20th Century History of Chinese Art

Author: Lü Peng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features: This is a systematic work that presents the process of 20th-century Chinese art. The 20th century was the most complex and transformative period in the history of Chinese art. Under the influence of Western science and culture, China gave rise to entirely new artistic phenomena. The endless emergence of schools, styles, and issues not only reflected artists' new ways of perceiving the world but also mirrored the profound changes in China's politics, economy, and culture during this period. The book begins by examining the consequences of the Opium War in the late Qing Dynasty, delves into the impact of Western art on China, and particularly describes the changes in the art field after the Xinhai Revolution: the study-abroad movement, Western-style education, traditionalists' attitudes toward Western art, and the politicization of art under specific historical contexts. The "Talk at the Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art," published in 1942, decisively shaped the basic character of Chinese art from the 1940s to the 1970s. During this time, the art that emerged in Hong Kong and Taiwan, especially in Taiwan, formed an important chain connecting Chinese artists with the global cultural community. Chinese art after 1976, while somewhat reminiscent of the Westernist movement in the 1930s in the West, was more significantly a part of the ideological liberation movement of that era. The efforts of artists and critics during this period were notable and, to some extent, laid the foundation for the integration of 90s art into the of the "globalization era." Based on extensive research, the author presents for the first time an independent, systematic, accessible, and vivid account of over a century of Chinese art history, providing readers with a complete framework for the history of 20th-century Chinese art.
About the Author: Lü Peng was born in Chongqing in 1956. From 1977 to 1982, he studied at the Department of Political Education at Sichuan Normal University. From 1982 to 1985, he worked as an editor for the journal Drama and Film. From 1986 to 1991, he served as the deputy secretary general of the Sichuan Drama Association. From 1990 to 1993, he was the executive editor of the journal Art. In 1992, he served as the artistic director of the "Guangzhou Biennial." In 2004, he graduated with a Ph.D. from the China Academy of Art and currently teaches at the Department of Art History and Theory at the China Academy of Art. His major works include: Aesthetics of European Modern Painting (published by Lingnan Fine Arts Press in 1989), Modern Painting: New Image Language (first published by Shandong Literature and Art Press in 1987, reprinted in 1999), Art—An Epiphany of Humanity (published by Lingnan Fine Arts Press in 1990), Art and Culture in the 20th Century (co-authored with Yi Dan, published by Hunan Fine Arts Press in 1990), Modern Art and Cultural Critique (published by Sichuan Fine Arts Press in 1992), History of Modern Chinese Art: 1979-1989 (co-authored with Yi Dan, published by Hunan Fine Arts Press in 1992), Art Operations (published by Chengdu Publishing House in 1994), History of Contemporary Chinese Art: 1990-1999 (published by Hunan Fine Arts Press in 2000), and Qishan Qingyuan—The Historical and Aesthetic Transformation of Landscape Painting in the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties (published by China Renmin University Press in 2004), among others. His major translated works include: Selected Letters of Cézanne, Van Gogh, and Gauguin (first published by Sichuan Fine Arts Press in 1986, reprinted by Guangxi Normal University Press in 2003, and published by China Renmin University Press in 2004), On the Spiritual in Art (W.Kandinsky's: TheSpiritinArt, published by Sichuan Fine Arts Press in 1986), and Landscape into Art (K.Clark’s: LandscapeintoArt, published by Sichuan Fine Arts Press in 1988), among others.