The Chinese Painting Research Society of Republican Beijing
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: TRADITION REVITALIZED: THE CHINESE PAINTING RESEARCH SOCIETY OF REPUBLICAN BEIJING Jingmin Zhang, Doctor of Philosophy, 2014 Directed By: Professor Jason Kuo Department of Art History and Archaeology In 1920 a group of traditional artists in Beijing formed the Chinese Painting Research Society, an art institution that enormously influenced Chinese art in the twentieth century. This dissertation locates this society within contemporary social, historical, and cultural trends and argues that its use of traditional Chinese art, antiquities, and even archaeology to counter Western art influence was part of a larger search for national and cultural identity. The first part of the dissertation focuses on the historical and theoretical foundations of the society. The second part sets the artistic activities of the group, including their exhibitions and journals, against contemporary cultural backdrops. The study accomplishes a number of goals. First, it sorts out the historical facts of this overlooked society in a way that reintroduces it to art historical scholarship. Second, it demonstrates that the seemingly conservative stance of the society was just a way to secure its standing and guard its goals. Third, it establishes the group’s importance to the field of modern Chinese art. Finally, by thoroughly examining the society and its accomplishments, this dissertation shows that the traditional artistic approach championed by the society is worth scholarly attention, and that the modernization of Chinese painting occurred not only in Chinese-Western synthesis. Innovation within tradition was equally viable. TRADITION REVITALIZED: THE CHINESE PAINTING RESEARCH SOCIETY OF REPUBLICAN BEIJING By Jingmin Zhang Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2014 Advisory Committee: Professor Jason Kuo, Chair Professor Anthony Colantuono Professor Steven Mansbach Professor Marlene J. Mayo Dr. Marilyn Wong-Gleysteen © Copyright by Jingmin Zhang 2014 The dissertation document that follows has had referenced material removed in respect for the owner's copyright. A complete version of this document, which includes said referenced material, resides in the University of Maryland, College Park's library collection. To my father and my son ii Acknowledgments I would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody that has lent a helping hand in the completion of this dissertation. I am greatly indebted to my advisor, Dr. Jason Kuo. He has provided me endless help and support during my years of study with him. This dissertation would not have been possible without his continuous guidance and encouragement. I would like to thank those who served on my dissertation committee, Dr. Anthony Colantuono, Dr. Steven Mansbach, Dr. Marlene J. Mayo, and Dr. Marilyn Wong- Gleysteen. I have benefited greatly from their insightful comments and suggestions. The community around the Art History department at the University of Maryland, College Park provided an enjoyable and scholarly atmosphere. I thank Dr. Elizabeth Marlowe, Dr. Joshua A. Shannon, Dr. Yui Suzuki, Dr. Alicia Volk, and Dr. Arthur K. Wheelock for their instructive and stimulating courses. I thank Dr. Quint Gregory and Dr. Lauree Sails for making my graduate study a joyful and memorable experience. I thank Deborah Down, Theresa Morse, and Ania Waller for helping me with all the administrative details required by the graduate school. I also thank my colleagues Madeline Gent, Suzie Kim, Marie Ladino, Sophia Lee, Jenyu Wang, and Xingkui Wang for their companionship and support. I was privileged not only to have had a museum fellowship and internship at the Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Galleries of Art, but to have worked with such outstanding curators as Keith Wilson and Stephen Alley. I have greatly benefited from their knowledge and expertise. In addition, Weina Tray helped me with iii administrative details, and Shu Yue provided me useful research materials. Special thanks go to Yan Yong of the Beijing Palace Museum and Ling Lizhong of the Shanghai Museum for offering me valuable thoughts and ideas. I thank the Library of Congress for the Florence Tan Moeson Fellowship, through which I was able to acquire a critical part of my research materials. I especially thank Zhang Jianjing and Song Yuwu for making my research more efficient and productive. I also would like to thank my editor Joel Kalvesmaki. His patient and professional proofreading and copy-editing was a big help in the completion of this dissertation. I am deeply grateful to many family members. I would never have fulfilled this long journey without their love and constant support. I owe special thanks to my husband Yi Zhao for his love and patience. I thank my son Brandon Zhao, whose coming was a decisive factor for the timely accomplishment of this dissertation. I thank my parents for their loving and unconditional support. I specially dedicate this dissertation to my father, now resting in heaven, who had been looking forward to the completion of this project. