English translation

Calligraphy or Chinese painting? No answer but a smile from Hsu Kwang-han, the 62-year-old Chinese American - he calls his work "significance-image calligraphy".

In September, 1999, "From Heart to Heart" his individual exhibition, was held at the National Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm; in December, 1999, "Zen Painting - Gate to Essence" his individual exhibition took place at the Water Harp Gallery and Garden, Pune, India; on March 17, 2000, his first exhibition in China begins at the Great Hall of Exhibition, Shanghai Library. Hsu Kwang-han says he doesn't think much of success or failure of his exhibition as his art career is only "playing", the process is more important than the result. Then he reflects on it and laughs," if really nobody comes to my exhibition, that would feel a bit weird."

Hsu Kwang-han the Man: Knowledge is not equal to wisdom.

At the age of 12, Hsu Kwang-han followed his parents and left Yunnan for the United States where he was "over-educated", obtained successively academic degrees in mathematics, theology, sociology and psychology, and taught sociology and psychology of religion at American universities.

But "knowledge is not equal to wisdom". What interests Hsu most is "supporting his own growth, and helping others also to grow". In 1974, he discovered his talent for painting, took up the brush with hands which had never been trained in art, and started "playing" with "significance-image calligraphy".

During the following 20 years, he traveled all over the world. In Tibet, he saw a purple moon, in Taiwan, was given a piece of ancient jade… Everywhere he went, he always remembered to create "living calligraphic art" involving the local people. His early training in psychology left traces in Hsu Kwang-han's creations. His paintings always elicit acclaim among psychotherapists who are keen on collecting Hsu's masterpieces. In his works they discover "a wonderful union of personal and transpersonal meaning", and hang the pieces on the wall as psychotherapy.

The paintings of Hsu Kwang-han: sparks of ideas flash in the paintings.

This painting consists of a set of 2, named "The Heart of Man". Standing before it, he asks us and also himself," What really is the heart of man?"

One day in the United States, Hsu talked with another psychologist about the heart of man. Inspired, he painted in a few strokes "The Heart of Man" - happiness, anger, grief and joy - the gamut of human feeling are expressed with abandonment from a long-suppressed heart, and the result is a beautiful and glowing "fruit". Afterwards he found another piece of Xuan paper underneath the painting. Ink had soaked through the first painting and left on the paper beneath a second painting-- a faint shape of a heart and of the "fruit" that broke through the confinement of the heart. Spirited, he said," Many problems become stultified in our hearts. If we don't clear out the garbage, how can the heart have space for the beauty of love? If we don't raise ourselves to a higher level of consciousness and disidentify with the world, how can we have the space to look clearly into problems and resolving them?" He had the 2 paintings mounted together on a single scroll using golden lotus paper, the paper used for the highest Japanese Buddhist paintings.

The painting "Energy" is made into the form of a name card by Hsu and given to his intimate friends as a present.

In Sweden. A heavy rain forced Hsu, who was painting outdoors, into a coffee shop. On the ground floor were two groups of young people playing two different kinds of music, and from the next floor up loud noises of a gongfu movie poured down. In such a noisy environment his creative genius was not diminished. "I can create anywhere because what's important is not the outer environment but the environment of the heart. As long as you maintain "the stillness of heart" ("meditation"), be totally absorbed in it, the creative stream continues." During his stay in India, Hsu learned of many local methods of "meditation", but he had another brilliant idea, "'Zazen' is not realistic in the modern society, I choose movement before calming down." He used to ask his university students to run outdoors for 20 minutes and then sit still for 10 minutes to help themselves to reach the "stillness of heart".

The brushes of Hsu Kwang-han:

Brushes are tools, but also sources of inspiration. "The up and down rhythm of the Chinese brush on Xuan paper is incomparably unique."

Hsu Kwang Han always carries 10 or more brushes with him. He says, different brushes convey different feelings - brushes are at the source of his creative inspiration. "Tiger Claw" has a thick and strong shaft which is imbued with the beauty of manliness; "Crane's Foot" of exquisite workmanship convey the feeling of a lyrical and sensitive woman; "Special Plume" comes from birds hovering in the skies and represents freedom; "Baby Hair Brush" is full of innocence; "Crane Standing" with its straight shaft suggests the endless potential of mankind; "Jade-Shaft Xuan Brush" which comes to a sharp point is used especially for expressing sharp or acute judgement.

The seals of Hsu Kwang-han:

Seals are not used as signature but for expressing sentiments.
Despite an excess baggage charge of 520 US Dollars, he always carries with him over 30 stone seals without leaving even one behind. Hsu Kwang-han has seals on which his name is engraved but which are never used on the paintings. Only upon the insistence of the buyer does he affix his seal-- on the back of the painting. He treasures those exquisite seals on which wise words are engraved. Not sparingly does he use these on the front of the paintings.

He tells us that "Stars Many Many" embodies his sentiment for the boundless universe," How can there be so many stars, flowers, grasses, trees, mountains, waters, people…." "Innocence" [Literally, "the truth of Heaven" in Chinese] implies that the truth of the earth is politics, nations and struggle, and the truth of heaven is summarized as "innocence". Don't think that "Stillness of Heart" and "Ecstasy" ["Mad Joy" in Chinese] are antonym that cannot co-exist. On the face of Maitreya the Buddha, you can find the union of both. "Happiness" [Literally, "Open Heart" in Chinese] is important, the thing that most opens one's heart is to do what one likes best, without concern about its success or failure.

The Sayings of Hsu Kwang-han:

Thinking is dreaming while awake; dreaming is thinking while asleep.

The most important thing in life is "presence" - living this present moment. How the future will be, no one knows. When one has no time to be afraid, there is only joy.

Every painting is a beginning, a door. You could enter it or not enter it.

Conditional love is a kind of oppression, unconditional love is love.

If existence doesn't smile at me, I smile at existence.

The real art is in the eyes of man.

Once you let go of your sense of inferiority in your heart, you'll feel beautiful and see beauty everywhere.