A good portrait of a person must contain his or her soul.

This video explains the arduous process that Zheng Banqiao had to go through to become a county level official.

Zheng Banqiao faces the reality that becoming an official wasn't at all what he expected. His colleagues don't consider the plight of the people the way he does, and upon being ousted from officialdom, he criticizes his former colleagues.

Our Hostess shows that Zheng Biaoyan, although toughened by years of working as an official, was still that innocent young man with a strong sense of justice underneath. He came to reveal his true nature through his artwork.

Our hostess gives us an analysis of Zheng Banqiao's paintings. Bamboo come to represent Zheng Banqiao as a man of virtue.

After Zheng Banqiao's big revelation, his days are numbered. He can't continue living in the Qing dynasty era of corruption and he eventually dies of sickness.

We analyze Zheng Banqiao's final painting. It's a depiction of bamboo being blown in the wind. It becomes a symbol of resistance against an unjust tide.

This episodes is a continuation of our Art series! We will be talking about Chinese sculpture in the next few videos. Sculpture in China has a long history and even predates most Western sculpture.

In the chaos and instability during Wei, Jin, and North-South dynasties people looked for hope and relief everywhere. When you have nothing how can you still have hope?

How and why did does an icon of Buddha stop refugees in their tracks? Is is because of the religious symbolism behind the icon or is there more to this classic, ethereal icon?

Let's compare the Beiqi Buddha to that of the Northern Wei! Who knew Buddha icons could represent the same ideology yet be so different visually. Take a look for yourself.

The expression that Buddha bears is one of deep peace, but where does this expression come from? What exactly is this so called, "deep peace" and how can we achieve this state of being?

Submission and acceptance of the world is something to respect. There is a phrase in Lao Tzu's "Dao De Jing", "the sage is ruthless, to them ten thousand things are but straw dogs". This phrase doesn't necessarily denounce sages or monks but rather reveres them for their ability to accept things as they are, which in it own right is a remarkable ability.

Living in the political instability of the Wei, Jin, North-South dynasties was in itself an experience of great suffering. How did people like Xiaoming survive? The Buddhist ideas of submission and acceptance may have played a part.

Our host introduces "500 strokes" the work of a Beijing artist. This piece incorporates 500 different single calligraphy brush strokes, each with it's own inspiration.

The artist explains his works. He describes how all of the paintings he does are really just free form and they come from the heart.

The artist based on the fact that young Japanese people who participated in his art project didn't take up most of the page when they were drawing, makes broad assumptions about Japanese society.

The host puts the artists work in perspective and the artist tells us that we can never really understand ourselves until we project ourselves outwardly.

Our host can't wait to try painting and she goes about choosing her ink. The artist describes the process that needs to be unlearned in order for us to let out what's truly in our hearts. We should disregard our training and just paint.

After the host finishes her painting the artist interprets in in relation to her life. He tells her that her life will move in one particular direction but She will have some difficulty right in the middle. In this way his work becomes a type of fortune telling.

The artist explains more of his life philosophy and our inherent contradictions.

In the end our host gives us the message that we should try our best to change the things we can and not over think the things we can't change about ourselves.

An older artist explains how there were no artist studios back in his day.