What Type of Expert Is He? The Selling Price of His Painting “Majesty” Has Shocked the World（ASIAN JOURNAL May 31, 2000）

An Asian Journal Publication

PHILLIPPINE

USA

JOURNAL

2  May 31, 2000          News

ASIAN JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS                  

What Type of Expert Is He?

The Selling Price of His Painting

“Majesty” Has Shocked the World

          Some people say that Master Wan Ko Yee is an expert in Buddhism. Some say that he is a great painter or a great singer. There are those who say that he is a great medical expert or a great ethicist. There are also those who say that he is a scientist. On May 28, Unique Art Collections International Co., Ltd. auctioned Master Wan Ko Yee’s painting entitled “Majesty.” An art collector purchased this painting by way of competitive bid for a price of NT$64,950,000 (this equals U.S.$2,125,327.) People all over the world were shocked to hear of this purchase price.

       Some people think that the paintings of Master Wan Ko Yee are Buddhist paintings and for this reason command such an extraordinarily high price. This viewpoint, which has been expressed to the media by certain people who do not understand art, is totally erroneous. In fact, Mr. Wan Ko Yee is a great artist whose paintings cannot be matched by anyone in this day and age. Eleven of his paintings were exhibited by China in an international art exhibition which took place in Philadelphia in 1978. The mainland Chinese government even built a huge art museum, the first of its kind in the history of China, in order to display more than two hundred of his paintings.

       Master Wan Ko Yee is not only a famous and great artist, he is also a leader in the world of art. When he was twenty years old, he was the head of the Chinese Painting Research Division of the China Education, Science and Culture Organization. This is a high level organization within art circles in China and its leaders include people such as Chou Ying-Nan, Wu Zhang-Shu, Qian Jun-Tao, Xie Zhi-Liao, Liang Shu-Ming, Wan Lai-Ming and Cang Ke-Jia.

       In the entire history of Chinese painting, no other painter was able to master the amount of artistic skills, the variety of different styles and the diversity of subject matter which Master Wan Ko Yee has mastered. Other painters could only exhibit two or three different artistic skills at the most. For example, Zhang, Da-Qian exhibited three different artistic skills: line painting, traditional painting and splash ink painting. However, Master Wan Ko Yee has completely mastered a few dozen different artistic skills. Master Wan Ko Yee can paint landscapes, people and other objects, animals, flowers, birds, fish and insects by using the meticulous brushwork style or by using the freehand brushword style. Whichever style he uses, his paintings are always elegant, grand, and full of life. One can get a glimpse of his artistic skills by looking through the huge book which contains a collection of his paintings.

       In 1995, the Sichuan Daily News and the Chengdu Evening News each printed an advertisement on behalf of an auction house. This auction house wanted to buy the Master’s paintings for a price of R.M.B. 1,700 yuan per square inch. Master Wan Ko Yee’s skills have reached the highest level in the world when it comes to ink and wash paintings. Thus, in 1991, the World Poets and Culture Congress conferred upon him the title of “The world’s only Distinguished International Master.” This is the highest position possible and is on the same level of honor as a head of state.

       Of course, the Master is also an ethicist. His books included Selected Philosophical Saying of Master Wan Ko Yee. He is a singer. There are fourteen tapes and CD’s containing his songs. The famous singer Zhang Huw-You is his student. He is a scientist. He developed two green teas called “Ba Wang Chun” and “Bi Yu Chun.” These are the best quality teas in the world. He is a medical expert who has cured countless people of a variety of different diseases. There were times when in one day, more than three hundred people had appointments to see the Master for treatment. The Master invented many new treatments for diseases, such as an extremely effective different experts? Why is it that this one person Master Wan Ko Yee, has combined skills of several different experts? The main reason is that he is a Great Dharma King Master of Buddhism. He has truly mastered the Five Knowledges spoken if in Buddhism. All of his skills mentioned above cover only part of the Five Knowledges which he has mastered. Instead of trying to describe what type of the expert he is, it would be better simply to say that he surpasses the word “expert.” He is a precious treasure who is a benefit to humanity. He is a Dharma King Master who is a rare gem in this world.