Born during a thunderstorm 75 years ago, his name is as eccentric
and mysterious as his native town, and even his art.
Lei Yufeng, whose name means "thunder, rain and wind," is striving
to preserve the two-millennium-old supernatural culture in Fengdu,
a western China city dubbed "the ghost town" because it controls
the gates of hell in Chinese tradition.
Gods and spirits are the main characters in Lei's wooden scoops,
which are usually hung inside houses by farmers in Fengdu who
believe such paintings can ward off bad luck and evil.
"There are countless legends and tales about gods and evil spirits
in this ghost town," Lei said. "Even a single brick or tile here
can tell a unique spirit story."
The legend associated with the town goes back more than 2,000
years, when the names of two residents, Yin and Wang, were confused
with "Yinwang", the Chinese name for "King of the nether world."
The two became notorious in Fengdu.
Some 172 kilometers from Chongqing, west China's biggest
metropolis, Fengdu is one of the counties due to be swallowed by
the reservoir formed by the Three Gorges water conservancy
project.
Like Lei, more than 1 million people have been resettled to make
way for the Three Gorges Reservoir, the biggest hydro-electric
project in the world, due to be completed in 2009.
Lei was feeling increasingly nostalgic as the land he and his
ancestors had lived in for centuries was about to disappear, since
the sluice gate of the dam of the massive Three Gorges Project was
closed Sunday, June 1, to store water.
"I
yearn for the past of my native town every day," Lei said. "I am
always thinking about how to pass on the ghost culture here."
Growing up in a poor family, Lei received no early training but was
drawn to painting as a child by nature and the landscape of the
countryside.
The numerous myths among the people also helped develop his
artistic skills, he said.
However, Lei did not take up wooden scoop painting until 1989 when
he retired.
To
date, Lei has produced more than 4,000 painted wooden scoops, which
have been sold to countries like the United States and Japan.
His paintings describing the ghost culture were honored as "superb
folk art" by the Chinese Ministry of Culture in 1994.
"The ghost culture in Fengdu expresses people's desire to command
nature rather than show fear and irritation," Lei explained.
Lei often told his children about the myths of gods and spirits and
local customs, and hopes to pass on his artistic skills to his
granddaughter, who is now only in primary school.
Construction on the Three Gorges Project began in 1993 and is
expected to submerge 632 square kilometers of land by the time it
is completed in six years.
Many fear the inundation will destroy those cultures held by locals
for centuries.
"By no means should we let the Three Gorges culture vanish in the
hands of our generation," said Hu Zhenhao, 80, who preserves folk
songs sung by people when tracking boats, a tradition also in
danger of disappearance.
"Because the influence of the culture at the Three Gorges extends
far beyond China, it must be saved," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency June 3, 2003)