A research paper done while studying the "South China Studies" course under Prof. Stephanie Chung Po-yin's guidance

1. HIST 7510 – South China Studies
Instructor: Prof. Stephanie Chung Po-yin
Semester 1, 2010-2011 – Term Paper
The Willow-like Eagle (柳鷹圖) Gao Jianfu (高劍父)
Topic
The fine arts of Lingnan as a symbolic cultural
heritage to reflect the open-mindedness of
Cantonese intellectuals in accommodating a
Sino-Western cultural communication
Name: LEE Kwun Leung Vincent (李冠良)
Student ID: 09429670
Programme of Study: Master of Social Science in China Studies (HISTORY) – Year 2
Date: 8 October 2010
1

2. CONTENTS
1. Introduction
 P.3
2. The early exposure of Cantonese art academia to the virtues of
knowledge based on its acceptance to innovations
 P.3 – P.7
3. Gao Jianfu as an avant-garde in Cantonese art academia to
liberate the psychology of Chinese-ink cultivation with global
perspectives
 P.8 – P.14
4. Impact of Lingnan Fine Arts – The Cantonese painters set a prior
example for nationwide art intellectuals to regard “Sino-Western
aesthetic enlightenments” as an essential criterion of reforming
Chinese people’s intellectual qualities
 P.14 – P.17
5. Conclusion
 P.18 – P.19
6. Bibliography
 P.19 – P.20
2

3. Chen Shuren (陳樹仁)
The emergence of a new painting trend, called “Lingnan Fine Arts” (嶺南美術), was
acknowledged as a predominant school of thought to push forward an aesthetic
reformation after the downfall of monarchism in China. Facilitated by the outcry for
new knowledge in the turbulent era of New Cultural Movement between the 1920s
and 1930s, the development of Lingnan art styles were
inspired by the curiosity of Cantonese intellectuals in
terms of searching for a flexible manner of painting
expression based on an organic coexistence between
Chinese and Western aesthetics. Cantonese people,
renowned with their open-mindedness in encountering
the strikes of international perceptions, prepared to
welcome the entry of humanistic, liberal and scientific
elements from different branches of the Western society.
Despite a persistence on their nationalistic sentiments in
conserving their cultural traditions, the Cantonese art
academia, led by Gao Jianfu (高劍父), Gao Qifeng (高奇
峰 ) and Chen Shuren ( 陳 樹 人 ), recognized the positive value of Western art
methodologies in terms of enriching the established Chinese-ink languages with a
greater extent of “secular” elements.
The early exposure of Cantonese art academia to the virtues of knowledge based on
its acceptance to innovations
Qiu Liyun1
(邱麗雲) adopted an idiom called “hai na bai chun” (A forbearance on the
diversity of knowledge or talents from different branches of the Earth, 海納百川) to
describe the liberal personality of Cantonese people in observing the diversification of
social and cultural phenomenon. In fact, such type of “liberty” with scholarly features
could be traced from the background of Guangdong as a specific origin of “marine
culture” on Chinese Continent to encounter diplomatic contacts with both the
Southeast Asians and the Westerners. Qiu indicated that, Cantonese, especially for the
people in Chaoshan ( 潮 汕 ) and Hakka ( 客 家 ), emphasized the fundamental
importance of “education”2
as a channel of enhancing the cultural, moral and
1
Qiu Liyun (邱麗雲): Standing Committee Member of Editorial Board for the publication of “Chinese
Spiritual Civilization” book series (中國精神文明學大型叢書) with Guangdong Renmin Publishing
Company Limited (廣州人民出版社) as patron
2
Qiu Liyun ( 邱 麗 雲 ), “A forbearance on the diversity of knowledge & talents from different
branches of the world – The open-minded spirit of Cantonese people” (海納百川．廣東人的開放
精 神 ), 1st
Edition in September 2005, Guangdong, Guangdong Remin Publishing Company Limited
(廣東人民出版社). [P.157 – An opened environment for ideological debates]
3

