This is an update to the Guiyang Handicapped Beggar’s Street Sidewalk Art story posted on chinaSMACK 7 months ago.
From Youku:
Under the hot sun, the artist with an amputated left leg sits cross-legged on the ground, his fingers covered with callouses; He bends his waist, and with deep feeling and concentration wields the chalk in his hand sketching the “Mona Lisa”. When pedestrians throw money into the cardboard box, the artist will always stop drawing, and respectfully bow his head in appreciation. “This Mona Lisa is drawn so like the real thing!” each of the pedestrians stop and praise! 2009 April 26, the filmmaker 四叶未明 ["Si Ye Wei Ming"] in Wuhan saw this touching scene…and the film-maker came to understand that the artist comes from Shandong, is named Cong Langui, and is close to half a century old. Because his left leg grew a “bone tumor” and was amputated when he was 16-years-old, he began to teach himself drawing to make a living. Within the past 20 years, he has been to over 20 provinces and cities throughout the entire country. Encountering stormy days, he can only hide under the eaves of shops, and spend the night in cheap small hotels. “Mona Lisa” is his best work, and other than this, he is also skilled at drawing tigers and calligraphy in the seven languages of Chinese, English, German, French, Russian, Arabic, and Korean.
Cong Langui told the filmmaker, in a few days he will take the money he has earned to return to his hometown in Shandong to see his mother who is over 80-years-old, “My mother is at home alone, and I cannot help but worry”. Wuhan filmmaker 四叶未明 Youku exclusive report.
In the video, the filmmaker asks some pedestrians what they think of the art and also interviews the artist, Cong Langui. The artist says many different things, including that many compliments and thanks for Wuhan and Wuhan people.
This video has been viewed over a million times with ~17,000 comments. On Youku, you can also see all of the different websites and BBS that have link to the video, including Xiaonei, Mop, etc.
Comments from Youku:
The male female couple in the background at 11 minutes and 22 seconds ruined the effect.
After watching, my eyes were wet. Uncle, you are truly very great very great! What I write you probably will not see, but I am convinced that you will be blessed/happy in the future.
Just think, how many middle school art teachers today can use chalk to draw the Mona Lisa? ~~~Yet uncle here cannot even be an elementary teacher…
Drawn extremely well, just that the smile is a little too obvious/noticeable. But for him to have drawn something like this with chalk and charcoal…that is simply too NB.
Another thing (the filmmaker’s voice is too lewd…)
Performer ~~ not a beggar!
This kind of person ~~ deserves respect!
People who depend on their true abilities to make a living are always worthy of respect.
Why is it that all the performers on our streets are poor, and are beggars,
while foreigner street-performers all have so much money,
so pitiful, we need to diligently build our country.
I do not know how to express myself…I am truly very moved,
I wonder how foreigners feel when they see this kind of scene.
The name of the video seems to be a little inappropriate. This “teacher” and beggars are simply not the same kind of people. He uses his own skill to make a living for himself, but beggars are a parasitic sort of people.
I think he does not think he is pitiful. We too should not use our own perspectives to go think he is pitiful. I think in his heart he is proud.
Two years ago he was in Wuhan performing on Luo Shi South Road, and the local newspaper and media all reported about him. I thought because of that he would find a steady job, and did not imagine that his life would still be so bitter. It is said that he is a teacher, but because of an accident became disabled, his wife also left him, and thereafter lived a very tragic life.
I think this can also be a street-performance/art, and if it is popularized…then this way many talented/skilled people will no longer have to beg for a living…and there can also be another type of culture…
He must have drawn in many cities before, because it is such a coincidence that I often saw him when I was in Guiyang, sitting on the floor drawing. He is normally drawing in two places, the fountain or major intersection. Pedestrians all stop to observe. He does not just draw the Mona Lisa, but also tigers. I also see him sometimes taking any picture and drawing that picture. He draws pretty well, truly very talented!
I studied a few years of western painting so I have a little understanding of drawing.
Drawing a human figure, especially busts, requires a very high level of depth perception.
This definitely is innate talent and what more, also self-taught.
It was because I am not sensitive to lines and proportions that I eventually gave up drawing.
So here I very much very much admire this person of unusual ability.
I hope I am lucky enough to run into him.
horrible grammar... I second your comment, but could not help adding my (somewhat unrelated, to the article) 2 cents to Linette’s comment bellow. ahhh... ...more »
I second your comment, but could not help but add my somewhat unrelated (to the article) 2 cents to Linette's comment bellow. ...more »
You comment is actually very funny Linette, only because you are speaking out against generalization of the Chinese women... When your post on KoreaBang you ...more »
Dr Sun In Europe and America, they have "High School mothers" The girls lost their virginity as young as 13 and have babies around 15 in high school...and m ...more »
Dr SUN: that is anecdotal evidence: Just because you "observed" somethings in your life doesn't mean you can generalize it to "By 25 most are in the double f ...more »
El Puma R. China girls are really like this? Where do you find China girls like that? I would like to know. Are they from nightclub? Bar? My girlfriends a ...more »
hahahaaaaaaa...seriously! the mom seems more desperate than the daughter! and guys...i'm sure the mom won't leave u both alone..probably delibrately walk in on ...more »
I'm pretty sure there are more better ways than posting this video! Why are Chinese soo desperate in finding partners??!! Gosh. Seriously what kind of desperate ...more »
Thanks for the education ...more »
Any woman who applies for that is obviously just seeking economic security as little other information is given about him. The women definitely don’t have ...more »