Barefooted teenager Tu Zhiwei was transfixed by the artist who had been invited by village elders to paint a huge picture of Chairman Mao Zedong. Tu asked the man if he could have samples of his paints and went home to mix up new colors. The next day, instead of going to his school, in the remote, mountainous region in South China's Guangdong Province, Tu returned to the artist, set up his own frame, and began painting his own portrait of Mao. The Wengyuan villagers were shocked to see that Tu's portrait was better than the visiting artist.

"That was a great encouragement," recalls Tu of the incident, which occured in 1967. It was a turning point in his young life. Before the Mao portrait, the son of poor peasants had never expected that oil painting would become his lifetime pursuit, a way out of poverty, and cause of his international fame. Today, Tu is regarded as one of the world's best large-scale oil painters.

Dancing While Playing Pipa File photos  Inset: Tu Zhiwei offers a unique glimpse into Chinese history and culture through his epic oil paintings. Lu Zhongqiu

"The keynote of each epic painting is the intense humanity of the artist, writes Ruth Dyke Challacombe, former president of Oil Painters of America. "As the viewer senses the artist's great humanity that the paintings bring forth, it allows the viewer to become one with the subject, place and time, thus the true greatness and genius of the artist," she says. "He has reached our soul, our inner spirit."

Challacombe is writing about master painter Tu, who recently offered a unique glimpse into world of history and Chinese culture through his solo exhibition, Indomitable Will. The exhibition ended last week at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing.

Of his 40-odd exhibits, the most eye-catching works were five mural-sized oil paintings under the title Body Language. The epic works took Tu almost 30 years to complete and were based on his tireless research into the culture and history of China.

Tu has successfully "turned some of the greatest epic moments in Chinese history into paintings of extraordinary power and depth", says Sun Yan, an art professor with the Muskingum College, Ohio, the US. "These enormous oil paintings use unique figural images, creative motifs, and an impressive spirit to express not only his emotions, but also the emotions of all the subjects we see."

Tu's paintings engage the audience quickly with a strong visual impact, auditory force and profound philosophical ideas, Sun says.

The Backs, the Great Wall, and the Moon, Tu portrays a solemn and sad moment when Emperor Qin Shihuang sent tens of thousands of peasants to northern China.

The whole painting is overcast in a blue tone to suggest the moonlight. Sweat glows on the slave labors' shoulders as they drag the bricks that would lay the foundation for the Great Wall, a symbol of the strength and unity of the Chinese nation.

With a soul-stirring and awe-inspiring visual power, Heads, Books, Pits manifests the artist's serious re-thinking of a political cleansing by Emperor Qin Shihuang more than 2,000 years ago. Fearful of rebellious thoughts, the emperor burnt huge amount of books and buried their authors alive.

The Feet, Troops and Horses, and the Earth captures the Qin military forces and their goal of overcoming all obstacles to unite the nation in the wake of the chaotic Warring States Period (475-221 BC). The fiery overtones of the army are symbolic of Emperor Qin Shihuang's burning ambition, Sun Yan says.

The Dancers, the Bianzhong Chimes, and Ancient Music conveys the sounds of music and the charm of court dance. The artist admits he has long been moved and inspired by the ancient Bianzhong chimes and woodwind instruments, unique to Chinese musical tradition at least 2,000 years old.

Concubine Yang Dancing with Wine

As a contrast to paintings on bloody battles, this work sings praise of peaceful periods when joy and prosperity ruled everyday life.

"Looking at any of his colossal, epic oils full of action and drama, the viewer would be deeply affected by the well-calculated composition and infectious ambience Tu has poured out with passion on the canvases," comments Shao Dazhen, a renowned art critic and professor with Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.

"Imbued with brilliant expression of emotions, Tu's masterful depiction of the chapters of Chinese history are so arresting to the viewers thanks to the lush colors, dazzling lights, alluring imageries, and astonishing details," Shao says.

However, on his way to fame and success, Tu, 56, has overcome many a twist and turn.

Tu was born in 1951 into a farmer's family in Wengyuan. Tu performed the menial tasks expected of every peasant child, helping his parents in the fields, or herding sheep and gathering food, barefooted most of the time.

After his introduction to the wonders of oil painting, thanks to the visiting artist, Tu was overcome with a feverish drive to paint. Entirely self-taught, the young man's keen eye and ability to transfer what he saw and imagined into works of art stunned all who knew him.

The Wengyuan Cultural Center invited him to work and study until 1972, when he enrolled in the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. In 1987, he went to study art at Drake University, Des Moines, US.

During the years in Guangzhou, Tu's interest in Chinese history grew. In 1978, a set of Bianzhong chimes was unearthed from a tomb in Suixian County of Central China's Hubei Province. Tu rushed to see the discovery. "I was deeply struck by its well-arranged bells and the resounding music it produced," Tu says. He also visited Dunhuang Grottoes in Northwest China's Gansu Province, where he studied ancient murals.

Tu visited museums and heritage sites and made sketches and notes about Chinese history. He has always wanted to ensure that his visual representations of the ancient events, figures, settings, daily objects, and costumes match up-to-date archaeological findings. He also consulted many experts, including Shen Congwen, a writer known both for literary works and understanding of ancient adornments and accessories. Shen advised Tu not to rely on popular TV dramas or commercially successful paintings, but to look for concrete materials from historical documents and archaeological findings. Tu's mural-sized epics include these details plus his own creative ideas.

Body Language - Foot, Soldier, Earth

Dancing while Playing Pipa features nymph-like dancers and musicians often seen in the Dunhuang murals in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) court. The vitality of the dancers and musicians are displayed in lavish surroundings. The dancers are exceptionally charming thanks to the classical composition, tactful use of contrasts in light and colors, all rendered with smooth but rich and strong brushworks.

"Although the dancers and musicians are recorded by ancient artists in the grottoes, I took the risk of finding my own voice," Tu says.

"I hope viewers from China and other parts of the world can always find something moving and universal but with a strong Chinese flavor."

Tu was awarded the title of master signature member of the Oil Painters of America in 1999. From 2004 to 2006, Tu was elected president.

He has brought at least 800 new members to the organization but also lent his colleagues an insight into Chinese culture. Tu plans to produce at least five more mural-sized epic paintings to "capture a wider scope of subjects about China in the coming decade".

(China Daily 07/04/2007 page20)