Map
marking ancient sites, modern cities and provinces Map
marking ancient sites, modern cities and provinces
CHRONOLOGY AND HISTORY:
Following the failure of a bold attempt in 1898 to reform the government in the face of dynastic decline and foreign encroachment, a nationalist revolution led by Sun Zhongshan (Sun Yatsen) overthrew the Qing dynasty in 1911. Instead of a new dynasty, a Republic was established with its capital at Nanjing (beginning officially on Jan. 1, 1912). Although a Nationalist Party (Guomintang) government was elected, its authority was impeded first by factionalism and regional warlords, and then by Japanese invasions that began in the early 1930s and continued through World War II. The Communist Party started to be active in the 1920s, initially with advisers from the Soviet Union. After World War II, the Nationalists (led by Jiang Jieshi [Chiang Kai-shek]), and the Communists (under Mao Zedong), fought a civil war, ending in the Nationalist retreat to Taiwan. The Republic continues in Taiwan, which has evolved in recent years to a prosperous, increasingly democratic society.
On the mainland, in 1949,
Mao Zedong proclaimed the communist People's Republic, which claims the authority
to control the lives and thoughts of its subjects more completely than ever
before in history. Numerous movements and campaigns have periodically reasserted
party doctrines. Many values and practices associated with traditional China
have been denounced as feudal, and property-holders and intellectuals have been
particularly harshly treated. After Mao's death in 1976, the mainland opened
up to greater engagement with the rest of the world and emphasized economic
development and modernization.
ART AND CULTURE:
Critical re-evaluation and
rejection of China's traditional heritage by the May Fourth Movement (named
for the date of an important demonstration in Beijing in 1919, protesting the
Treaty of Versailles's granting of Shandong to Japan) gave great impetus to
the search for new forms of expression appropriate to China in the modern period.
Many scholars and artists studied abroad and taught in art academies after their
return (e.g. Xu Beihong, Lin Fengmian).
Art academies offering instruction in both Chinese and Western media were established
in major cities during the 1920s.
The Palace Museum was founded in 1925, when the buildings and contents of the
imperial palace became state property after the deposed last emperor was evicted
in 1924. Many of the works were removed from Beijing during World War II and
transported into the interior for safety. Some were moved to Taiwan in 1947
and were eventually installed in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. There
is also a Palace Museum in Beijing, occupying the buildings of the former imperial
palace.
On the mainland after 1949, explicit policies governed artists and artistic
production within a communist framework. Art was created for propaganda
and ideological purposes, often by committee, to mold the minds
of the masses. The basic principles were articulated in Chairman Mao's Talks
at the Yan'an Forum on Art and Literature in 1942. They were followed in most
extreme form during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).
Graphic arts:
Resurgence of woodblock-printed pictures, sometimes combining elements of traditional folk prints with Western expressionism or socialist realism.
Artist:
During the Cultural Revolution, mass-produced lithographic posters, often designed by committee (and approved by party commissars) were issued to inform the populace of every shift of official thinking and to whip up support for the party's policies.
Architecture:
Western building styles
introduced; various hybrid styles evolved.
Beijing's walls and several buildings in the south part of the imperial city
were demolished after 1949 to create Tiananmen Square,
on the model of Red Square in Moscow. Major buildings of great symbolic importance
were constructed there, such as the Great
Hall of the People, Museum of Chinese History, and mausoleum
of Mao Zedong.
Sculpture:
A model work of the Cultural Revolution period was a collective effort entitled "Rent Collection Courtyard," which illustrated the evils of the old regime with lifesize clay-plaster figures.
Painting:
Some 20th century painters worked in or adapted a great variety of earlier styles; others explored a range of foreign artistic styles. The name guohua (national painting) was coined to designate painting done in traditional Chinese media and styles from painting in western media and styles.
Artists:
- Earlier generation:
- Qi Baishi (from a humble family in Hunan but eventually settled in Beijing; evolved an appealing style featuring bold designs, bright colors, and everyday subjects. Treated with deference by the People's Republic as representing the spirit of folk art.)
- Xu Beihong (studied academic oil painting in France; promoted techniques to enhance realism in traditional Chinese media; taught in art academies in Beijing and remained there after 1949.)
- Fu Baoshi (traditional-style painter; stayed in PRC after 1949; suffered greatly during the intermittent ideological campaigns of the 1950s and 1960s)
- Guan Shanyue (traditional-style painter who initially worked in oils; stayed in PRC)
- Chang Dai Chien (his preferred spelling; in pinyin his name is Zhang Daqian; studied in Japan and left China after 1949; explored earlier Chinese styles including the Buddhist painting of Dunhuang; also famed as a master forger. Ended his career in Taiwan.)
- Lin Fengmian (studied modernist painting in France; returned to China in 1927 and taught in Hangzhou; stayed in China under the PRC but was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution; left China afterward and ended his career in Hong Kong.)
- Artists who became active after the Cultural Revolution:
- Chen Yifei
- Zhao Yixiong
- Luo Zhongli (oil painter)
- Wang Keping (sculptor), emigrated to France
- Xu Bing (artist of varied media), emigrated to the United States
- Artists active in Taiwan:
- Liu Kuo-sung [his preferred spelling; in pinyin his name is Liu Guosong]
- Lo Ching [his preferred spelling; in pinyin his name is Luo Qing]
