By Dr. Mark A. Rafter, Editorial Director
This is another article in our ongoing series exploring Chinese art, culture and cultural exchange.
On August 9, 2026, a grand event of Chinese fan painting and calligraphy art, entitled “Elegant Breeze and Refined Charm,” quietly unfolded at the Xiaoxiao Gufang·Borui Huangjing Art Space. This was a private place, and from the moment I walked in, the air was suddenly filled with a fragrance of colorful memories that took me back to my Italian grandfather’s farm in upstate New York, where I first was told the Adventures of Marco Polo and inside stories few, if any, others ever heard. I was partially named after my grandpa, and in a one-on-one he held me spellbound by every word for hours. Then he gave me “the treasure map” and told me that Marco Polo never got to go back and longed for his second love, CHINA, and that I would be the one to go back to China for Marco Polo. Walking into this private setting was like walking into a plush garden filled with vegetables and fruit trees. The only exception was an area with bamboo, which brought me an instant homesick feeling for Chengdu, China, and the Giant Pandas.
There was no hustle and bustle, only the elegance of art and friendship, with art, ink, food, wine and laughter. As a private event in such a setting, there were maybe 75 to 100 people present, many of whom were cultural and artistic figures, collectors, and art lovers from China and the United States who gathered as scheduled for an elegant reunion of Chinese Cultural Art aesthetics. Often when I attend Chinese Community Events, I am there simply as a journalist with a 1.2 billion-plus English audience reach per week that is much larger than the reach of most local Chinese media and press. At this event, I was wearing several hats: as a journalist/reporter, as a USA Director of the American Chinese Art Museum appointed last year by Jin Lin Wang, and as The Modern-Day Marco Polo.
Dong Hongxing, Marco’s Chinese Media Friend, a renowned senior reporter for All America Television, is the organizer of the Miss Asian Los Angeles Pageant, which has been successfully held for 37 years, and took time out of his busy schedule from the American College Alliance Pine, Bamboo and Plum Scholarship Award Ceremony to attend the event. His contribution to this article is invaluable.
The event began gently with the warm, mellow voice of host Li Li. He elegantly said, “A fan, within its small space, can encompass mountains and rivers; a painting, on its small canvas, can carry the aesthetics and spirit of Chinese literati for millennia.”
His words were soft yet deeply moving. In traditional Chinese culture, the fan is far more than just a tool for cooling oneself. It is intertwined with poetry, calligraphy and painting, forming a small yet profoundly deep cultural realism. When this elegant Chinese Cultural Art charm crosses the Pacific Ocean to Los Angeles, it carries far more than just an artistic display; it represents a cultural encounter, a dialogue not just from culture to culture but, moreover, a deeply moving art culture experience. “A single fan, within its small space painting, on its delicate surface, can embody the aesthetics and spirit of Chinese art culture literati for millennia. This ‘Refined Breeze and Elegant Charm’ fan painting and calligraphy event in Los Angeles allows Jin Lin Wang to present a slide show and teach all present Chinese Fan Art Culture aesthetics while building a bridge connecting East and West amidst the fragrance of friends, ink and laughter.”
Ms. Coral, CEO of Xiaoxiao Gufang·Borui Huangjing, the owner of this beautiful private setting, delivered a welcoming speech with a smile.
She said, “A high-quality cultural space is not only a place for people to gather, but more importantly, it allows people from different fields to connect through culture, and gives excellent art the opportunity to be seen, perceived, and treasured by more people.” Her gaze was gentle yet firm, as if saying: “Let Chinese fan painting art, like a gentle breeze, touch the hearts of more people overseas.”
In his speech, Mr. Zhu Junying, a Master Artist and Chairman of the US-China Fengtai Chamber of Commerce, and Chairman of the US-China Economic and Trade Cultural Promotion Association, and Chairman of the Fengtai Fine Arts Committee, expressed his feelings:
“The vitality of culture lies not only in its inheritance, but also in its exchange. Overseas, the entry of Chinese calligraphy and painting into social environments with different cultural backgrounds is actually building a bridge for understanding Chinese culture and recognizing Chinese Cultural Art aesthetics.” Kevin, I call my dear Brother of a different mother, believes that the best way for art to communicate is to allow people from different cultural backgrounds to be moved by beauty without prior arrangement.
