Soul Painting

Author: Yang Zhishen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Adapted from the script of the TV series Painted Soul. This novel version of the Painted Soul script, meticulously crafted by the renowned Hong Kong screenwriter Mr. Yang Zhishen, describes the legendary emotions, career, and life of the famous Chinese painter Pan Yuliang.
Pan Yuliang, originally named Zhang Yuliang and styled Shi Xiu, was born in Tongcheng, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, in 1895. Orphaned at a young age, she was sold by her uncle to a brothel as a courtesan at 14. At 17, she was redeemed by Pan Zanhua, the Supervisor of the Wuhu Customs Office, and taken as his concubine, subsequently changing her name to Pan Yuliang. She once resided in Shanghai's Zhaopu Road.
Passionate about art, Pan Yuliang was admitted to the Shanghai Institute of Fine Arts (later renamed the Shanghai Fine Arts College) in 1918 with excellent sketching skills. She studied painting under Zhu Qizhan and Wang Jiyuan. Upon graduation in 1921, she won a government scholarship to study in France, becoming the first batch of Chinese students at the Lyon University of Lyon. Two years later, she transferred to the oil painting class at the National School of Fine Arts in Paris, where she studied alongside Xu Beihong.
In 1925, she received the Roman Scholarship and furthered her studies in Italy, enrolling at the National School of Fine Arts in Rome to learn oil painting and sculpture. In 1926, her works won a gold medal at the International Art Exhibition in Rome, breaking the institution's long-standing record of never awarding a prize to a Chinese artist.