Painting China

by Xu Baicheng

The Chinese nation experi- enced several magnificent moments in the 20th century such as national liberation， the founding of the Peoples Republic of China and implementation of the reform and opening-up policy， alongside the constant pursuit for prosperity and strength.

In 2018， the Central Academy of Fine Arts （CAFA）， a prestigious art college in China， celebrated its 100th anniversary. Over the past century， the school has always played an active role in the major historical developments of the Chinese nation， contributing artistic fuel to national rejuvenation and development through many outstanding works that preserve the cultural context of Chinese civilization while fusing with modern features.

Intellectual and Aesthetic Enlightenment

At the turn of the 20th century， China was in desperate need of reform after overthrowing the Qing Dynasty （1644-1911）. Elites turned their sights overseas and hoped that by learning advanced knowledge and culture from the West， China could embark on a road to democracy and prosperity.

Cai Yuanpei （1868-1940）， hailed as the “father of modern Chinese education，” was one such elite. He visited Europe several times to study and placed particular emphasis on the role of aesthetic education in shaping the personality.

In 1916， he proposed the idea of “replacing religion with aesthetic education，” with a hope to use art to prevent any religion from imprisoning the mind of Chinese people.

He proposed several times that the Ministry of Education should establish an institution of higher learning specializing in training artistic talents. On April 15， 1918， with the approval of the Ministry of Education， the first national art school of China was formerly inaugurated. It was a predecessor of todays CAFA， known then as National Beijing Art School （NBAS）.

Over the next nearly 20 years， the social situation in China was turbulent. The NBAS also faced numerous difficulties. Its name and system changed repeatedly and experienced several reforms， but it continued developing tenaciously.

In 1937 after Japanese invaders launched the July 7th Incident， the NBASs teachers and students were forced to move south. In 1938， they arrived in Yuanling， Hunan Province， and merged with National Hangzhou Art School to form a national academy of arts.

Weapon of Art in Wartime

When the teachers and students of the NBAS headed south to escape warfare， another predecessor of the CAFA， Lu Xun Art School， emerged in Yanan， a revolutionary base in inland China.

At the time， Yanan suffered extremely difficult material living conditions. The school lacked canvases， paint and even xuan paper for traditional Chinese painting. What could they do？

Artists turned to locally available wood on the Loess Plateau. A cut- ting knife and a wooden board created a genre of revolutionary woodcut print that earned an important position in the history of Chinese art in the 20th century.

After some time， every young art student who came to Yanan to study at Lu Xun Art School learned to wield the cutting knife as a weapon. Merging the arts with the demands of the Chinese revolution， they depicted heroic and anti-Japanese images of Chinese soldiers and civilians. These woodcut works were widely embraced by the public and achieved a high level of artistry.

In 1945， the U.S.-based Life magazine published some woodcuts by artist Yan Han with the article“Woodcuts Help Fight Chinas Battles” to encourage American soldiers in the Pacific Theater through inspiration from heroic Chinese soldiers.

Combining the destiny of individuals with that of the Chinese nation as a whole and linking independent works of art with the reality of the Chinese revolution， this method of creation and style greatly affected the CAFA in later years and remained the core principle for the schools progress.

Designing Chinas Icons

October 1， 1949 brought the founding of the Peoples Republic of China. Before that， the design of the national flag and the national anthem were announced one after another， but conspicuously absent was a design for the national emblem： No satisfactory design was found during the process of open solicitations from home and abroad.

Eventually， a plan from the CAFA， featuring patterns of the national flag， Tiananmen Rostrum， a wheel gear and ears of wheat， was chosen. Tiananmen Rostrum is located at the center， symbolizing the long history of the Chinese nation and the founding of New China.

The CAFA also won the bid to design the emblem of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference and the art visual design of the founding ceremony of the Peoples Republic of China.

The academy has won many honors over the years. Its design of the jade-plated gold medal for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games won rave reviews from around the world.

Jade has thousands of years of iconic use in China and symbolizes the Chinese pursuit of virtue. The jade-plated gold design was a first for the Olympics after a long history of usage of a single material for Olympic medals， and it was highly praised as a perfect combination of Chinese civilization and the Olympic spirit. In more recent news， the winning designer for both the emblems of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games and the Winter Paralympic Games was Professor Lin Cunzhen from the CAFA.

Those designs feature traditional Chinese cultural elements such as calligraphy and seal carving， presenting an image of the great Eastern civilization， which is modern， innovative and inclusive， combined with the spirit of the Olympics.

Cradle of Artistic Talent

The teachers of the CAFA are considered pioneers of Chinese art. Standouts include Lin Fengmian （1900-1991） and Xu Beihong （1895-1953）， who introduced Western oil painting techniques to China， and Pan Tianshou（1891-1971）， who was committed to establishing a Chinese painting teaching system and innovating traditional Chinese painting.

The students of the CAFA， on the other hand， are now heavyweights in the Chinese art circles as well as stars on the world stage. Atop the list are Wu Hong， the Harrie A. Vanderstappen Distinguished Service Professor in Chinese Art History at the University of Chicago， who also founded the East Asian Art Research Center at the university， and Xu Bing， an artist who won the MacArthur Fellowship.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the CAFA， the school launched a series of campaigns including an exhibition of works created and collected by Xu Beihong， the first president of the CAFA.

The exhibition features many artifacts， art collectibles and historical documents that have not been widely shown， such as a painting of 87 immortals from the Tang Dynasty （618-907）， which Xu claimed to be as valuable as his life and had risked all of his property to protect.

These exhibitions are the most convincing evidence for the CAFAs central role in the development of Chinas art education.