A Broccoli Fish by Chen Enzhi [thepaper.cn]

Chen Enzhi, an 8-year-old Shanghai girl, has won widespread favor after her poems and painting were posted online and shared among thousands of Chinese netizens recently.

Many praised her for her wild imagination and style, which recall the simple, cartoon-like illustrations from The Little Prince by French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

Chen wished that her paintings can be published in a book and be used to benefit a charity.

"My daughter has never enrolled in any after-school classes. Recently, we found her a teacher upon her own request," said her mother Yu Mei, who wished she can grow up in a free and natural way.

Her mom and the teacher, who posted the work online, have so far not revealed to Chen that her works are so popular among the public. "She is an ordinary kid. We don't want her to be too proud," they said.

Wild Creativity

The sources of Chen's works originate from daily life. A vegetable in a pot became a "broccoli fish" in her painting.

She illustrated a picture with the verses: "One day, I picked a broccoli from water,/A broccoli with eyes and a mouth./Bringing it back home,/I asked mum: is it a broccoli or a fish?"

Her travel with her parents and encounter with a banyan tree prompted her to paint the work The Window of a Huge Leaf, telling a story of a caterpillar and a large piece of foliage.

She even wrote a poem to record her experience of getting a fever: "I closed my eyes, having random thoughts,/My nerves are flying over a blue seashore/'Achoo, Achoo',/The seagull sneezed many times,/The bacteria fell into the sea with splashes…"

As her mother recalled, Chen showed the talent of painting already when she was in kindergarten. At the time, she did not like taking a nap at noon, so the teachers often let her draw on the blackboard or in the exhibition hall, said Yu.

‘Having Difficulties when First Entering Primary School'

Chen's drawing talent astonished the teachers. According to her head teacher Zhu Huiyu, her primary school ran an exhibition for Chen when she was just in Grade 1.

The girl learned to recognize words only after she attended formal lessons, which was later than many of her peers. In China it is common that parents teach their kids to read and write whilst they are still in preschool.

"Before attending primary school, she could not write. I recorded the poems she spoke orally with the mobile phone," said Yu.

"When she first came to school, she had difficulties in study," admitted the mother, but she said she was confident in her potential.

Keen on Reading

Apart from poems and painting, Chen likes reading too. She spends half an hour reading before bedtime every day.

"Sometimes she won't go to sleep as she is too engrossed in a book," said Yu.

When the girl was small and could not read, Yu, who likes biographies and rhymes, told her stories every night. Chen's father, a businessman, is also interested in books on art, design and literature.

When Chen was in Grade 1, her mother wanted to read the biography on Mother Teresa. She then read it about and shared the book with her daughter.

The Little Prince is also one of their favorites.

Chen's parents seldom use electronic products in front of the daughter. They believe that "electronic products will stifle children's creativity" and wish the child can spend more of her time on reading, handicrafts and outdoor activities.

Chen loves animals and likes planting vegetables. Now she has a 1-year-old sister. She plays with her first thing after school every day.

In the future, she wishes she can be a designer or painter.

The Window of a Huge Leaf by Chen Enzhi [thepaper.cn]

(Source: thepaper.cn/Translated and edited by Women of China

Editor: Kate Wu（women of China)