Painted Love Our Story_相思绘本我俩的故事
A true love story: 98-year-old Chinese man paints portrait in honor of his beloved wife。
This is a lifelong love story that endures as times change in China. When Rao Pingru's wife Mao Meitang passed away, he began to paint memories of their lives – together and apart. He looked back and reflected, on love and sufferings, on happiness and death. In 2018, his painted book became a hit in countries including Britain, the U.S., France, Spain, and South Korea. CGTN has now reproduced his story, based on his life, words, and paintings.
This is a lifelong love story that endures as times change in China. When Rao Pingru's wife Mao Meitang passed away, he began to paint memories of their lives – together and apart. He looked back and reflected, on love and sufferings, on happiness and death. In 2018, his painted book became a hit in countries including Britain, the U.S., France, Spain, and South Korea. CGTN has now reproduced his story, based on his life, words, and paintings.
Transcript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:07 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:11 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:14 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:38 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:41 Dear Claudette, I'm not a writer nor a painter.
01:00 I'm just an ordinary old man.
01:06 Unfortunately, my wife passed away at the age of 84.
01:14 I was 87.
01:18 I don't smoke or drink.
01:22 How could I overcome my grief?
01:28 To tell you the truth, I didn't choose to create this world.
01:35 In fact, I felt compelled to do so.
01:43 The man writing the letter is Rao Pingru.
01:47 In November 2018, he turned 97.
01:52 The work Pingru mentioned in the letter
01:53 is Our Story, a book of paintings
01:56 he produced in 2008 when he was 87.
02:01 In his letter, Pingru relates the book's backstory
02:05 to a Spanish publisher concerning the two most
02:08 important women in his life.
02:32 Pingru never received professional training.
02:36 He paints based on his childhood memories
02:39 of studying Chinese art.
02:43 From 2008, he created more than 300 paintings in four years.
02:51 His paintings offer a glimpse into the turbulent life
02:54 of a man from a well-to-do background set
02:57 against the historical backdrop of 20th century China.
03:00 When Pingru's family published the paintings online in 2012,
03:10 they attracted widespread attention.
03:12 What drove this old man to create his first book?
03:26 And why is his story attracting such interest outside China?
03:30 Time takes us back to 1946.
03:48 The war of resistance against Japanese aggression in World War
03:51 II had just ended.
03:54 A young Kuomintang officer, Rao Pingru, returned home.
03:57 Pingru's father, Rao Xiaojian, had a friend called Mao Sixiang.
04:06 Mao had a daughter, and making a marriage was on Rao's mind.
04:11 My father said, "I've introduced someone to you.
04:14 "Why don't you go and see?"
04:16 I said, "Sure, I'll go and see."
04:18 I was 25 years old at the time.
04:21 He was 22.
04:23 When I saw him, I was looking at him through the window.
04:35 I thought, "This is the man I've always wanted."
04:40 Her name was Mao Meitang.
04:59 A typical well-educated young lady of early 1940s China,
05:04 Meitang was among a new generation of women
05:08 who were independent and outgoing.
05:33 To Pingru's surprise, Meitang's father, Mao Sixiang,
05:37 seemed to like him and wanted to find out more about him.
05:41 He invited Pingru to dinner.
05:44 Mao asked, "Do you smoke or drink?"
05:48 Pingru said, "No."
05:51 "Good, good," Mao replied.
05:54 In 1946, the two families' destinies became intertwined.
06:02 Their home province, Jiangxi, became the scene of a great love story.
06:08 Jiangxi was a relatively prosperous place
06:27 with waterways leading in all directions.
06:30 Historically, it had been one of the most developed regions in China.
06:35 It was a place of culture where people were respectable and modest.
06:44 The local food, spicy yet delicate, reflected the lifestyle.
06:49 Naturally, food lent a lot of color to Pingru's book.
06:55 For Pingru, it seemed appreciation became real when it touched the heart.
07:01 They were modern young people who still retained a traditional reserve.
07:12 When they confessed their love, they blushed.
07:16 Tongue-tied, Pingru remembered a foreign love song.
07:21 "Oh, Rosemary, I love you."
07:25 "I'm always dreaming of you."
07:28 "No matter what I do, I can't forget you."
07:32 Mei Tang sang gently in Chinese.
07:40 "Now heaven and earth have witnessed our love."
07:44 "My heart is betrothed to you."
