June1927:LinFengmian,presidentoftheNationalBeijingArtSchool,posesforaphotowithteachersandstudentsbeforeleavingoffice.
1934:AclassintheWesternPaintingDepartmentoftheNationalBeijingArtSchool.TheChinesenationexperiencedseveralmagnificentmomentsinthe20thcenturysuchasnationalliberation,thefoundingofthePeople鈥檚RepublicofChinaandimplementationofthereformandopening-uppolicy,alongsidetheconstantpursuitforprosperity颅andstrength.
In2018,theCentralAcademyofFineArts(CAFA),aprestigiousartcollegeinChina,celebratedits100thanniversary.Overthepastcentury,theschoolhasalwaysplayedanactiveroleinthemajorhistoricaldevelopmentsoftheChinesenation,contributingartisticfueltonationalrejuvenationanddevelopmentthroughmanyoutstandingworksthatpreservetheculturalcontextofChinesecivilizationwhilefusingwithmodernfeatures.
IntellectualandAestheticEnlightenment
Attheturnofthe20thcentury,ChinawasindesperateneedofreformafteroverthrowingtheQingDynasty(1644-1911).ElitesturnedtheirsightsoverseasandhopedthatbylearningadvancedknowledgeandculturefromtheWest,Chinacouldembarkonaroadtodemocracyandprosperity.
CaiYuanpei(1868-1940),hailedasthe鈥渇atherofmodernChineseeducation,鈥漺asonesuchelite.HevisitedEuropeseveraltimestostudyandplacedparticularemphasisontheroleofaestheticeducationinshapingthepersonality.
In1916,heproposedtheideaof鈥渞eplacingreligionwithaestheticeducation,鈥漺ithahopetousearttopreventanyreligionfromimprisoningthemindofChinesepeople.
HeproposedseveraltimesthattheMinistryofEducationshouldestablishaninstitutionofhigherlearningspecializingintrainingartistictalents.OnApril15,1918,withtheapprovaloftheMinistryofEducation,thefirstnationalartschoolofChinawasformerlyinaugurated.Itwasapredecessoroftoday鈥檚CAFA,knownthenasNationalBeijingArtSchool(NBAS).
Overthenextnearly20years,thesocialsituationinChinawasturbulent.TheNBASalsofacednumerousdifficulties.Itsnameandsystemchangedrepeatedlyandexperiencedseveralreforms,butitcontinueddevelopingtenaciously.1.ThesiteofLuXunArtSchoolatQiao鈥檈rgouinYan鈥檃n.TheschoolwasfirstbuiltoutsidethenortherncitygateofYan鈥檃nandmovedtherein1939.IthadservedasacenterforarteducationandartisticcreationintheliberatedregionsuntilthevictoryoftheChinesePeople鈥檚WarofResistanceagainstJapaneseAggressionin1945.
2.AclassatLuXunArtSchoolinYan鈥檃n.Theconditionsweredifficultatthetime,butthevisionofthetraineeswasinspired.
3.StudentslearnwoodcarvingatLuXunArtSchoolinYan鈥檃n.In1937afterJapaneseinvaderslaunchedtheJuly7thIncident,theNBAS鈥檚teachersandstudentswereforcedtomovesouth.In1938,theyarrivedinYuanling,HunanProvince,andmergedwithNationalHangzhouArtSchooltoformanationalacademyofarts.
WeaponofArtinWartime
WhentheteachersandstudentsoftheNBASheadedsouthtoescapewarfare,anotherpredecessoroftheCAFA,LuXunArtSchool,emergedinYan鈥檃n,arevolutionarybaseininlandChina.
Atthetime,Yan鈥檃nsufferedextremelydifficultmateriallivingconditions.Theschoollackedcanvases,paintandevenxuanpaperfortraditionalChinesepainting.Whatcouldtheydo?
ArtiststurnedtolocallyavailablewoodontheLoessPlateau.Acut-tingknifeandawoodenboardcreatedagenreofrevolutionarywoodcutprintthatearnedanimportantpositioninthehistoryofChineseartinthe20thcentury.
Aftersometime,everyyoungartstudentwhocametoYan鈥檃ntostudyatLuXunArtSchoollearnedtowieldthecuttingknifeasaweapon.MergingtheartswiththedemandsoftheChineserevolution,theydepictedheroicandanti-JapaneseimagesofChinesesoldiersandcivilians.Thesewoodcutworkswerewidelyembracedbythepublicandachievedahighlevelofartistry.Measuring292脳30centimeters,thesilkscrollpainting,Eighty-sevenImmortals,exhibitedatthecentennialcelebrationsoftheCentralAcademyofFineArts,isthemostfamousclassicTaoistpaintinginhistory.Itdepicts87gracefulimmortalsdescendingfromheaveninformation.
