When I was researching for Brushstrokes in Time which is set in the USA and China, I attended a year’s course in Chinese philosophy. I was attracted by the words of Lao Tzu, the founder of Daoism. In 2026, these words are much needed,
Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love. (LaoTzu)
For suffering people in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and those struggling to find food and shelter everywhere in the world even a tiny drop of kindness would give them hope.
The beautiful card was made by my artist friend Weimin He. I first met Weimin when he curated Everyone’s Life is an Epic at the Ashmolean. That exhibition by Qu Leilei changed my life and led to ten years of work resulting in my novel celebrating the Stars Artists (Beijing 1979). Daoism connects with nature and, in traditional Chinese art, the white (empty) space is regarded as the hardest to get right. In Everyone’s Life is an Epic, Qu Leilei had asked his sitters to write their philosophy of life in their own handwriting on the left of their portrait. Andy, a homeless man, wrote You are not a failure until you stop trying.
The meaning of his words are poignant but when written in Leilei’s calligraphy they are also beautiful. Poetry and calligraphy are visual arts in China. There is so much we can learn from China. I’m critical of the Chinese government and my novel is evidence of that but I am also critical of my own government. My government doesn’t represent me, certainly not on Gaza and the proscribing of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation. I would not like British culture and myself to be judged by the actions of my government, so why should we judge China in that way?
Let us meet each other with open minds and open hearts and practice kindness and the world will become a more beautiful place.
