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Lei Yixin has a dream. And that is the "Stone of Hope".

Forty-four years after Martin Luther King delivered his famous "I have a dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., Lei has been chosen to give shape to the great soul on granite.

The selection of the sculptor from Changsha, capital of Hunan Province, to cast King in stone, the "Stone of Hope", has created a lot of excitement.

For instance, what will the sculpture look like? What will be its special features? King will stand arms folded and his head tilted slightly to the right on the National Mall, facing the Jefferson Memorial. Lei's initial design shows the great reformer and civil rights icon holding a pen in his left hand.

Lei told China Daily that he will focus on the unyielding spirit of King, who was assassinated in 1968. He will begin work on the sculpture very soon, and hopes to complete it within 14 months.

Since last summer Lei has been reading a lot about King, listening to his speeches and watching his videos, though he didn't have any inkling about the responsibility he would be shouldered with later. But he is confident of exhibiting King's spiritual power.

The sculptor shares King's ideals, especially his belief in non-violence and perseverance in the face of pressure. King's spiritual inspiration incidentally came from Mahatma Gandhi.

"I have suffered myself, so I know what suffering is," Lei said. "Though I was not tortured as much as the African Americans, I can understand how they felt, and I adore the hero who fought for the equal rights of all the people."

The son of an engineer and a schoolteacher, Lei was one of the many "educated youths" sent to the countryside for re-education during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), and tilled the land in a mountainous region of Hunan for 8 years.

Lei returned to mainstream education when the national college entrance exam was revived in 1977, and enrolled at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts.

On the professional front, Lei joined an art school in Changsha after his graduation in 1982. But his passion has always been sculpting. He used to create giant sculptures of great figures such as Chairman Mao Zedong and master artist Qi Baishi. Today, Lei is the president of the Hunan Institute of Sculpting.

The sculptor is known both for his realistic depiction and uncanny ability to demonstrate the spirit of a character, said Zhu Xunde, chairman of the Hunan Association of Artists.

Lei was recommended to the King Memorial Foundation by people from a dozen African, American and European countries, with whom he participated in a workshop in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Though many have welcomed his appointment by King Memorial Foundation, others view it differently. The Guardian has quoted a black artist in King's hometown of Atlanta as saying that it was a "slap in the face" of African Americans to ask a Chinese to sculpt "the centerpiece of the most important African American monument".

Lei responds: "I recited King's 'I have a dream' speech in college like many other Chinese students. I remember him saying we are all brothers and sisters."

Sherry Smith, 27, is an African American but she doesn't support what some critics have to say about Lei's appointment. Smith said King advocated fraternity among people of all races and colors. "I don't see a problem with it (Lei's appointment). I do understand why some people would want a black artist to do that but a Chinese artist would be just as good."

(China Daily 07/26/2007 page1)