Zi Wang; Chao Zhou; Piotr Strzalkowski
Zi Wang
University of Edinburgh, 2nd year PhD candidate in History of Art
The Rediscovery of Tradition and Transcultural Dialogues: Chen Shizeng and the Art Salon of Early Republican Beijing, 1912-1923
This paper provides the first piece of systematic research on the art salon and its impact upon early Republican Beijing (1912-1927), focusing on Chen Shizeng (1876-1923) and his fellow artists. It explores the establishment of one of the most significant painting schools in the twentieth century- the Beijing School of Painting - from the perspective of the art salon. It will elucidate how Beijing artists rescued, redefined and revived guohua (national-style painting) through their artistic activities, both within the city and overseas. I argue that scholar-artists preserved guohua by adopting new ways that were closely associated with the new world of media: publishing magazines and organizing public exhibitions. Furthermore, the Beijing artists’ interpersonal and group artistic exchanges with Japan partly shaped the ways in which guohua was defined and displayed within the art world and among the art-viewing public.
This paper consists of three sections. It firstly defines what is understood by “art salon” within the context of early Republican Beijing and identifies the key actors in the world of guohua. Section two investigates how Beijing artists expanded the influence of their art and thoughts, through the newly-organized painting societies of guohua and by recruiting students, publishing magazines and organizing public exhibitions. The final part establishes two case studies: Chen Shizeng’s role in Sino-Japanese painting exhibitions is considered, in conjunction with discussion of Japanese art historian Omura Seigai’s first visit to Beijing. These case studies will facilitate an understanding of the transcultural promotion of guohua.
Chao Zhou
Ohio University, Year 2 phd candidate in Philosophy of Arts
A Turning Point of Art in Modern China: the Storm Society and the Transformation of Chinese National Identity in 1930s
This paper examines the aesthetic ideas of the avant-garde art movement, the Storm Society (Juelanshe 决澜社) in the 1930s in China. I argue that the Storm Society played a revolutionary part in the transformation of the Chinese national identity, as well as in negotiating the tension between the rejection of the Chinese aesthetic tradition and the urge to define a new kind of Chineseness. Even though the history of the Storm Society has been well documented, further research into this revolutionary phenomenon through a philosophical analysis is still needed. By analyzing the shift of artistic interests in the wave of Westernization from May 4th, 1919 to the 1930s in China, I propose that the Storm Society was a critical phase to pave the road for integrating the culture from West to East. It became an icon of the cultural encounter between Western and Eastern art realms. I substantiate my argument by examining the manifesto of the Storm Society and the artworks and ideas of the founder Pang Xunqin, and by approaching the theories of Lu Xun, Wassily Kandinsky, Li Zehou, Leo Lee, and Zhou Aimin with a philosophical lens.
Piotr Strzalkowski
University of Edinburgh, Year 2 PhD Candidate in Chinese Studies
Pursuing ideologically homogeneous China: cartoons and the early Red Scare in China, 1924-1925
The formation of the KMT-CPC Alliance, and the formal establishment of Sino-Soviet relationship strengthened communist propaganda and influence in China in the early 1920’s. Such developments greatly concerned foreigners as well as some of Chinese in Shanghai and beyond. They feared the slogans, and the upcoming changes caused by the emergence of the hostile Bolshevik ideology. The paper shows how the visual propaganda was trying to counter and minimize the growing power of the radical propaganda. It reveals the methods, aims, and the main themes of the early Red Scare in China. For this purpose, reactions to the Sino-Soviet negotiations of 1924, and the May 30th Movement will be shown. The propaganda also provided miscellaneous cartoons to offer an entertainment and to avoid platitudes. It simultaneously linked the Red Scare with events on communism outside of China. I argue that Red Scare in the foreign press in Shanghai was an organized, consistent, and a thoughtful effort. It responded to the perceived communist threat and targeted both foreigners and Chinese elite, which often indirectly responded to the same notions that were carried by the cartoons. It employed stereotypization and dehumanization of communists to impact the cognition of the foe ideology, and to control the discourse among both foreigners and cosmopolitan Chinese. I reason that Red Scare consisted of two constantly overlapping phases, i.e. Red Farce (contemptuous prejudice) and Red Menace (envious bias), which inspired the ideological scapegoating.