Yang Ming comes from Bai Nationality with pseudonym of Baizi Aming. Born in a farmer’s family of Dali in 1942 and influenced by majestic Cangshan Mountain and broad Erhai Lake from childhood, I am very fond of art. My mother is a great woman, as she supported that I should go to school even she had to braid grass or sell eggs. After hard time in primary, middle and high schools, I enrolled in the university. In Yunnan Institute of the Art, I studied from Yuan Xiaocen, Ding Shaoguang, Ye Gongxian and other teachers and was educated with systematic knowledge of fine arts and courses of “studying from workers, farmers and soldiers” for six years. When I was writing the graduation thesis, the "Cultural Revolution" began, so I stayed in the university for two years to wait for assignment. After attempts for several times, I returned my hometown in Dali. From then on, I have traveled all over Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake to feel, experience, sketch and create. Under the slogan of updating knowledge, I widely researched and expressed on Chinese painting, print, calligraphy, Dali's history and cultural relic, culture of Bai Nationality, ancient architecture and cultures of national minorities in Yunnan. My diligent work was encouraged by other artists in Yunnan; particularly, I was fortunately guided and recognized by Messrs. Huang Zhou, Wu Guanzhong, Zhan Jianjun and other precursors and masters who came to Dali for life experience.

　　God helps those who help themselves. In creations for fine arts, Yunnan heavy color paintings Torch Festival and Residence of Bai Nationality, print Rounding Three Gods, design Marble Vase and some other works won awards in national fine arts exhibitions, which was published on various domestic magazines and newspapers, and was exhibited in Europe, Australia, Canada, Japan and other countries. The large frescos Famous Historical and Cultural City – Dali and Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake were published on middle color-pages of Nationality Pictorial and Yunnan Pictorial respectively. The large fresco South with Colorful Clouds was painted in Kunming, the thesis Jiama Paper of Bai Nationality was published on journal of China Central Academy of Fine Arts Research on Fine Arts and Shanghai Fine Arts Series, and several theses about protection and construction of historical and cultural city were published. I have compiled and taken photos for the book Residence of Bai Nationality – Gate Tower with Three-layered Upturned Eaves and have been in charge of editing the last three years of Dali’s Local Record published by Zhonghua Book Company.

　　Design for architecture: I have been responsible for general layout and single design of "Generalissimo Du Wenxiu’s Tomb" in 1984, "Library and Culture Center of Dali" in 1986 and "Dali Museum" in 1988. I have taken the posts of consultant in construction of Yunnan Nationality Village in 1989 and chairman in Academic Committee for Protection of Dali Ancient City Wall in 1992.

　　In five years from 1988 to1993, I consecutively held the office of deputy commander-in-chief in Grand Artistic Performance for Opening Ceremony of March Street Festival.

　　Dali has experienced 5,000 years’ vicissitude from cave-living and semi-cave-living in the Neolithic Age to wars in Han, Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties. You may see ancient ruins, sites of cities, tombs, temples and towers everywhere, even set the feet on tile of Tang Dynasty and brick of Song Dynasty, such as pleasant “Alliance in Cangshan Mountai” and "mass graves" on bank of Xi’er River full of "trace of sword, hole of arrow and dried bones”.

　　Unique cultures of Bai Nationality contain Acarya Esoteric Buddhism that doesn’t conflict with Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and Sorcery, worship to Benzhu, Grand Singing and Dancing Party “Rounding Three Gods” in “Buddha Capital, Deity Capital and Immortal Capital”, “Torch Festival” that is like the Milky Way falling from sky……

　　Majestic and imposing Diancang Mountain has four seasons at the

　　same time, while charming and beautiful Erhai Lake’s whether is different in every Li. Everything is so profound, rich and perfect, even each pond, stone, grass and tree are full of poetic charms. I have been attracted and touched by her for so many years. I love Dali, so I paint

　　it. However, the brush becomes more and more heavy. Though the Cultural Revolution of ten years’ catastrophe ended, Movement of Eliminating Old Ideology, Old Culture, Old Custom, Old Habit was continuing. The suicidal behaviors of local history and culture didn’t

　　stop. So-called "industrialization", "modernization", "movement" and "development" appeared one by one. The remaining cultural and historic relics, native cultures of Bai Nationality and beautiful sceneries of Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake might be completely destroyed after another decade of "Cultural Revolution". At this moment, the State Council declared that Dali had been selected into the first lot of the National Famous Historical and Cultural Cities. To inherit contemporary culture of Dali and keep its development, I had to lay down the brush and participate in protecting history and culture. Under the support of government, I investigated over 100 cultural and historic relics, maintained cultural and historic relics, collected ancient steles, built stele forest, established municipal museums, supported Dongjing Music, organized and implemented regaining of “Three Pagodas in Chongsheng Temple” and other five National Protective Culture Relic Units, repaired ancient city wall in Dali, introduced “Three-course Tea” into Beijing, proposed and planed to rebuild Kunming Haigeng Farm as "Yunnan Nationality Village", suggested that Dali should develop tourism for sake of economy, and advised to announce "March Street" as Nationality Festival.

　　Life makes a poem. With cultural and artistic vision and means of painting, I have spent 50 years on loving, painting and protecting Dali, which is the road for “generalist” instead of professional painter. As a "rural scholar" of grass roots in frontier, I am not excellent but different.

　　Before ending the article, I would like to express my thanks to Administration Committee for Dali Provincial Tourism and Holiday Resorts, Dali Tiancheng Real Estate Company, Dali Jinzhou Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. for their financial aid on printing the book Painting Dali- Yang Ming’s Paintings Collection.

　　By Yang Ming

　　January 8th, 2008