07:47 "May we remember each other forever, and may our love last forever."
07:53 Pingru wished the peaceful life would never end.
08:05 But...
08:11 In 1946, the rivalry between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party erupted into all-out war.
08:20 And Pingru was dragged into it.
08:40 But the situation turned for the worse.
08:44 There was no escape for Pingru.
08:47 In his heart, something had subtly changed.
08:55 I was alone. I was alone.
08:58 No one cared for me.
09:01 Now I feel that someone is always caring for me.
09:05 I will always care for him.
09:08 [Music]
09:26 Before Pingru met Mei Tang, he had not been afraid of anything, not even death.
09:33 But after they got engaged, Pingru had to take the future seriously.
10:00 But there was no quitting the army.
10:04 In 1948, Pingru finally returned home, hoping to make a fresh start in life.
10:12 But even on the eve of his wedding, something was troubling him.
10:22 [Birds chirping]
10:24 [Speaking Chinese]
10:28 [Birds chirping]
10:30 [Speaking Chinese]
10:33 [Speaking Chinese]
10:37 [Speaking Chinese]
11:05 [Music]
11:11 He remembered his mother as a traditional, refined and virtuous woman.
11:17 She taught him to be the man he became.
11:32 Rao Pingru was born in 1922.
11:36 His mother, Yang Yuanjia, was a cultured lady.
11:40 She inspired a love of art in the young Pingru.
11:44 His wealthy family could ensure that Pingru was well grounded in literature and art.
11:53 [Speaking Chinese]
11:56 Pingru was given a Confucian education.
12:16 Chinese people believe that spiritual civilization is the core of the family and nation.
12:23 The life skills and moral education he was taught would influence him for the rest of his life.
12:31 According to Chinese tradition, women play a critical role in the life of the family and of the country.
12:39 But in his ivory tower, the 15-year-old was unaware of events taking place in his country.
12:46 35 million Chinese people were killed in the fighting.
12:57 The damage and suffering was incalculable.
13:05 If all the lost souls and resources could have worked for the cause of peace,
13:10 how much would mankind have benefited?
13:14 But the bloody warfare ultimately served to reunite China.
13:26 The Chinese people came to understand that the Great Wall could not protect them from modern invasion.
13:32 Nor could the people themselves, unless they were one.
13:37 [Speaking Chinese]
13:50 [Speaking Chinese]
13:54 [Speaking Chinese]
13:57 [Speaking Chinese]
14:24 1940 marked a turning point in the life of 18-year-old Peng Ru.
14:30 Peng Ru set his pen aside and took up a rifle.
14:35 Before his departure at Mid-Autumn Festival, his mother wrote him a poem.
14:42 "A bright moon hangs amid fleeting clouds.
14:46 The country must be protected with sincerity, ambition and determination.
14:51 Our oldest son must not worry about us.
14:54 Just send a letter to say he's safe."
14:58 Peng Ru left home with his family's expectations weighing on his shoulders.
15:04 He didn't know it at the time, but this would be a final farewell.
15:11 The Japanese army employed biological warfare in China.
15:19 Toxic agents were dropped on the Jiangxi region.
15:23 Millions of people were infected, including Peng Ru's mother.
15:28 With medicines and doctors in short supply, she couldn't be saved.
15:33 This was the last photograph Peng Ru and his brother Shou Ru had taken with their mother.
15:43 Peng Ru's mother died in 1942 at the age of 48.
15:49 The loss of innocent lives deeply affected Peng Ru.
16:11 I hope people can learn to love, so the world will be a better place to live in.
16:18 So the world will be a better place to live in.
16:46 People are like our fellow countrymen.
16:49 We are like our fellow countrymen.
16:53 Animals, dogs, horses, sheep, even trees are our companions.
17:03 Without these things, the world would be a better place.
17:12 Peng Ru's mother died in 1942 at the age of 48.
17:16 She was able to live with her family and her children.
17:20 She was able to live with her family and her children.
17:24 She was able to live with her family and her children.
17:28 She was able to live with her family and her children.
17:32 She was able to live with her family and her children.
17:36 She was able to live with her family and her children.
17:41 She was able to live with her family and her children.
17:45 She was able to live with her family and her children.
17:49 She was able to live with her family and her children.
17:52 She was able to live with her family and her children.
17:56 She was able to live with her family and her children.
