Chinese beggar’s chalk ‘Mona Lisa’ street drawings spark social media storm

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Chinese beggar’s chalk ‘Mona Lisa’ street drawings spark social media storm

Artist, 53, from Shandong province, who lost his leg to cancer, has studied at some of China’s best art institutes over the years, but prefers to make a living from his pavement sketches

PUBLISHED : Monday, 13 April, 2015, 4:56pm
UPDATED : Monday, 13 April, 2015, 4:56pm

Stephen Chen [email protected]

The Chinese beggar has studied at some of the nation's best art institutes over the years, but prefers to make a living from his street drawings. Photo: ImagineChina

A one-legged Chinese street beggar has sparked widespread interest on mainland social media with his chalk pavement drawings of Leonardo da Vinci’s famous Mona Lisa and “China’s Mona Lisa” – the nation’s First Lady Peng Liyuan, China News Services reports.

His art work in Jinhua, in Zhejiang province, on Saturday attracted large crowds, with some admirers placing hundred-yuan bills in his collecting tin.

Photographs of his work have been shared by thousands of people on their weibo pages.

The beggar, 53, originally from Linyi, in Shandong province, has studied at some of China’s best art institutes over the years, but prefers to make a living from his street drawings.

He has lived on city streets for more than 30 years since losing his leg to cancer.

Since then he has travelled around the country earning money for his pavement drawings in almost every major mainland city.

He started off earning just a few coins for simple chalk characters drawn on pavements, but now his pictures attract much larger donations.

Some admirers have offered to pay for him to studying at leading art institutes and others have offered him jobs, but he said he could never manage to stay on the campus or in an office for long.

The beggar told reporters he was happiest living as a street artist and enjoyed the appreciation of the public as they watched him spend hours creating his artwork.