AnAsian Journal Publication PHILLIPPINE USA JOURNAL 2 May31, 2000 News ASIAN JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS
What Type of Expert Is He? The Selling Price of HisPainting “Majesty” Has Shocked theWorld
Some people say that Master Wan KoYee is an expert in Buddhism. Some say that he is a great painter or a greatsinger. There are those who say that he is a great medical expert or a greatethicist. There are also those who say that he is a scientist. On May 28th,Unique Art Collections International Co., Ltd. auctioned Master Wan Ko Yee’s paintingentitled “Majesty.” An art collector purchased this painting by way ofcompetitive bid for a price of NT$64,950,000 (this equals U.S.$2,125,327.) People all over the world were shocked to hear ofthis purchase price.
Some people think that the paintings of Master Wan Ko Yee are Buddhist paintings andfor this reason command such an extraordinarily high price. This viewpoint,which has been expressed to the media by certain people who do not understandart, is totally erroneous. In fact, Mr. Wan Ko Yee is a great artist whosepaintings cannot be matched by anyone in this day and age. Eleven of hispaintings were exhibited by China in an international art exhibition which tookplace in Philadelphia in 1978. The mainland Chinese government even built ahuge art museum, the first of its kind in thehistory of China, in order to display more than two hundred of his paintings.
Master Wan Ko Yee is not only a famous and great artist, he is also a leader in theworld of art. When he was twenty years old, he was the head of the ChinesePainting Research Division of the China Education, Science and CultureOrganization. This is a high level organization within art circles in China andits leaders include people such as Chou Ying-Nan, WuZhang-Shu, Qian Jun-Tao, Xie Zhi-Liao, Liang Shu-Ming, Wan Lai-Ming andCang Ke-Jia.
In the entire history of Chinese painting, no other painter was able to master theamount of artistic skills, the variety of different styles and the diversity ofsubject matter which Master Wan Ko Yee has mastered. Other painters could onlyexhibit two or three different artistic skills at the most. For example, Zhang,Da-Qian exhibited three different artistic skills: line painting, traditionalpainting and splash ink painting. However,Master Wan Ko Yee has completely mastered a few dozen different artisticskills. Master Wan Ko Yee can paint landscapes, people and other objects,animals, flowers, birds, fish and insects by using the meticulous brushworkstyle or by using the freehand brushword style. Whichever style he uses, hispaintings are always elegant, grand, and full of life. One can get a glimpse ofhis artistic skills by looking through the huge book which contains acollection of his paintings.
In 1995, the Sichuan Daily News and the Chengdu Evening News each printed anadvertisement on behalf of an auction house. This auction house wanted to buythe Master’s paintings for a price of R.M.B. 1,700 yuan per square inch. MasterWan Ko Yee’s skills have reached the highestlevel in the world when it comes to ink and wash paintings. Thus, in 1991, theWorld Poets and Culture Congress conferred upon him the title of “The world’s only Distinguished International Master.”This is the highest position possible and is on the same level of honor as ahead of state.
Of course, the Master is also an ethicist. His books included SelectedPhilosophical Saying of Master Wan Ko Yee. He isa singer. There are fourteen tapes and CD’s containing his songs. The famoussinger Zhang Huw-You is his student. He is a scientist. He developed two greenteas called “Ba Wang Chun” and “Bi Yu Chun.” These are the best quality teas inthe world. He is a medical expert who has cured countless people of a varietyof different diseases. There were times when in one day, more than threehundred people had appointments to see the Master for treatment. The Masterinvented many new treatments for diseases, such as an extremely effectivedifferent experts? Why is it that this one person MasterWan Ko Yee, has combined skills of several different experts? The mainreason is that he is a Great Dharma King Master of Buddhism. He has trulymastered the Five Knowledges spoken if in Buddhism. All of his skills mentionedabove cover only part of the Five Knowledges which he has mastered. Instead oftrying to describe what type of the expert he is, it would be better simply tosay that he surpasses the word “expert.” He is a precious treasure who is abenefit to humanity. He is a Dharma King Master who is a rare gem in thisworld.
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