This is a 78 cm long ceramic sculpture called “The Boat on the Yellow River”, a large boat waiting to cross the river, loaded with large jars, small pots, and big sheep, little lambs. Four men of the Yellow River with their heads wrapped in white towels and with bare shoulders, are happily chatting about something, either standing or squatting. What a picture of life on the Yellow River! An ordinary life scene “discovered” by the artist has been endowed with an unusual significance. Is this the ferry of history held up by the Mother River? The melody of “the Yellow River Boatman’s Song” is ringing in our ears, and after a storm, there is a bright sunshine and peaceful water and a clear sky.

It is an improvisation from the author’s life memories.

The sculptor, Mr. Liu Shiming, the prodigy of the sculpture circle, is already an 80-year-old man, with distinctive looks, bright eyes and a legendary experience. In 1950, he graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts and stayed in the school as a teacher, and in the same year he created the sculpture “Measuring the Land”, a reflection of the land reform, which was an extraordinary display of his talent. The sculpture work “Splitting the Mountains to Let the Water Flow” was created in 1958 to celebrate the spirit of the times with romantic enthusiasm and a nationalised form, which had a huge social impact. These two works, which epitomize history and have stood the test of time, have established the young Liu Shiming’s place in art history. However, his love of ethnic arts and folk arts seemed to call him to leave the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1961, as Wang Luobin had done when he was drawn to Xinjiang by folk songs, so he came to Henan, where he worked for 10 years in the universities and the museums, and then worked for three years in Hebei province. He immersed himself in the local customs, folk arts and operas. Walking along the Yellow River and living in the cave dwellings, the rich accumulation of the central Plains and Yanzhao culture became the inexhaustible sources of his future creation. In 1974 he returned to Beijing to restore cultural relics at the National Museum of Chinese History (now the National Museum of China) a rare opportunity of six years for him to come into contact with a large number of ancient art treasures, which enabled him to copy and trace with his eyes and hands. He rediscovered himself in the ancient terracotta figurines, and the art of the seemingly dishevelled hair and rough dresses, which was as sincere as a mirror, was the very essence of Liu’s nature, strengthening his creative expression.

In 1980, Liu Shiming returned to the Central Academy of Fine Arts, where he had been absent for 19 years, and made pottery while teaching. The electric kiln at the Central Academy of Fine Art offered him a great leap forward in his art. With the accumulation of years of life, he found a way to create, and a passion to create. In his words, “with a small detonator set off, it is ignited.” In the heat and cold, he kept watching the electric kiln, which all the others thought was unbearable, but he was driven by his mission and enjoyed himself, creating more than 500 pieces of works over the past ten years. An ancient Greek philosopher once said that a piece of work that was inspired and completed with sincere feelings must be a good piece of work. How could Mr. Liu’s works not all be excellent?

Look at this piece “The Boat on the Yellow River”, you can see the details are so realistic. It shows that when the sculptor saw this scene, his heart was moved. Only when he observed it carefully, could the memory of it be recreated later. In art, the authenticity of details is an indispensable basis for moving people, and it is worth noting that the sculptor did not get trapped in the “authenticity”, but he used a freehand technique to grasp the “degree” of representation in his creation. Sculptures in both Han Dynasty and Jin Dynasty emphasized simplicity and brief, with the difference being that the Han Dynasty’s was forcefully grand and vigorously vast, while the Jin Dynasty’s was more graceful and charming. Liu Shiming has perfectly combined the two. The people and objects in this work are scattered at random but well-located, and the shapes molded have a taste and elegance. The vivid shapes are arranged in three compartments in the ship trough, and finally unified by the outer frame of the large boat. The unity of the whole and the details, the unity of expression and representation, the unity of surface interest and profound meaning, all these are the essence of Liu Shiming’s art. His works are intriguing, like the aroma and freshness of the aged wine.

If the “meaningful” works captured from life, such as the “The Boat on the Yellow River”,, are a continuation of Liu Shiming’s famous work “Measuring the Land”, there is another category of work that is a continuation of the romantic style of the work “Splitting the Mountains to Let the Water Flow”. This aspect of his art seems to have been overlooked by the critics. In the work “Silk Road”, 25 cm high, the wind and smoke of the desert are transformed into the healthy camels moving with steady steps, and the Buddha in his heart blesses and protects the Silk Road for thousands and thousands of years. What a magnificent imagination! What has inspired the sculptor? Was it the Mogao Grottoes, or the ancient City of Gaochang, or the poplar forest? As a sculpture, the silhouettes of the camel and the caves of the Buddha give the work both clarity of image and a sense of space and volume. This is a work of art that is small but full of history.

The sculpture is an art of silence, and Liu Shiming is even more reticent. It is through his works that we get to know him, and as we have known him better, we gain a better understanding of his works. Like all the great artists, Liu Shiming’s art is inseparable from his personality. What is the character of an artist in today’s diversified art world? What is the essence of art? How do artists in ivory towers recognise ethnic and folk art? How can original arts be improved while preserving the “original” features? Liu Shiming’s art and his personality provide us with useful insights.