A life of paintings and gratitude

Artist tells all in a newly released autobiography and book series, Cheng Yuezhu reports.

With family roots deeply anchored in the Loess Plateau of Northwest China, artist Jiang Zhixin is dedicated to portraying the sublime landscape and psyche of living beings through a contemporary take on the traditional ink medium.

In a recently published autobiography, Jiang narrates his life's journey, beginning from his humble childhood to a relentless pursuit of an artistic profession, and his later travels around the world to get inspiration for his artwork.

The autobiography is part of his new four-volume book series The Jiang Zhixin Collection, which includes two books of his selected works and a collection of essays critiquing and evaluating his creations.

"I'm essentially a farmer's son, without any background or anyone to rely on," says Jiang.

Born and raised in a village at the foot of Kongtong Mountain in Gansu province, Jiang is one of six children who helped to support the family from an early age. He and his five siblings had to herd cattle, collect medicinal herbs, chop firewood and harvest bamboo in the mountains.

With an innate interest in art, Jiang started practicing calligraphy when he was about 7 years old, with a piece of brick as paper and red clay slurry as ink.