Man, 93, still supports himself as nude model  

93岁老人做裸模十余年：几个孩子都不愿养我(图)

今年已经93岁的李继胜，曾在广州美术学院当了10几年裸体模特。由于年事已高，美院不再聘用他做教学模特，失去经济来源的老人生活十分艰难，只能在大学城附近拾荒维生。这一幕被曾经画过他的学生看到，大家纷纷表示要帮助老人[查看全文]

(ECNS) -- With his long white hair and beard, 93-year-old Li Jisheng supports himself as a nude model in Guangdong province, the Nanfang Daily reported.

Almost every day from Monday to Friday, Li sits on stage and strikes different poses during portrait and other painting classes at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts.

Li has been working as a model for students there for almost 20 years.

He comes from a village in Taikang, Central China's Henan province.

He joined the People's Liberation Army in 1950 and participated in the Korean War (1950-53), then returned to his farmland after retiring from the army. Li raised eight children, but the elderly man did not want to stay at home. So he left his village in 1995 and went to the Pearl River Delta region to try his luck.

First, he begged on the streets and sometimes picked up odd jobs to support himself. One day, he was discovered by a teacher at the arts academy. That event totally changed his life.

He has since served as a model in many portraits and other works of art in the southern province of Guangdong. Li said he was very satisfied with his job. "I can make money only by sitting there without doing anything else."

In addition to supporting himself, Li can also help support three other family members back in his home village.

Although Li has five sons and three daughters, none of them want to support him.

"The only thing they want from me is money," Li said. "I went back home last year, without any money, and my third son's wife said, 'You'd better go back to Guangzhou.' "

"It seems that now I can still do my part and make a contribution to society," Li said. "Maybe I will return to my hometown when I am too old to work."

But as he was getting too old, the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts no longer employed him as a model for students. The displaced man had to make a living by collecting scraps around the university town in Guangzhou.

"But I gave it up soon," Li said. "Because people always shot photos when I got out."

Li still serves as part-time model for several fine art schools now.