ThenationalemblemofthePeople鈥檚RepublicofChina.
TheemblemoftheChinesePeople鈥檚PoliticalConsultativeConference.
Theemblemofthe2008BeijingParalympicGames.
Thelogosofthe2022BeijingWinterOlympicsandWinterParalympicGames.Inthesummerof1953,XuBeihongtutoredhislastteachertraininggroupattheCentralAcademyofFineArtsandtheZhejiangAcademyofFineArts.PicturedareXuandhisstudentsinthetraininggroup.In1945,theU.S.-basedLifemagazinepublishedsomewoodcutsbyartistYanHanwiththearticle鈥淲oodcutsHelpFightChina鈥檚Battles鈥漷oencourageAmericansoldiersinthePacificTheaterthroughinspirationfromheroicChinesesoldiers.
CombiningthedestinyofindividualswiththatoftheChinesenationasawholeandlinkingindependentworksofartwiththerealityoftheChineserevolution,thismethodofcreationandstylegreatlyaffectedtheCAFAinlateryearsandremainedthecoreprinciplefortheschool鈥檚progress.
DesigningChina鈥檚Icons
October1,1949broughtthefoundingofthePeople鈥檚RepublicofChina.Beforethat,thedesignofthenationalflagandthenationalanthemwereannouncedoneafteranother,butconspicuouslyabsentwasadesignforthenationalemblem:Nosatisfactorydesignwasfoundduringtheprocessofopensolicitationsfromhomeandabroad.
Eventually,aplanfromtheCAFA,featuringpatternsofthenationalflag,Tian鈥檃nmenRostrum,awheelgearandearsofwheat,waschosen.Tian鈥檃nmenRostrumislocatedatthecenter,symbolizingthelonghistoryoftheChinesenationandthefoundingofNewChina.
TheCAFAalsowonthebidtodesigntheemblemoftheChinesePeople鈥檚PoliticalConsultativeConferenceandtheartvisualdesignofthefoundingceremonyofthePeople鈥檚RepublicofChina.
Theacademyhaswonmanyhonorsovertheyears.Itsdesignofthejade-platedgoldmedalforthe2008BeijingOlympicGameswonravereviewsfromaroundtheworld.
JadehasthousandsofyearsoficonicuseinChinaandsymbolizestheChinesepursuitofvirtue.Thejade-platedgolddesignwasafirstfortheOlympicsafteralonghistoryofusageofasinglematerialforOlympicmedals,anditwashighlypraisedasaperfectcombinationofChinesecivilizationandtheOlympicspirit.
Inmorerecentnews,thewinningdesignerforboththeemblemsofthe2022BeijingWinterOlympicGamesandtheWinterParalympicGameswasProfessorLinCunzhenfromtheCAFA.
ThosedesignsfeaturetraditionalChineseculturalelementssuchascalligraphyandsealcarving,presentinganimageofthegreatEasterncivilization,whichismodern,innovativeandinclusive,combinedwiththespiritoftheOlympics.
CradleofArtisticTalent
TheteachersoftheCAFAareconsideredpioneersofChineseart.StandoutsincludeLinFengmian(19001991)andXuBeihong(1895-1953),whointroducedWesternoilpaintingtechniquestoChina,andPanTianshou(1891-1971),whowascommittedtoestablishingaChinesepaintingteachingsystemandinnovatingtraditionalChinesepainting.
ThestudentsoftheCAFA,ontheotherhand,arenowheavyweightsintheChineseartcirclesaswellasstarsontheworldstage.AtopthelistareWuHong,theHarrieA.VanderstappenDistinguishedServiceProfessorinChineseArtHistoryattheUniversityofChicago,whoalsofoundedtheEastAsianArtResearchCenterattheuniversity,andXuBing,anartistwhowontheMacArthurFellowship.
Tocelebratethe100thanniversaryoftheestablishmentoftheCAFA,theschoollaunchedaseriesofcampaignsincludinganexhibitionofworkscreatedandcollectedbyXuBeihong,thefirstpresidentoftheCAFA.
Theexhibitionfeaturesmanyartifacts,artcollectiblesandhistoricaldocumentsthathavenotbeenwidelyshown,suchasapaintingof87immortalsfromtheTangDynasty(618-907),whichXuclaimedtobeasvaluableashislifeandhadriskedallofhispropertytoprotect.
TheseexhibitionsarethemostconvincingevidencefortheCAFA鈥檚centralroleinthedevelopmentofChina鈥檚arteducation.