17:59 She was able to live with her family and her children.
18:02 She was able to live with her family and her children.
18:05 She was able to live with her family and her children.
18:08 She was able to live with her family and her children.
18:11 She was able to live with her family and her children.
18:14 She was able to live with her family and her children.
18:17 She was able to live with her family and her children.
18:20 She was able to live with her family and her children.
18:23 She was able to live with her family and her children.
18:26 She was able to live with her family and her children.
18:29 She was able to live with her family and her children.
18:32 She was able to live with her family and her children.
18:35 She was able to live with her family and her children.
18:38 She was able to live with her family and her children.
18:41 She was able to live with her family and her children.
18:44 She was able to live with her family and her children.
18:47 She was able to live with her family and her children.
18:50 She was able to live with her family and her children.
18:53 She was able to live with her family and her children.
18:56 She was able to live with her family and her children.
18:59 She was able to live with her family and her children.
19:02 She was able to live with her family and her children.
19:05 She was able to live with her family and her children.
19:08 She was able to live with her family and her children.
19:11 She was able to live with her family and her children.
19:14 She was able to live with her family and her children.
19:17 She was able to live with her family and her children.
19:20 She was able to live with her family and her children.
19:23 She was able to live with her family and her children.
19:26 She was able to live with her family and her children.
19:29 She was able to live with her family and her children.
19:32 She was able to live with her family and her children.
19:35 She was able to live with her family and her children.
19:38 She was able to live with her family and her children.
19:41 She was able to live with her family and her children.
19:44 She was able to live with her family and her children.
19:47 She was able to live with her family and her children.
19:50 She was able to live with her family and her children.
19:53 She was able to live with her family and her children.
19:56 She was able to live with her family and her children.
19:59 She was able to live with her family and her children.
20:02 She was able to live with her family and her children.
20:05 She was able to live with her family and her children.
20:08 She was able to live with her family and her children.
20:11 She was able to live with her family and her children.
20:14 She was able to live with her family and her children.
20:17 She was able to live with her family and her children.
20:20 She was able to live with her family and her children.
20:23 She was able to live with her family and her children.
20:26 She was able to live with her family and her children.
20:29 She was able to live with her family and her children.
20:32 She was able to live with her family and her children.
20:35 She was able to live with her family and her children.
20:38 She was able to live with her family and her children.
20:41 She was able to live with her family and her children.
20:44 She was able to live with her family and her children.
20:47 She was able to live with her family and her children.
20:50 She was able to live with her family and her children.
20:53 She was able to live with her family and her children.
20:56 She was able to live with her family and her children.
20:59 She was able to live with her family and her children.
21:02 She was able to live with her family and her children.
21:05 She was able to live with her family and her children.
21:08 She was able to live with her family and her children.
21:11 She was able to live with her family and her children.
21:14 She was able to live with her family and her children.
21:17 She was able to live with her family and her children.
21:20 She was able to live with her family and her children.
21:23 She was able to live with her family and her children.
21:26 She was able to live with her family and her children.
21:29 Just as it seemed his family might enjoy the peaceful life they'd yearned for,
21:33 suddenly fate dealt him another blow.
21:38 The new government was seeking a unique path for advancement.
21:41 China was developing economically and social reform followed.
21:46 The public-private partnership was over and the anti-rightists came to the fore.
21:51 The end of one movement marked the beginning of another.
21:58 For Rao Pingru, the former Kuomintang officer, there was no escaping his past.
22:06 In 1958, Pingru was sent to rural Anhui province for re-education through labor,
22:12 without the chance to even say goodbye to his family.
22:18 Rao Shizang, Pingru's 8-year-old son, had to live through his family being broken up.
22:24 My mother would send things like blankets and clothes.
22:29 When I came back, my mother was in pain.
22:34 We were still young and didn't know what to do.
22:37 We just stayed by her side and cried.
22:40 We didn't know what to do.
22:42 But later on, we gradually learned.
22:49 At the same time, many people in Pingru's situation tried to make a clean break from their families,
22:54 so as to protect them.
22:57 Pingru asked Meitang for a divorce.
23:01 In response, however, he received a family photograph.
23:12 On the back, it read,
23:14 "Pingru, don't worry about us.
23:18 Focus on your re-education and we'll be together again.
23:23 We're still a happy family."
