He has always been attracted by natural beauty since his childhood in his hometown in Jiangsu province. When he was fishing, chasing rabbits or trying to catch birds, his heart "felt the pulse of nature and would be stirred by a spirit of lives".
"That feeling, in time turns into the images of chirping birds and elegant flowers in my paintings," he said. "The lotus, the peony, the pear blossoms and spring swallows under my brush are all songs of thriving nature."
Form and spirit make up the soul of traditional Chinese painting, said Yu. "Using form to express spirit means to lay your hands on your true feeling for the world."
"I do not draw flowers and birds just as they are - in my mind they are objects to create a poetic ideal state that originates from a sincere call from the essence of life," he said.
Sick girl realizes dream on the stage