A Canadian addicted to Chinese ink wash paintings迷上了中国水墨画的加拿大人

湖南 彭云佳

Canadian Brandon Collins-Green calls himself a Chinese culture “addict”.He has lived in China for over six years,spending his time on painting in the Chinese ink wash style and translating Chinese classics into English.

Collins-Green,37,is a doctoral candidate in classical Chinese literature at Jiangxi Normal University in Nanchang.About 15 years ago,his first encounter with a stage adaption of the classic Chinese novel The Dream of the Red Chamber in Singapore inspired him to study Chinese in the following years.Learning Chinese as a second language,Collins-Green found it was not easy to understand a novel written in Chinese.“Besides the stories,I am interested in the poems,dialogues and lantern riddles in the book,” he said.“Because of The Dream of the Red Chamber,I wanted to get a closer look at China.”

His strong curiosity about China and Chinese culture prompted Collins-Green to travel to the city of Nanchang in 2015,with the hope of learning what the real China was like.During a visit to Badashanren Memorial Hall in Nanchang,where paintings of a famous Chinese artist were on exhibition,Collins-Green was interested in how a tiny brush could depict(描画)the curves of hills,shade and light on paper.

In his years spent translating The Dream of the Red Chamber into English,he has gradually found his way of combining Chinese and foreign cultures into his paintings,writing poems in English as the backdrops of his figures.As of this year,Collins-Green has completed over 2,500 works,including translations of The Dream of the Red Chamber,landscape paintings and portraits.

He lives a life greatly influenced by The Dream of the Red Chamber,renting a loft of about 9 square meters beside his university as a studio.Since this March,his paintings have been exhibited at art festivals in cities including Beijing,Shanghai,Hangzhou and Xi'an,bringing him a group of fans.Some have sent him emails,asking about the meanings of the poems in his paintings.

“We can see from Collins-Green that traditional Chinese culture is becoming more attractive to people in other countries,”said Li Shunchen,Collins-Green's mentorat Jiangxi Normal University.“I really recommend that more people come to China to see how fast it is changing and to enjoy the charm of its culture,”Collins-Green said.

Reading

Check

1.Why does Collins-Green call himself a Chinese culture “addict”?

A.He has lived in China too long.

B.He is interested in Chinese novels.

C.He likes paintings in the Chinese ink wash style and translating Chinese classics into English.

D.He is keen on learning Chinese poems and writing the poems in English.

2.How many years has Collins-Green studied Chinese?

A.15.B.6.

C.10.D.8.

3.What made Collins-Green want to get a closer look at China?

A.His strong curiosity about China.

B.The Dream of the Red Chamber.

C.Chinese ink wash paintings.

D.Landscape paintings and portraits.

4.What can be inferred from what Collins-Green said in the last paragraph?

A.Chinese culture is becoming more attractive to the world.

B.Chinese culture affects more people from all over the world.

C.More people are interested in Collins-Green's paintings.

D.Collins-Green hopes more people come to China and enjoy its culture.

Language

Study

Difficult sentence in the text

During a visit to Badashanren Memorial Hall in Nanchang,where paintings of a famous Chinese artist were on exhibition,Collins-Green was interested in how a tiny brush could depict the curves of hills,shade and light on paper.在参观南昌八大山人纪念馆时，一位中国著名画家的画作在展览中展出，Collins-Green对一支小小的画笔如何在纸上描画山的曲线、阴影和光线很感兴趣。

【点石成金】本句是一个主从复合句，where引导的是定语从句，how引导的是宾语从句。其中，be interested in表示“对……感兴趣”。