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ............................................................................................................. vi Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter One: The Chinese Painting Research Society: Its Genesis and Inner Dynamics .................................................................................................................... 19 1.1 Social and Cultural Preparations .................................................................. 21 1.2 The Chinese Painting Research Society: A View from Within ................... 46 Chapter Two: Theoretical Foundations: Art and Theories of Leading Members of the Chinese Painting Research Society ............................... 56 2.1 Jin Cheng: “To Grasp Ancient Methods and Breed Novelties” ................... 57 2.2 Zhou Zhaoxiang: Diligent Advocate of Antiquities ..................................... 80 2.3 Chen Shizeng: The Steady Defender of Literati Tradition ........................... 85 Chapter Three: Institutional Outreach: Art Exhibitions of the Chinese Painting Research Society ...................................................................................... 100 3.1 Achievement Exhibitions ........................................................................... 101 3.2 Sino-Japanese Joint Exhibitions ................................................................. 115 3.3 The First National Exhibition of Fine Arts, 1929 ....................................... 126 3.4 State-Sponsored Exhibitions in Europe ...................................................... 130 Chapter Four: Echoing the Past and Conforming to the Present: Periodicals of the Chinese Painting Research Society in the Nationalist Ferment ................... 143 4.1 Art Publication in China ............................................................................. 143 4.2 Xunkan and Yuekan: Publication Strategy and Objective .......................... 146 4.3 Xunkan and Yuekan: Content Analysis ....................................................... 150 4.4 Redefinition of Antiquities, Archaeological Fever, and Nationalist Agitation .................................................................................. 164 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 178 Figures ...................................................................................................................... 182 Bibliography ............................................................................................................ 326 v List of Figures Fig. 1. Jin Cheng. Photograph from Zheng Gong, Yanjin yu yundong: Zhongguo meishu de xiandaihua [演进与运动:中国美术的现代化] (Nanning: Guangxi meishu chubanshe, 2002), 151. ...................................................... 183 Fig. 2. Chen Shizeng. Photograph from Yilin xunkan 2 (1928): 4. ........................... 184 Fig. 3. Zhou Zhaoxiang. Photograph from Yilin xunkan 1 (1928): 4. ....................... 185 Fig. 4. A view of Beijing from Coal Hill, directly behind the Forbidden City. Photo from the Alice Roosevelt Longworth Collection of Photographs from the 1905 Taft Mission to Asia, 1905. Photograph from http://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/asset- viewer/beijing/AgGfBWpyFKjpoQ?hl=en (accessed March 16, 2014). ...... 186 Fig. 5. Xu Beihong, Study of Female Figure, 1924. Charcoal on paper, 85 × 51 cm. Collection of the Xu Beihong Memorial Museum. Photograph from Lv, History of Art, 241. ....................................................................................... 187 Fig. 6. Gao Jianfu, Mountain Village in the Morning Rain, 1914. Color ink on paper, 71.5 × 104.5 cm. Collection of the Guangdong Provincial Museum. Photograph from Lv, History of Art, 199. ..................................................... 188 Fig. 7. Liu Haisu, Qianmen in Beijing, 1922. Oil on canvas, 79.8 × 64.4 cm. Collection of the Liu Haisu Art Museum, Shanghai. Photograph from Lv, History of Art, 267. ....................................................................................... 189 Fig. 8. Front cover of the first issue of Huixue zazhi. ............................................... 190 Fig. 9. Displays in the Siccawei Museum.