Interview With Weng Ling: Celebrities Gather Together, What Is "Jade River Night Talk" Treasuring For The Times?

On the occasion of the 4th anniversary "Yuhe night talk", Weng Ling first interviewed the public and talked about this project for the public. As one of the earliest and most important promoters of Chinese contemporary art, Weng Ling's current identity is Tianan time contemporary art center, art and Culture Innovation Culture Development Co., Ltd. and the founder of the Chinese Union of Arts and literature.

From October 2015 to invite Zhang Beihai, Shao Fan and Xu Zhiyuan to talk about "old Peiping and new Beijing", 4 years, "Yuhe night talk" has been held to the twenty-fifth stage, from David Bowie to haze, from artificial intelligence to artistic energy, from time to space...... The topic is informal. The energy of this space is astonishing: the philosopher Chen Jiaying is a frequent visitor. Modern dance artists Shen Wei, musician Tan Dun, "rock Godfather" Cui Jian, architect of design, and mak Yan are willing to open their hearts here. The more widely known names -- Luyu Chen, Xu Gehui and Zhao Yinyin -- usually sit in the auditorium.

"Yuhe nocturne" has not received media reports before, and what is seen outside is only the excerpt of the night call, as if it were a gathering of small circles. But if you are interested in looking at the records left by those gatherings, you will find that "star sparkling" has become less important at this point. What matters is their sincere public opinion, cross boundary interaction and sharing of wisdom, the public platform that inspires endless creativity.

In mid December 2019, on the occasion of the twenty-fifth Yuhe night talk at the Nanluogu Lane near Beijing, Weng Ling accepted an interview with the twenty-first Century economic report, explaining the social significance of the project gathered by this famous person, and what he really cherished for this era.

"Twenty-first Century": "Yuhe night talk" has been in closed door state for 4 years. Today is the first time to talk about it in the mass media. Why do we choose to do "Yuhe night talk" in a closed way?

Weng Ling: to be precise, it is not to close friends of the media, but relatively, the media coverage is closed. From the first day, I felt that we were all practitioners, beneficiaries and participants of the vicissitudes of reality. I oppose isolation between people and keep it relatively private. In fact, I want to create a sincere and free conversation environment among interdisciplinary experts. The participants in the night talk are cutting-edge scientists, artists and philosophers. We want to really build a platform for long-term and continuous communication. There are websites that want to cooperate with us, but if they shoot, they may make the lights very bright. How can they let people chat in depth? It will also affect the environment and style. We hope that everyone can speak freely without having to distinguish between the protagonist and the supporting actor. There are moments in which people cherish. There is no estrangement between people at these moments. I feel that real creativity or new ideas and new knowledge are born from these moments, these moments of freedom.

"Twenty-first Century": "Yuhe night talk" has gathered many famous experts. How did you do that?

Weng Ling: I have a very close circle of more than 100 friends. They are very good artists, designers, architects, scientists, media people, entrepreneurs and philosophers. We all cherish this platform, and we will discuss what can lead us to take a step further in the new direction. We will ponder what problems are the pain points that we face. The point that my work can touch is profound, extensive and international. But the foundation of doing this is to learn, and always put yourself in a very low position, always keeping the state of walking, watching, experiencing and asking. Communication with these friends can form a basic element of my usual establishment of creative system or ideological system. China is a place connected to our destiny. As long as you are alive, you always want to do something with your major.

Now the times are changing, the future world, big cities and villages, small products like cups, all of these building, planning, and design all involve breaking the boundaries, breaking the background and breaking professional cooperation. When I was ignorant of contemporary art, I made the Central Academy of Fine Arts Gallery, and launched the Chinese Red artist, who was so pure and free and romantic at that time. Young people nowadays do not know what we have gone through, and we do not know how we have created such a powerful platform for creation. Why don't you go up on our shoulders? The future must not be ours. We are so old. Young people should discuss and communicate with all creations in different industries to avoid utilitarianism and realism. "Yuhe night talk" still wants to maintain a clear stream of thought, and can lead the clear flow of future creation.

Twenty-first Century: do you think romance needs material foundation?

Weng Ling: I don't think so. These humanists' imagination of the future is endless and romantic. I was a romantic from an early age. When I worked in some of the best art institutions in London in 1999, I decided not to enter these institutions because it was a combination of power and commerce. I am a person who just wants to do things that challenge myself more, challenge the environment and challenge the future. So every day I only ask myself how to do things better. Even if I can't pursue perfection, I can't get 100 points. This process is still very meaningful and interesting.

"Twenty-first Century": "Yuhe night talk" is a big proposition, and many topics are often talked about. Shortly after the launch of Yuhe night talk in late 2015, you discussed the secret concerns about the ethical issues involved in cloning and gene editing. In October 2018, it became a social reality. How does it feel for you?

Weng Ling: in the world's developed countries, how many new inventions worthy of our humanists' reflection? We don't know yet. He Jiankui is just a good person, but his approach is not unexpected at all. I think this is something that will happen. We also have some opportunists in the art world. The emergence of a He Jiankui is only a reminder of the fact that the development of science and technology will bring more challenges and crises. Artificial intelligence and biotechnology, no single occurrence is not terrible. What is terrible is the superposition of artificial intelligence and biotechnology in the future. But that is bound to happen. Now is just the beginning.