Cao Yong (; born June 9, 1962, in Xinxian, Henan,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

) was a Chinese artist whose work depicts

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

. He spent a year alone in the mountains of Tibet and the paintings he produced were exhibited in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

in early 1989. He was subsequently arrested by the Chinese Authorities, with the Beijing Police burning seven of the paintings. He escaped with his fiancée

Aya Goda Aya Goda (Goda Aya in Japanese family name-given name order :ja:合田彩, Japanese wikipedia entry for this person.) is Japanese writer, and an artist. She has lived in Japan since 1998. Aya's first book '' Tao: On the Road and on the Run in Outla ...

to Japan. Yong began painting when he was 11 years old. Due to his family background, he was considered politically questionable by the Chinese authorities. He studied for a short period with the noted artist Yu Ren who was staying briefly in Xinxian. He attended Henan University and graduated with a BA in

Fine Art In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

s. Following his graduation, he took a position as Assistant Professor of Art at

Tibet University Tibet University (UTibet; ) is a public university in Lhasa, Tibet, China. The university is one of China's key universities and the largest university in the Tibet Autonomous Region. With an internationally renowned department of Tibetan stu ...

. He spent seven years in Tibet and spent a year living alone in mountain caves of Ali, West Tibet, so he could copy the remains of ancient Tibetan wall paintings of the

Guge Guge (; ) was an ancient dynastic kingdom in Western Tibet. The kingdom was centered in present-day Zanda County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region. At various points in history after the 10th century AD, the kingdom held sway over a vast ...

kingdom. In 1989, he went over to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

after a private exhibition of Beijing. He continued producing “The Split Layer of Earth – Mount Kailas” series while he was engaged in the wall painting production of the commerce space. The notable work produced aqua fantasy of 60mx 4 m in Yokosuka Daiei in 1991 and produced dragons of 50mx 8 m in Ise Bunkamura in 1993. In 1992, he held a private exhibition in the O ART Museum of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. In 1994, Cao went to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and held a private exhibition in Synchronicity Space of the New York SOHO. In 1999, he established Cao Yong Editions Inc in LA. In 2002, he produced “Freedom” in the anniversary of

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

terrorist incidents. “Free-Freedom” received Artist of the Year 2002, and Cao received an “Outstanding Volunteer” prize and a letter of thanks from the Los Angeles Fire Department (from a total of 118 stations). Cao produced an oil painting, “We The People”, in commemoration of the Federal Constitution memorial day in 2005. In 2006, he was conferred the “2006 Inspiration Award” from the International Leadership Foundation (ILF). In 2008, he produced “Voice of the East”. The painting was selected by the Olympic committee to print on

china China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and use as a special gift for the

VIPs A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples incl ...

who attended the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. Cao produced “Love without border” for the

Sichuan earthquake This is a list of earthquakes that occurred in Sichuan province of China. Earthquakes with magnitude of 7.0 or greater Earthquakes registering magnitudes between 6.0 and 6.9 See also *List of earthquakes in Yunnan References {{Earthqu ...

. The Forest Lawn Museum located at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California has showcased a retrospective of acclaimed Chinese immigrant Cao Yong’s original oil paintings that explore his own, highly personal journey to Tibet, Japan, India, Nepal, China, Cairo, France, Italy and the United States over a 30-year period. "Art Without Boundaries" by Cao Yong, Citizen of the World will be showing from July 27, 2017 - December 14, 2017. On June 25,2023, at 1:26 am Yon
died in a hospital in Chendu
China at the age of 62, after an unsuccessful medical rescue attempt.

External links

Cao Yong Editions Inc

Cao Yong International Gallery Beijing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cao, Yong Painters from Henan Living people 1962 births People from Xinyang Henan University alumni