This year marks the 75th anniversary of Master Hongyi’s death. The "Yixin Calligraphy Exhibition" co-oraganized with the Hongyi American Research Center will open at Long Museum for 40 days to commemorate the Matser Hongyi. At the exhibition site, we will follow Yixin to explore his calligraphy through art, truth, law, and Taoism, plus his inner world.

Master Hongyi's common name is Li Shutong. His preciousness lies not only in his artistic accomplishments, but also in his adherence to the artistic concept of "skills first and then literature and art" throughout his life. This concept is very influential in the current art field and spiritual inheritance. After Li Shutong became a monk, he gave up all the arts except the calligraphy. He took this as a skill and convenience for the benefit of the world.

Yixin, born in 1971, is the research expert of Master Hongyi. From 1990 to 1993 in Quanzhou, he was close to the two elders Yuanzhuo and Miaolian, who were close disciples of Master Hongyi. In 2004, he lived in the United States and was responsible for the establishment of the "Hongyi American Research Center". He is very good at master Hongyi's calligraphy of different styles in various periods of secular and monkhood. He is recognized in contemporary times as the number one in the inheritance, research and appreciation of Hongti calligraphy.

For many years, Yixin tried his best to learn Master Hongyi’s calligraphy. Every morning, Yixin first sits in silence for a few hours before his practice. At night, the surrounding neighbours often have turned off the lights, and the light and shadow in the house of Yixin were still there. He sits calmly, with the pen hanging on his wrist. For more than 20 years, he practiced more than 30 sheets of paper everyday. Sometimes, he even forgot to sleep and eat.

What is the heart of Master Hongyi? What is the spirit of Master Hongyi? Under the innocent and childish appearance of Hongyi calligraphy, there is his great wisdom. It is the tension and softness of those fingers that create those simple lines. Each word is as calm as the gentleman of Taoism in the seemingly casual layout. Yixin hopes to bring the visitors into a state of purity, tranquillity and respect. This is also the way to explore art.

This exhibition will display 84 works, of which 72 are new works by Yixin, and 12 are exquisite works over the years. The exhibition uses Yixin's calligraphy as the visible axis, and the mounting and video works as the hidden axis, to present the simple way of Hong Gong.

About the Artist 

Yixin, born in 1971, is the research expert of Master Hongyi. From 1990 to 1993 in Quanzhou, he was close to the two elders Yuanzhuo and Miaolian, who were close disciples of Master Hongyi. In 2004, he lived in the United States and was responsible for the establishment of the "Hongyi American Research Center". He is very good at master Hongyi's calligraphy of different styles in various periods of secular and monkhood. He is recognized in contemporary times as the number one in the inheritance, research and appreciation of Hongti calligraphy.

About the Curator

Yuehping Yen is a social anthropologist. He received his Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 2000. She specializes in artistic anthropology. Her research areas include Chinese calligraphy, art and sports, Chinese contemporary art, and Art and Buddhism practice and so on. She has written columns and books on aesthetic life, is a curator, and is also engaged in contemporary art research, market analysis and collection consultant work, and has managed a non-profit exhibition space in central London. Published works include Calligraphy and Power in Contemporary Chinese Society (RoutledgeCurzon, 2005), Liu Xiaodong (in Vitamin P2: new perspectives in painting, Phaidon Press, 2011), Writing the Unwritten (in Traces of Words, Museum of Anthropology at UBC, 2017) etc.