(Minghui.org) Artists Mr. Huang Guangyu and his wife Ms. He Wenting, both Falun Gong practitioners, were to be illegally tried on May 20, 2014. They have been detained at the Panyu District Shawan Detention Center since December 19, 2013. They were illegally arrested that day and taken to Xiaoguwei Police Station by campus security guards from the Guangdong Foreign Language and Trade College, because they had distributed anti-firewall software on campus to help people break through the Chinese regime's Internet blockade.

The young couple has endured great pain and stress during their detention, physically and mentally. Their arrests have been a huge blow to their parents, relatives, and friends. The families do not know why their trial date has been postponed repeatedly. Ms. He's manuscript about the persecution has caused many in China and abroad to pay close attention to their case. They are urging the Chinese authorities to free the young couple without charge.

Home of Talented Artist Couple Deserted

The couple married in 2012. They rented a house in Xiaozhou Village near Guangzhou College Town, a place reminiscent of Lingnan style paintings. Their house is full of finished and unfinished oil paintings, and a variety of painting materials and sketches. Because the police ransacked their home and the couple has been absent for almost six months, the rooms are a mess and the paintings are covered with a thick layer of dust. However, the paintings still depict their owners' respect and faith.

Wedding photo of the young artist couple

Mr. Huang Guangyu

Ms. He Wenting

Mr. Huang Guangyu – A Skilled Oil Painter

Mr. Huang Guangyu graduated from the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts with a major in oil painting in 2010. He is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Modern China. His studies focused on techniques and the spirit of classical painting. After participating in the spring exhibit, which was held in the Guangzhou City Museum in March 2012, his works were included in Tone and Color Theory by Li Zhengtian. Other artists have offer high praise for his painting skills.

In college, Mr. Huang had pondered why humans came to this world and where they will go from here. This thought gave birth to the oil painting of the idyllic village shown below. It shows a sacred lotus flower blooming in a distant galaxy. He said he saw this in a dream.

Mr. Huang, a shy person, is honest and straightforward. Unlike many people today, he is not interested in art for money or fame. He firmly believes that art must always stick to truth and beauty. He keeps honing his techniques in basic skills when imitating Renaissance masterpieces and in his own realistic artwork.

Mr. Huang's paintings

Ms. He Wenting – A Thoughtful Writer and Artist

Ms. He Wenting was born into a poor farmer family in Dao County, Hunan Province, in 1986. Her talent for writing and painting quickly surfaced when she was young. At age 15, she was invited to became a member of the Yongzhou Writer's Association. She published numerous novels and comics in several newspapers. In school, the teachers and classmates considered her a rising star.

Ms. He has a passion for art and painting. She went to Guangzhou to study aesthetics and painting from teacher Li Zhengtian and his wife Ai Xin in 2010. Although she did not have formal training in painting, she has a keen sense of color and beauty. The colors in her paintings are warm and bright. Her writing is filled with an upright spirit. She has written commentaries on several of Ai Xin's artworks.

Ms. He's oil paintings and poems

Becoming Falun Gong Practitioners

Ms. He Wenting was once a rebellious youth and ran away from home in 2005. She was indifferent, dispirited, confused, and fearful about her future. At that low point, she met a few Falun Gong practitioners who clarified the facts about Falun Gong to her. After she found out that Falun Gong is a high-level cultivation practice of the Buddha School, she did not hesitate to ask for a copy of Zhuan Falun. She was impressed by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and wanted to become a good person. She thus began cultivating.

Mr. Huang Guangyu read Zhuan Falun in 2010. He was also impressed by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and started cultivating. He was enlightened by the artworks displayed in the The Art of Truth, Compassion, Tolerance International Exhibition. From the Falun Gong lecture "Teaching the Fa at the Discussion on Creating Fine Art," he realized that art must return to its traditional form and that painting is meant to inspire kindness, goodness, and conscience.

Mr. Huang and Ms. He practiced Falun Gong together to improve themselves after their marriage. At the same time, they searched for a way to revive traditional realistic painting. They loved traditional Chinese culture and started to express it using Western oil painting techniques. He was already a mature painter, while she was good at expressing thoughts. They complemented each other and refined their talents. As a result, their artworks became purer.

Brutally Treated

Ms. He Wenting went on a hunger strike to protest being persecuted and was force-fed. Below are excerpts from her diary written on sheets of tissue paper while she was in detention.

“I was force-fed this morning. Five men held down my hands and legs and inserted a feeding tube into my nose. It was so painful that I screamed and almost passed out. I could not stop vomiting and tears ran down my cheeks. In this jail cell, a window separates two worlds. A tall wall keeps people from being moral and just, but my indestructible righteous thoughts will see me through any perilous situation.”

Torture re-enactment: Force-feeding

While she was detained in a dark cell, she was tortured, including being force-fed and shackled. Yet, she did not waver in her steadfast faith in Falun Gong.

Related article:Persevering Through Torture and Humiliation—Excerpts from a Young Woman's Diary Written While in Detention