Gu Wenda
GW: Reading is only a part of my life. Sometimes I find inspiration even in the washroom. You can have inspiration and acquire knowledge any time any where if you have the belief and conviction.
Gong Yan
GY: Yes, and I think it is especially, especially important. I kept reading books, all kinds of books. Because art is visual (of course it also includes hearing and taste, etc), it is relatively three-dimensional. However, the book is two-dimensional. And the more two-dimensional it is, the more room it leaves for the imagination. And then there is now, for example, the relatively hot new media art, or interactive art… but for me, books are an especially direct interactive medium. You open the books, and your mind can still imagine. This is the best interaction, particularly important.
Hu Jieming
HJ: Reading must be less important now than what it used to be. There are numerous ways to read now, like surfing on the Internet, for example. I think the Internet has replaced reading books to a great extent. I probably spend more time on the Net.
Jin Feng
JF: I like reading books very much, I’ve already been reading for 10, 20 years, and reading has already become a habit.
We are now in the age of the Internet. We can understand a lot of thing in a very convenient way. But reading books is a good habit; it’s different from surfing the net. The process of reading books is also the process of cultivating your heart. Personally speaking, it’s really important to me.
Li Lei
LL: Let me tell you. The important things for artists are as follows: firstly, reading; secondly, listening to music; thirdly, being close to the nature; fourthly, making friends with others.
Whether I am reading, listening to music, watching a film… I would watch good movies and bad ones, too, and farces like those of Stephen Chow. I would have my own judgments on which ones are intelligent things and which ones are worthless. Only after you know what is good and what is bad can you create something wonderful.
Liang Yue
LY: Yeah. Reading is important for everyone. It’s a habit that brings readers tranquility.
Song Haidong
SH: Yes, it is important, too important. Reading is like asking different teachers questions. For example, if someone is very knowledgeable about tea, then I would more about tea after I have read his book.
Tang Maohong
TM: I do not go out often. I only go out several times within one month, so I access information mainly via the Internet. Without this channel, I cannot even continue thinking. Even lots of images in my works are downloaded from the Net.
Wang Nanming
WN: An artist who does not read often cannot have better practice in thinking. And good thinking practice has a lot to do with how an artist expresses himself in his works.
Xue Song
XS: I seldom read books. I burn a lot of them (laugh). It is the nature of my work. But before I burn them, I do leaf through them.
Yang Fudong
YF: I do not read too often now, but I think it’s very important for artists to read books. My current feelings towards reading books are this: when I am extremely busy I really look forward to the chance to reading books a few days later. This is the situation I am in right now.
Yu Xiaofu
YX: It is of number one importance. It is even more important than painting everyday.
Yu Youhan
YY: If my colleague comes to me for advice for his kid who is interested in art, I wouldl advise him not to send his kid to an art academy but to Fudan University to study literature, or philosophy, or even history. Just don’t study painting. The oil painting environment sucks and so do the teachers.
Yang Zhenzhong
YZ: But I think because of the Internet, I have developed habits that are not so good. You no longer need to read books. You can google whatever you want to know, rather than try to find the answer in the books, or… that is to say, everything is on the Internet. And you become too dependent on the Internet. Staying away from the Internet for a few days makes you feel weid, or even scared. Reading books is quite different from reading articles on the Internet. You might read several pages of a book every day, but they come to you slowly. On the contrary, when you read articles on the Internet, you read very fast with the clicking of the mouse. It is very… you know? Even when you are reading something theoretical, you are still surfing at high speed.
Zhu Julan
ZJ: I consider reading more important than painting. It is the same as my basic view on painting. I paint because I want to find ways to communicate through painting. There are two possibilities for such communication. One is to communicate with my inner world. The other is to communicate with others. Others can see you through your paintings. I have the same feeling when I read books. Through books, I can communicate with myself, that is, I try to find similar thoughts between me and the writer. Or his writings may be able to greatly illuminate me. I also get another kind of communication through reading. These books have been left behind by lots of people in the past. These people could be the ones I am most interested in, or I most admire. What they said are inside the books. So when I read, it would be like conversing with them. I get a lot of satisfaction out of it.
Zhang Peicheng
ZP: Although I am very busy with my work, but I consider reading books more important than reading the newspapers. Reading the newspaper gives you a lot of meaningless news about society, whereas reading books really gives you something enlightening.
