YeDan (叶郸) is a successful businessman， a Chinese who was born and raised in Taiwan but has lived for decades in ShangHai. He was Asian CEO of a European high-tech company and one day – not yet sixty years old – he grew tired of business life. There is after all something else to life than revenues， costs， profits and share prices， and life is too short only for that.
He also knows how to paint， and teaching is his favourite passion.
So， being 58 years， he begins a second and at the same time a third career： In his third career， he is associate professor (marketing and business management) at three universities； in his second career， he is entering the art market， his plan is every year to create a series of exhibitions in various cities， each time featuring another topic. His first topic is “Cranes”， the second， “Rapeseed”， the third， “Green”， and the fourth is： “Oceans of the world”. Through mutual friends he meets by chance the German manager of a small chemical nanotechnology company who is also proficient in global crane research.
They talk about cranes， during a visit the German shows him his cranes in Hamburg， YeDan is thrilled – these are his first wild cranes that he can watch！ They talk the whole evening at dinner， until finally the topic of photography is mentioned. Words fly across the table， the German retrieves a couple of photos， YeDan is enthusiastic： “Shall we make an exhibition together？”
The German is just beginning to make his entry in China， he has never shown his photos in public， and then if he did it for the first time it should be in China？ Can you ever dare to go public with these images that do not match professional standards？ But YeDan does not give in.
A few months later， the German is still living in China in ever-changing hotels， the idea of renting an apartment has not yet arisen， but in ShangHai there are two exhibitions： “Worldwide Oceans”， the first one being in the artists’ quarter， the second one in PuDong， in the new， large and modern NanHui Oceans Museum. They display 50 oil paintings by YeDan with ocean motifs and 25 large photos that the German
Two images out of 25 from the exhibition “Worldwide Oceans” – in Antarctica： Gentoo Penguins take a breath during a voyage to their hunting grounds while leaping from the water， the picture shows all the stages： penguins under water， just before the appearance， jumping in the air， during re-immersion. The second image shows the ocean off the Australian east coast in the early morning， long deep waves approach the coast and are breaking on a rock.
Chemistry Doctor has made during his various diving and fishing trips on the oceans of the world.
The first exhibition is a full success. Local dignitaries and the German consul in ShangHai come along， all of them are giving speeches， the atmosphere is relaxed. The day before， outside the programme， before the official opening， even a few government officials and a minister visited the exhibition， YeDan is not really a nobody in China.
A few days before the opening of the second exhibition， YeDan is sending a scan of an article published in a ShangHai newspaper： “They have even printed your name， now everyone will know you in Shanghai！” But I do not find the name， not until at last YeDan explains on the telephone： “Your name is in the sub-headline， it is spelled卫斯林 ， Wei SiLin.”
Without further discussion， the German adopts that name for himself， it is printed on the Chinese side of the business card， and the players that he will get to know a few months later call him spontaneously “LaoWei”， or “Old Wei” (“Wei” meaning “guard”， how well this fits to his later position in the football team！).
As promised by YeDan， the exhibitions are great fun， moreover， a whole new subject in every way： being a photographer who has for his first time a public exhibition， and then in China！ And you get to know some people.
Painter YeDan’s topic of next year is “Children smile”. He will paint in oil hundreds of photos that he either made himself or were sent by from acquaintances and friends， including two smiling German children who were preschoolers then but are now the adult and working sons of the Chemistry Doctor， LaoWei.