Mr. Xu Xiyuan, a descendant of the legendary American auction house Jingxi, shared his insights from the perspective of collecting and disseminating art: “The value of a work of art lies not only in the moment of its creation, but also in how it is discovered, collected, studied, and ultimately continues to be passed down through time.” Xiyuan’s words, like a fine thread, string together the three pearls of creation, collection, and dissemination, allowing everyone to see that the life of art is like a fine string of pearls, link by link.
Mr. Sun Wei, Co-Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce and President of the US-China Economic, Trade, Cultural and Artistic Association, expressed his gratitude to all sectors of society for promoting cultural exchanges within the Chinese community. He said, “In Los Angeles, a city where diverse cultures converge, Chinese community organizations play a vital role in cultural connection. For a cultural event to truly have an impact, it requires not only the creation of artists but also the joint participation and promotion of all sectors of society.”
Marco, a renowned media figure and advisor to the US-China Business Promotion Association, spoke initially in Chinglish, creating a pathway of cultural connection to the audience. Rather than speaking to the audience, he spoke to friends in a very personal way and offered his perspective from the angle of cross-cultural exchange. Marco shared that the setting brought back memories of his grandfather’s farm. Marco also shared his appreciation and great friendship with Kevin, Lucy, Jinlin Wang and many others in the room. Marco stated, “JinLin was not only a distinguished artist but was a very rare restoration specialist who had restored famous 1,000-year-old art pieces even from the Ming Dynasty. In the exchange between China and the US, art, business, culture, economics and trade serve as a bridge not only government to government but greater people to people. Truly lasting exchanges ultimately stem from a deeper understanding and mutual appreciation between people.” I own a lot of Chinese art and antiques. Most were gifts. Let me suggest if you love art and culture contact the artist in our series and seek their art. Marco hopes that through such cultural activities, more friends from diverse cultural backgrounds can see, experience and understand the unique spiritual charm of Chinese Cultural Art.
The core of the forum was a sharing session by Mr. Wang Jinlin, Director of the American Chinese Art Museum and a fan-shaped calligraphy and painting artist. Standing on the stage, his tone was calm yet deeply emotional: “Many friends’ first impression might be ‘beautiful, elegant, and with a Chinese flavor.’ But if you only stay at the level of ‘appreciating a painting,’ you are far from understanding the art of Chinese fan painting.” JinLin gently asked: “Why did the ancient Chinese like to inscribe poems and paint on fans? Why can such a small fan become an independent and important category in Chinese calligraphy and painting? How did a fan gradually move from a daily necessity into the study of literati, into the art of calligraphy and painting, and even become an important symbol of traditional Chinese culture?” His explanation was like a slowly opening door, allowing every guest present to step into the landscapes and worlds depicted on that fan.
The Director JinLin Wang and Chairman Zhu Junying, to the great anticipation of all present, picked up their brushes together and gently applied ink to the pristine white fan. On the blank sheet of paper, the landscape and elegance gradually emerged from the ink. The professor engaged in the charm of Chinese calligraphy and painting, which lies not only in the final artwork; all are expressions of the artists’ long-term accumulation of experience. The guests held their breath, as if they could hear the ink gently spreading on the paper. At that moment, time seemed to slow down, leaving only the fusion of ink and heartfelt intentions. People gathered around and sat while dining and discussing the theme of “the artistic value of Chinese fan painting and calligraphy, its overseas dissemination, and how traditional art can continue to be inherited and innovated in the contemporary era.”
This seminar was more than just an art exhibition. It was a profound dialogue on cultural inheritance through fan painting, calligraphy, history, collecting and culture, and the continued people-to-people exchange of culture.
As the Modern-Day Marco Polo, I have learned that perhaps building bridges doesn’t always require speaking the same language perfectly. Sometimes it simply requires caring enough to try and to convey a sincere love for Chinese Culture and Chinese People. The event connected so many memories: a boy on his grandfather’s farm in upstate New York receives a treasure map connected to Marco Polo; decades later, that same boy, now known within a Chinese American community as the Modern-Day Marco Polo, is standing at a private estate surrounded by Chinese art and friends, remembering that farm while being invited to speak. The treasure was never really the map. The treasure has been the journey and the friendships, art, culture and understanding discovered along the way. When I originally went to China in search of the treasure connected with Marco Polo, I didn’t discover gold or silver.
The real treasure ultimately discovered was that the greatest treasure was friendship.
This event, for me, wasn’t just another assignment. It seemed like another chapter of precisely that journey.
It was another stop on the treasure map.
