Seeking art to help Sichuan kids, build schools

Special Report:Reconstruction After Earthquake

BEIJING, April. 8 -- It's been nearly a year, but the
horrible Sichuan earthquake still haunts like nightmare, especially for the
children who lost their families.

A major charity art auction, including masterpieces
by Xu Beihong and Zhu Ming, will run from May 30 to 31 to raise money to "build
nine schools and help child survivors of the Sichuan earthquake," according to
Chongyuan Art Auction House, the local co-organizer.

The sale will offer at least 170 works, including
traditional ink-wash paintings, sculptures and canvases from many artists and
collectors both in Shanghai and Taiwan, says Ji Chongjian, owner of the local
auction house.

More works are welcome and the support of businesses,
collectors and individuals is encouraged.

"Besides the money raised from this charity auction,
we will also donate our commission to aid those children," says Ji.

Works received to date include a scroll jointly
painted by famed local artists Chen Jialing, Xie Chunyan and others.

The auction is organized by the Tzu Chi Foundation, a
nonprofit organization founded in 1966 by Dharma Master Cheng Yen in Hualien,
Taiwan.

The charity art auction will be the first major
exposure of the Tzu Chi Foundation Shanghai.

In May last year, Tzu Chi donated 500 million yuan
(73.53 million U.S. dollars) in financial assistance to Wenchuan, the earthquake
epicenter.

In the immediate aftermath, Tzu Chi provided support,
including hot food, for survivors and rescue workers.

"Most important, we try to comfort people and help
them heal from the trauma," says Master Cheng Yen.

Volunteers took frightened children to tents and
soothed them through talking and massage.

At hospitals volunteers served as "good listeners for
the exhausted medical staff and rescue workers who were in great need of a
shoulder to cry on," says the master.

Tzu Chi volunteers went worldwide to help survivors
of the Sichuan quake. They went to 1,900 locations in 23 countries, going out
onto the streets with donation boxes.

"Whether they received a large bill or just a single
coin, the volunteers bowed in gratitude," says Master Cheng Yen. "They worked
with a humble heart and showed sincere respect to all who made donations.

"This is the power of love," the master says.

Tzu Chi is an international, volunteer-led,
charitable organization providing humanitarian aid, spiritual care and medical
services to families and communities locally and internationally. It focuses on
charitable services, medical services, education and cultural services.

Tzu Chi claims more than 13 million volunteers around
the globe.

Volunteers have worked in disaster relief on the
Chinese mainland since 1991 when devastating floods hit central and eastern
China. The organization was officially recognized and registered as a charitable
body in March 2008.

Master Cheng Yen calls relief work on the Chinese
mainland as "building a bridge of love."

Tzu Chi has worked in charity, medicine, education,
environmental protection, promotion of humane values and community volunteer
work.

"Of course, we need many collectors and entrepreneurs
to join in. Without them, the goodwill can't be realized," she says.

Chongyuan Art Auction House maintains all art
donations.

In Shanghai's Putuo District, the Tzu Chi group is
helping elderly and widowed people by giving them a regular living allowance,
says one volunteer, declining to be identified.

"Love is the sole driving force in our mission," she
says. "Only through an open loving heart can we truly change the world into a
better place for all, alleviate the suffering of mankind, and reverse the trend
of violence and destruction."

Date: May 30-31

Venue: Westin hotel, 88 Henan Rd M.

Call 5403-8051 for more information

Master Cheng Yen and Tzu Chi Foundation

Born Wang Jinyun in 1937 in Taichung County, Taiwan,
Master Cheng Yen's first contact with Buddhist Dharma came when she was 23 and
searching for a burial place for her father, who has died of a stroke suddenly.

She founded the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu-Chi
Foundation, commonly known as Tzu Chi, in 1966. Its motto: "Instructing the rich
and saving the poor."

Tzu Chi means "serving with compassion."

Later, Cheng Yen's charity, medical, education and
culture missions developed. Today the Tzu Chi Foundation takes part in
international disaster relief, bone marrow donation campaigns, environmental
protection and community volunteering of many kinds.

(Source: Shanghai Daily)