A sport utility vehicle and a professional suit make him look like a traveler and explorer. The person whoremoved his sunglasses and approached me naturally was Yang Zhijian, a genuine determined explorerof art. His spirits reminded me of what his countyfellow Qu Yuan said thousands of years ago: “The wayahead is long and I see no ending, yet high and low I’ll search with my will unbending.”
　　When I saw Zhijian at the beginning of the new century, he already won prizes at national oil paintingexhibitions and took the lead in the journey of art exploration. In exchange of ideas about art, I said tohim frankly, “Painting differs from constructing the Great Wall in that its quantities are not necessarilyproportional to the ultimate result ...” It seemed that Zhijian was kind of impressed by my viewpoint.
　　When I met him again, he had finished his scholarly visit in Russia and returned home. I could see theeastern and western elements in his works blend and fiercely conflict with each other. However, no winnerwas produced in this competition. His inner mind was filled with steady mediatations and fierce tensions.
　　As some people put it, a painter should know that those equipped with knowledge win; a painter shouldnever forget his Chinese identity; a Chinese painter should picture the spirits of Chinese, contributing anew “cultural feast” to humanity by virtue of a foreign artistic form.As leaves turned green again, Zhijian showed me a series of sparkling works displayed in his studio, inwhich western grease oil and China ink are blended and infiltrated with each other; the oriental culturalspirits are painted together with the occidental coffee and bar. These works are really exciting andintoxicating. How beautiful and marvelous they are!Although we are in different age groups, we, as pious followers of art, are closely connected with acommon belief. When he showed people his hard-won works of years, I couldn’t help thinking of the longprocess of sufferings and pleasure. I feel greatly delightful and wish to express my congratulations here.
　　I wish he would come to a brighter new start as early as possible.
　　Wang Changkai
　　On August 28, 2008 in Beijin