THE ART OF ZHEN, SHAN, REN at City Hall

THE ART OF ZHEN, SHAN, REN

(Truth, Compassion, Tolerance)

An exquisite collection of artwork by internationally acclaimed artists is currently on display at the Jacksonville City Hall.  August 14 will be the last day of the exhibit when it will leave the area to be displayed in other cities.

International Art Exhibition The Art of Zhen, Shan, Ren (Truth, Compassion, Tolerance) International Exhibition is an extraordinarily moving, intimate, and inspiring exhibition that depicts both an inner spiritual life and an outer human rights tragedy. Realistic oil and watercolor paintings by practitioners of Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa) give a unique insight into the spiritual discipline and the brutal persecution China’s communist regime has waged against it since July 20, 1999. The works glorify the divine and depict universal themes.

Falun Dafa (Falun Gong), a form of qigong practice originating in China, is based on the most fundamental characteristics of the universe: Truth, Compassion, and Tolerance, which are the cornerstones of human morality and the foundation of peace and freedom. These principles transcend time and space, culture, religion, and politics.

The practice, passed down privately for centuries, was first introduced to the public in China by threetime Nobel Prize nominee Master Li Hongzhi. By 1996, the main text of Falun Dafa, Zhuan Falun, was a bestseller in China. In 1999, the Associated Press reported that China’s State Sports Administration estimated there were at least 70 million Falun Dafa practitioners in China, making it the most popular qigong practice in China’s history. Today, Falun Dafa is practiced by an estimated 100 million people in more than 70 countries. Part of this exhibition is dedicated to showing how the practice of Falun Dafa has changed people’s lives for the better, providing them with good health, an upright moral character, and traditional Chinese values.

As the number of Falun Dafa practitioners grew in China, the communist regime became increasingly hostile and repressive. The regime officially banned Falun Dafa in China on July 20, 1999. Since that date 16 years ago, thousands of practitioners have been imprisoned, tortured, and killed in an effort to force them to abandon their faith in Truth, Compassion, and Forbearance. Today, Falun Dafa practitioners are China’s largest group of prisoners of conscience. Part of this exhibition deals with the terrifying ordeals people—including the artists themselves—have gone through under the Chinese communist regime’s directive to bankrupt practitioners financially, destroy them physically, and ruin their reputations.

For more information, please visit FalunInfo.net. ZhenShanRenArt.com/en/