Painting True Love | What an Ancient Chinese Legend Taught Me About Love

Two thousand years ago, a king lost a war. The farewell that followed became one of China’s most enduring love stories.

I wanted to find out what I could see in it through painting.
I’m so happy to finally share Painting True Love: What an Ancient Chinese Legend Taught Me About Love—a six-minute experimental film bringing together the story of 霸王别姬 (Farewell My Concubine), my own reflections, and the making of a mixed-media portrait.

From fluid ink to acrylic and oil, you’ll see the painting take shape through uncertainty, unexpected turns, and the small decisions that bring a face into focus. Along the way, an ancient story became something personal: a way of thinking about the roles we play, and our longing to be truly seen and still loved.

For those discovering this legend for the first time, I’m especially excited to share it with you. Come spend six minutes with me, this painting, and the woman at the heart of the story.

I’d love to know which image or thought stays with you afterward.

Film and painting by Shengsheng Zhou

All live-action footage was filmed specifically for this project. The film includes a brief animation inspired by traditional Chinese shadow puppetry, created with AI assistance using Google Flow.

MUSIC
“Snow Waltz – Winter Piano”
By Clavier-music
Used under the Pixabay Content License
https://pixabay.com/music/modern-clas...
“Pipa piece – Summer (夏)”
Composed by Jing Sun (孙晶)
Performed by Wei Fan (樊薇), Yuanchun Yu(于源春), Yankun Duan (段妍堃), Yadi Zhang (张雅迪)
Used with permission. With heartfelt thanks to Jing Sun for her encouragement and generosity.