23:27 In her heart, Meitang believed in her marriage vows,
23:36 that whether rich or poor, young or old,
23:40 they should endure all their hardships together, to the last.
23:47 She was very sad.
23:49 But she was also very strong-willed.
23:54 Far away in Anhui Province,
24:05 Pingru was learning what it was like to plumb the depths of misery.
24:10 Before long, famine struck.
24:13 From 1959 to 1961,
24:16 the hard work and food shortages caused many early deaths at Anhui's re-education camps.
24:23 But Pingru survived.
24:30 He started to understand that true happiness can stand the test of suffering.
24:39 To Pingru's surprise, he discovered that one of his sons had been painting images of their family life.
24:46 In his letter to the Spanish publisher,
24:50 Pingru writes that he's glad to have a son with a talent for drawing.
24:56 "The fact is, I'm growing old.
25:01 Sometimes I find it hard to draw.
25:06 Fortunately, my son is a gifted artist.
25:14 He painted the scenes showing when our family was apart."
25:24 I was very moved by his painting.
25:28 Sometimes I cried when I was drawing.
25:31 I was reminded of the hard times we went through.
25:34 We've come a long way.
25:36 My mother was the main reason.
25:38 After my father left for Anhui,
25:44 my mother accompanied us for nearly 20 years.
25:50 She was a beautiful woman.
25:53 She was a gentle woman.
25:56 She never scolded us.
26:00 But when my father came back,
26:05 he suddenly became concerned about the situation.
26:07 He started to watch the news.
26:09 He never stopped.
26:11 I miss those days.
26:14 It was hard and we were poor.
26:16 But we were happy.
26:19 "I'm a man.
26:21 I should never be afraid of death.
26:23 I should never be afraid of death.
26:25 I should never be afraid of death.
26:27 I should never be afraid of death.
26:29 I should never be afraid of death.
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34:49 I should never be afraid of death.
34:51 I should never be afraid of death.
34:53 I should never be afraid of death.
34:55 I should never be afraid of death.
34:57 I should never be afraid of death.
34:59 I should never be afraid of death.
35:01 I should never be afraid of death.
35:03 I should never be afraid of death.
35:05 I should never be afraid of death.
35:07 I should never be afraid of death.
35:09 I should never be afraid of death.
35:11 I should never be afraid of death.
35:13 I should never be afraid of death.
35:15 I should never be afraid of death.
35:17 I should never be afraid of death.
35:19 I should never be afraid of death.
35:21 I should never be afraid of death.
35:23 I should never be afraid of death.
35:25 I should never be afraid of death.
35:27 I should never be afraid of death.
35:29 I should never be afraid of death.
35:31 I should never be afraid of death.
35:33 I should never be afraid of death.
35:35 I should never be afraid of death.
35:37 I should never be afraid of death.
35:39 I should never be afraid of death.
35:41 I should never be afraid of death.
35:43 I should never be afraid of death.
35:45 I should never be afraid of death.
35:47 I should never be afraid of death.
35:49 I should never be afraid of death.
35:51 I should never be afraid of death.
35:53 I should never be afraid of death.
35:55 I should never be afraid of death.
35:57 I should never be afraid of death.
35:59 I should never be afraid of death.
36:01 I should never be afraid of death.
36:03 I should never be afraid of death.
36:05 I should never be afraid of death.
36:07 I should never be afraid of death.
36:09 I should never be afraid of death.
36:11 I should never be afraid of death.
36:13 I should never be afraid of death.
36:15 I should never be afraid of death.
36:17 I should never be afraid of death.
36:19 I should never be afraid of death.
36:21 I should never be afraid of death.
36:23 I should never be afraid of death.
36:25 I should never be afraid of death.
36:27 I should never be afraid of death.
36:29 I should never be afraid of death.
36:31 I should never be afraid of death.
36:33 I should never be afraid of death.
36:35 Now the one who ate the soup is alive,
36:37 and the one who made it is gone.
36:39 and the one who made it is gone.
36:41 Late in life,
36:47 Mei Tang suffered from kidney failure
36:49 and amnesia.
