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Edwin Maher, a CCTV celebrity

On Sunday 25 September we had to honor to welcome Edwin Maher in our Internations Beijing Book Reading group, to discuss his latest book “Caught on CCTV”.
I remember one of my Old China Hands lunches (Edwin is a regular), when some of our Chinese clients were having a lunch at Morel’s at the same time. We told them some ambassadors were in our lunch and if they wanted to greet them – and take a picture. Good idea till they spotted Edwin sitting there, they did not want to know about whatever ambassador: they only wanted to see Edwin and take a picture.
It says a lot about Edwin who has an impressive career in CCTV as the host for the English news.
So, happy he took some time on his Sunday before another CCTV appearance.

Edwin Maher, the author

I am fortunate to have his two books, all a present from Edwin and signed by him. His first “My China Daily” was very well received, my wife said “You see this is what and how you should write”. Yes boss.
The book we discussed was his recent Caught on CCTV.

A history of CCTV: Caught on CCTV

When I started reading the book, I was immediately shocked. He dedicated the book to Yan Yinan, a CRI reporter with whom I worked for over a year, nearly every week, for interviews on the 2008 Olympics. She was a superb girl and when she left us, many like me were shocked.

As a writer myself I was amazed on how Edwin managed to keep track of all the little details on what happened in CCTV. Did he run the HR department? Bribe the HR director? Well, he did it the Chinese way (as I learned soon after landing here myself): he always carried a notebook writing down everything. But he beats me by far by his incredible detail.
So, the book might be at times a bit heavy, like a sort of Encyclopedia, reminding me of my own book. It is however an important historical document, it will be a legacy for all later to have the insights on how CCTV became what is is today.
I found back a number of CCTV hosts who interviewed me over the years…

Edwin writes with a healthy sense of humor but carefully navigates all “sensitive” topics one might look for.

As I understood he wrote the book on his MacBook Air, much like I often do. And he was clever to use a text software instead of the usual MS Word (it is more appropriate for publishing).

All love Edwin Maher

Our discussion was very lively and most wanted an autograph in his book, and the picture of course. Edwin was as usual so patient and friendly to satisfy everybody.
The pictures talk for themselves…

(Note: this post also appears on www.damulu.com)

Artist Liu Yaming, famous oil painter

On 15 May 2016 we were invited for a special concert at the studio building of a famous painter, Liu Yaming. The large building functions as a gallery and has workshops, reception areas and a small auditorium. The area is called Qiaozi International Village Arts District, Qiaozi Art Commune. It is located about an hour’s drive north of Beijing, in a mostly rural and mountainous area called Huairou, home to several national parks, nature reserves, and ski resorts. Qiaozi is a small arts community and populated by established artists, architects and filmmakers. Artists like Shen Shaomin (who hosts the 4A residency), and Qu Yan, (who organizes the XuCun residency) live and work there. Several (oil) painters have their studio in the area; the buildings are all pretty big. Not your poor artist corner! See some of the buildings as well as some of the many paintings hanging around in the house.

The artist was born in 1962 in Neijiang in Sichuan province. He is best known for his somber, evocative oil paintings of female figures. Liu’s paintings focus on a single female figure, usually looking straight at the viewer without a smile. This moody, mysterious atmosphere is heightened by the hazy backdrops he paints the women in. In this piece, though he uses multiple colors in the background, the pinks, yellows, and blues are murky and painted in almost nebulous shapes. In contrast to the backgrounds, the subjects are painted in exceptional detail, which contributes to a sense of individuality and personality unique to each piece.
See more: http://www.pixelle.co/liu-yaming/

The location of the concert also has one of his famous paintings, a huge Dante / Inferno kind of somber piece. On the left side, other large paintings.

Zhang Hongyan, an outstanding Chinese pipa performer

The concert focused on the pipa.
The pipa (pronounced “pee-paa”) is a four-stringed lute, one of the oldest Chinese musical instruments with over 2000 years of history. The concert showed several different types. None had the bent neck: all were straight.
The star was Zhang Hongyan, an outstanding Chinese pipa performer, teacher, Professor at the Central Conservatory, supervisor of MA students and member of the Chinese Association for Cultural Development. Zhang Hongyan trained at the University of Columbia in the USA.

Zhang Hongyan graduated from the Central Conservatory and attained her Master’s degree. Zhang Hongyan is one of the finest pipa performers and teachers. Her rich repertoire includes works by many composers. Zhang Hongyan frequently performs at the world’s most prestigious concert halls, in New York, Berlin, Vienna, Washington, Beijing and many other.
See: https://www.mariinsky.ru/en/company/orchestra/harps/zhang_hongyan/