My name is Zhenlian, I am an artist from China, I was born in China in 1948.  ‘Zhenlian' is my pseudonym, it means ‘True Lotus' which is a ‘Buddhist philosophy.  My full name is Zhen Lian Xiu, but I like to sign all my paintings with my pseudonym, since I have some personal emotional attachments to Buddhism. Painting helps me attain the status of ‘Zen' which is a branch of the Buddhist philosophy.  The concept of ‘Zen' is to live every moment of your life as it is eternity. When I am at my painting I forget that time is running and when I finish a painting I feel happy and bliss, I almost feel' Perfection' , The moment you feel perfection in your life that is ‘Zen'  Of course one cannot feel perfect all the time, but in the life of creation there are always moments of perfection.

I was graduated from Teachers Training College in Hong Kong as a qualified art teacher in 1969. Since then I had worked as art teacher in both Primary and Secondary schools in China.

From 1976 to 1988, I stayed in Paris.  I intended to enter an Art College in Paris,  for some personal reasons I had not been able to enter any Art College, but I had gained recognitions from several French Art Institutions.

  I have retired from my work since 2002, since then I have devoted myself to painting.  I like to experiment with new medias which I have not had much experience before, such as acrylic and Chinese paintings.I am fired with inspiration in whatever I paint, in fact, I am more inspired now than when I was young.

Statement 

I like both oil paintings and Chinese paintings. In oil painting I like the richness of its colours. I love to cover my canvas with a profusion of colours in their dream-like imageries.  I am often inspired by nature, like Renoir I believe that a painting should be beautiful.  Most of my paintings are conceptual realistic in style, that is to say my paintings appear very realistic but there are always some imaginative elements in the composition of my works. I think I would rather call this Conceptual Romanticism.  My paintings are integrations of the real and the imaginative.