Pang Xunqin

Author: Sun Ping
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-01-01
Features: The Pang family has lived in Tangqiao, West Township of Changshu for generations, being a farming and studying family. By the Qing Dynasty's reign of Emperor Qianlong, the descendants multiplied, and the clan grew to become a prominent family in West Township. This book connects the past and present through the key figure Pang Xunqin, setting the Pang family as the backdrop. By showcasing the life paths of several generations, including their ideals, achievements, circumstances, education of offspring, and marital families, it weaves together the Pang family's century-long vicissitudes—from a traditional farming and studying family to a noble and official family, and finally to a modern art family. This reveals the transformation of Chinese society from tradition to modernity over the past century. It can be said that through the long years of wind and rain, the Pang family of Haiyu witnessed history, recorded history, and their own ups and downs formed a historical scroll filled with a sense of desolate beauty.
Pang Xunqin (1906–1985) was a renowned Chinese painter, craft artist, and art educationist. Born in Pang's Residence in Wangxianqiao, Changshu County, Jiangsu Province, he enrolled in Shanghai Shantung University to study medicine in 1921 while also learning painting in his spare time. In 1925, he went to Paris, France, to study, later attending the Sorel Painting Research Institute and the Grand-Chevalier Institute for further studies. In 1930, he returned to China and joined the Xugu Painting Club and the Tameng Painting Club, becoming one of the organizers of the progressive emerging art movement. In 1932, he taught at Shanghai Art College, Xinhua Art College, and Changming Art School, and founded the art society "Juelan." In 1935, Juelan Society disbanded. From 1936 onwards, he taught at Beijing Art College, Sichuan Provincial Art College, West China University, Chongqing Central University, Guangdong Provincial Art College, and Sun Yat-sen University. In 1949, he became a professor and head of the Painting Department at the East China Branch of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. In 1953, he was transferred to Beijing to help establish the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts. In 1956, the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts was founded, and Pang Xunqin was appointed as the Vice President of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. In 1957, he was labeled a rightist. In 1979, his political reputation was restored, and his academic rank was reinstated. In 1983, he held his first personal exhibition since the founding of the country. In 1985, he passed away.