Painting the poets

Expat Lives | Jeanyves Simon

A French artist, who has made Beijing his home, is captivated not only by the city and ordinary people in it but also by ancient Chinese poetry. Deng Zhangyu reports.

The second time French artist Jean Yves Simon met the Chinese woman who was to become his wife, in Paris in 1998, she read him a poem by Li Bai, a well-known ancient Chinese poet. Simon was instantly enchanted, and began his love affair with China, which he describes as, "a love story with a Chinese woman and Chinese poets".