36:51 (singing in Chinese)
36:53 (singing in Chinese)
36:55 (singing in Chinese)
36:57 (singing in Chinese)
36:59 (singing in Chinese)
37:01 (singing in Chinese)
37:03 (singing in Chinese)
37:05 (singing in Chinese)
37:07 (singing in Chinese)
37:09 (singing in Chinese)
37:11 (singing in Chinese)
37:13 (singing in Chinese)
37:15 (singing in Chinese)
37:17 (singing in Chinese)
37:19 (singing in Chinese)
37:21 (singing in Chinese)
37:23 (singing in Chinese)
37:25 (singing in Chinese)
37:27 (singing in Chinese)
37:29 (singing in Chinese)
37:31 (singing in Chinese)
37:33 (singing in Chinese)
38:01 I was desperate,
38:03 I cried a lot.
38:05 It was not good,
38:11 I was really desperate.
38:13 There was no one at home.
38:17 But the couple still struggled on.
38:25 (music)
38:27 Life was getting much harder.
38:41 (music)
38:43 On March 19, 2008
39:07 Mei Tang passed away.
39:09 But her lingering look
39:11 would live on in Ping Ru's painting.
39:13 (speaking in Chinese)
39:15 (speaking in Chinese)
39:17 (speaking in Chinese)
39:19 (speaking in Chinese)
39:21 (speaking in Chinese)
39:23 (speaking in Chinese)
39:25 (music)
39:51 (music)
39:53 (speaking in Chinese)
40:03 (speaking in Chinese)
40:05 (speaking in Chinese)
40:07 (speaking in Chinese)
40:09 (music)
40:33 (music)
40:35 (singing in Chinese)
40:49 (singing in Chinese)
40:51 (singing in Chinese)
40:53 (singing in Chinese)
40:55 (singing in Chinese)
40:57 (singing in Chinese)
40:59 (singing in Chinese)
41:01 (singing in Chinese)
41:03 (singing in Chinese)
41:05 (singing in Chinese)
41:07 (singing in Chinese)
41:09 (singing in foreign language)
41:37 - [Narrator] In 2014, Ping Ru was 92.
41:40 He returned to Jiangxi to look for the place
41:44 where he and Meitang first met.
41:46 (speaking in foreign language)
41:53 (gentle music)
41:56 Meitang used to stand here.
42:19 (gentle music)
42:22 Ping Ru embraced the tree
42:26 as if he were back with her 70 years ago.
42:29 (speaking in foreign language)
42:36 (speaking in foreign language)
42:40 What time created 70 years ago has disappeared now.
42:59 But time continues and so does his love.
43:04 (gentle music)
43:07 Life may be as transient as a drop in the ocean.
43:23 But art outlasts mortality
43:33 and creates something eternal.
43:36 That is how this book came into being.
43:41 As he paints, Ping Ru examines his life.
43:50 He's beginning to accept the inevitability of death
43:55 and so understand the full course of life.
43:57 (gentle music)
44:03 (speaking in foreign language)
44:07 As he approaches the final curtain,
44:23 he realizes how beautiful life is.
44:26 (cat meowing)
44:29 (speaking in foreign language)
44:33 (speaking in foreign language)
44:37 (speaking in foreign language)
44:42 (speaking in foreign language)
45:09 In his letter to the Spanish publisher, Ping Ru goes on.
45:13 - I thought that the only way for me
45:18 is to record something about our life.
45:22 I had no alternative but to create this work.
45:27 My mind would be at ease once when I had finished this book.
45:37 It was my obligation.
45:39 I would like to tell you something
45:45 before I finish this letter.
45:48 In my life, there are so many stories
45:54 I want to share with you.
45:57 The best form, I think, is painting.
46:02 (gentle music)
46:06 (gentle music)
46:09 (gentle music)
46:11 (gentle music)
46:14 (speaking in foreign language)
46:40 (gentle music)
46:43 (speaking in foreign language)
46:46 (speaking in foreign language)
46:51 (speaking in foreign language)
46:55 (speaking in foreign language)
47:01 (speaking in foreign language)
47:06 (gentle music)
47:11 (gentle music)
47:14 (speaking in foreign language)
47:38 (speaking in foreign language)
47:42 - Also, there was a very high empathy
47:58 with the childhood of Mr. Rao, how he grew up,
48:02 all the things he lived through,
48:04 that shows us that despite the big differences
48:07 between our cultures, we also have a lot in common.
48:11 (speaking in foreign language)
48:15 (gentle music)
48:27 (gentle music)
48:30 (gentle music)
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49:44 (gentle music)
49:46 [BLANK_AUDIO]