And the inscription by the side:

吉祥富贵歌

吉祥富贵云龙子

吉祥富贵水上荷

富贵华丽梦成真

美哉善哉富贵人

云化雨，龙赐福

水上长美荷

云中龙，水上荷

This is the Chinese lyrics to the song of Lotus on Water. Loosely translated into English:

Prosperous Lotus on Water Song

Prosperous Lotus on Water

Elegant Lotus on Water

Brings your dreams to reality

Brings elegance to prosperity

Flow to you

Flow to me

Lotus on Water

Flow to you

Flow to me

Unlike common Chinese paintings, Master Yun has chosen to write this prayer of good wishes legibly, not some cursive bygone poem. His blessings are for the people of this age and the future. I will be talking more about how to use this art of fengshui, and the Prosperous Lotus on Water Song, in the next article.

These paintings embody Master Yun's great wishes and blessings of prosperity and power. And since the rice paper used is of the highest grade that can last for a thousand years, so would Master Yun's blessings be for you and generations to come.

-- Kan Ying Loong, Executive Director