June 14 marked the 73rd birthday of President Donald Trump. A Chinese-American artist wished the President a happy birthday through a traditional Chinese painting of peaches—a symbol of longevity in Chinese culture.
Dongsheng Jia is a New York-based jewelry designer. His works include the 1993 wedding gifts of the former Japanese Prince Naruhito and his wife Masako.
In Chinese mythology, peaches are a heavenly fruit that grant immortality. And in the fantasy novel Journey to the West, the monkey king Sun Wukong was once the guard of the garden of immortality peaches.
Due to its lucky symbolism, peaches are among the most commonly seen objects of traditional paintings, porcelain decorations, and other forms of art. Steamed buns made into the shape of peaches are also popular in Chinese cuisine.
Other than the two peaches, Jia’s painting also consists of Trump’s 2020 slogan “Keep America Great,” “Happy Birthday, Donald J.Trump” in cursive, as well as an ink-seal carving of “God Bless America.” The seal script is ancient Chinese writing style often used in the 1st millennium BCE.
A founder of “Chinese-Americans For Trump,” Jia told the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times that he was amazed by Trump’s ability to detect America’s social ills 40 years ago.
“He wanted to join the race 40 years ago. And when the time was ripe in 2016, he stood out,” Jia said. “He doesn’t want the 400 thousand dollars salary a year and discarded his business empire. I think he really has a backbone. He thinks for America, not himself … He is able to persevere under pressure of the Democrat’s Russia investigation.”
President Trump is set to announce the launch of his reelection campaign on June 18. “I wish he can succeed in next year’s election,” said Jia.
In recent years, the rise of Trump-supporting Chinese-Americans who barely cared about politics before 2016, puzzled many political scientists. Many even switched parties to support Trump. Some have cited reasons including his conservative economic policies and his support for meritocracy against affirmative action.
