When I describe my art in chinese for a chinese audience, I usually call it contemporary chinese art. I use chinese brushes, paper, and most importantly, chinese techniques. A painting like this, with calligraphy of the Northern Song Su Shi poem and two branches of peach blossoms illustrating some content in the poem, is not particularly modern, except for the lines on the left and the bottom meant to represent the pavillion which frames the painting as it does Su Shi’s poem. I feel like I would be ridiculous if I painted traditional chinese landscapes with little chinese figures in trational chinese robes. I fell in love with chinese materials and techniques but my mind and artistic ideas are firmly anchored to the present. I want to make chinese painting relevant by using it to commuicate something about our current situation.