4. righteous qualities of their fellow compatriots, so that they were able to equip
themselves with broad external horizons to tackle with the coming of academic ideas
from other oceanic regions. In the middle era of Ming Dynasty, Wang Shouren (王守
仁), being a Governor-cum-Inspector of Guangdong and Guangxi (兩廣總督兼巡撫),
promoted his avocation called “a consistency between intellectual awareness and
pragmatic fulfilments” (zhi xin he yi, 知行合一)3
as a supplement to his provincial
education policy. His avocation was a breakthrough to the mainstream academia of
China with civic examination as the sole guiding code of scholastic enhancement and
bureaucratic promotion, as it discouraged literati from an over-indulgence on
scriptural and textural contents without a concreted participation on universal affairs.
Referring to the history of Sino-Western communication, Jeannes de Rocha
accompanied Mateo Ricci to reach Macao, Guangdong and Hangzhou with an
introduction of Western knowledge, as well as promoting the art of European oil
painting4
among Chinese intellectuals in the Ming Regime under the reign of Emperor
Shenzhong ( 明 神 宗 ). Inspired by the trend of aesthetic communication between
Portuguese priests and Ming scholars5
, Lin Liang (林良)6
, an occupational Lingnan
painter from Nanhai ( 南 海 ), dared to enclose his aspiration of promoting “the
Campaign of Realism” (寫實運動) in his self-expressive (xie yi, 寫意) concentration
on flowers and birds (hua niao, 花 鳥 ). Facilitated by the emergence of Realism,
painters like Li Kongxiu ( 李 孔修 ), Zhang Mu ( 張穆 ) and Li Jian ( 黎簡 ) were
becoming critical with the stylistic approaches inherited by literati painters since the
Yuan Dynasty. To this group of enlightened Cantonese painters with exceptional
interests in animals and natural substances with vitality, literati painters, such as Ni
Zhan (倪瓚), Wen Zhen (吳鎮), Huang Gongmang (黃公望) and Wang Meng (王蒙),
abused the use of illusions from their subconscious minds to describe natural
3
Same as above [P.56: Wang Shouren further elaborated the idea of “a consistency between intellectual
awareness and pragmatic fulfillments (知行合一) – “學莫先於良知，知致而行即至，故格物是誠意
功夫，明善是誠身功夫，窮理是盡性功夫，唯精是唯一功夫” (Conscientious awareness is a prior
asset for academic studies. Therefore, a thoughtful analysis on substances is requested to justify one’s
sincerity. A comprehension on the nature of benevolence is requested to justify one’s cordial behaviour.
An in-depth exploration on virtues is requested to justify one’s ability in utilizing his/her innermost
qualities. A pursuit on precision is requested to justify one’s loyalty on particular style.)]
4
Aaron Chen Kai-wing ( 陳佳 榮 ), “A History of the Communication between China & Foreign
Countries” (中外交通史), 1987, Hong Kong, Learner’s Bookstore [P.524: Jeannes de Rocha edited a
publication called “A Brief Introduction on the Portraits of Lord and the Sacred Figures” (天主聖像圖
說)]
5
Chen Zehong ( 陳 澤 泓 ), “The Cantonese Culture” ( 廣 府 文 化 ), 1st
Edition in April 2007,
Guangdong, Guangdong Remin Publishing Company Limited (廣東人民出版社) as editor, Lingnan
Archive Editorial Committee (嶺南文庫編輯委員會) and Guangdong Chinese Civilization Cultural
Exchange Association (廣東中華民族文化促進會) as co-editors. [P.288: During the reign of Wangli
(萬曆), there were Western missionaries introducing religious oil paintings to Guangdong. In the end
of 16th
century, some missionaries conducted oil-painting lectures in Macao and fostered the first-ever
“Western painting art” in the history of China.]
6
Same as above [P.287: The Early Lingnan Fine Arts]
4

5. landscapes. According to the aesthetic pursuit of the aforementioned four Yuan
masters, the mountainous, rocky and waterfall compositions had to be painted with
loosened and un-proportional contours, as such approach was regarded by the latter
court painters in Ming Dynasty as a legitimate expression of literati’s nonchalant
frustrations towards the political disturbances of their nation. Lingnan painters since
the emergence of Lin Liang began to abandon the old artistic psychology and search
for an alternative to highlight their stylistic uniqueness when comparing their painting
culture with that of the Northern School, which was “an equal emphasis on the
likeliness of compositions and the vividness of essence” (xing shen jian bi, 形神兼備).
Even the Ming Regime regarded an “imitation” on ancient styles as the major stream
of painting cultivation; the Lingnan painters were able to explore equilibrium between
emotions and rationale due to their passion in glorifying the elegance of this realistic
nature. They re-valued an objective approach of observation, which was regarded as a
milestone for them to search for stylistic transformations based on their innermost
temperaments.
Conducting The Horses (策馬圖) Zhang Mu (張穆)
After the failure of Qing Regime in defending Chinese territories against Western
invasions, the Cantonese academia further played an important role in arousing
intellectuals’ awareness on the emergent need of social, political, institutional and
military reforms. Being Cantonese intellectuals with broad horizon in offshore affairs,
Lin Zechui (林則徐), Wei Yuan (魏源) and the relevant scholars advocated that,
Chinese people should adopt the wholesome elements of Western knowledge to
diminish the weaknesses of the existing Qing governance under a criteria of being
5

6. Ju Chao (居巢)
loyal with their Confucian traditions7
. This principle helped re-position Chinese
studies in an appropriate location of global intellectual scene that counter-balanced
with the over-whelming expansion of Western standards. Ju Chao (居巢) and Ju Lian
(居廉), the two active Lingnan painters during the reign of Emperor Xianfeng (咸豐),
endeavoured to modify the delineative painting
style of Yun Shouping ( 惲 壽平 ) with a greater
extent of realistic elements. The “Ju” brothers
turned the flower-and-bird paintings into a kind
of cultural asset that could be appreciated by a
greater majority of Chinese people. They made
the contours of ecological substances to be
delicately outlined, in which the objects were of
no rigid skeletons but with a pure manifestation
of vibrant and patterned brushstrokes to highlight
the realistic visions according to their
observations8
. Ju Chao and Ju Lian were
influenced by the nationwide outcry for a change
in ideological perceptions for the purpose of
national self-strengthening, thus they were pleasant to develop new art languages that
were unique from the existing painting norms in the bureaucratic field. Witnessing the
stagnation of Chinese court paintings in coping with the changing global demands, Ju
Chao and Ju Lian began to be fond with art pieces created by painters with equivalent
talents in Chinese and Western painting, such as Giuseppe Castiglione (郎世寧) from
Italy. They sought for an intensive practice in life drawing and calligraphy, but also
adopted particular skills of “Four Wangs” (清初四王)9
or Dong Qichang (董其昌) to
the purpose of artistic sedimentation and inheritance. Individual sentiments coexisted
with rational features that reflected the spirit of “absorptiveness” (han she xing, 涵攝
性) from Cantonese art academia.
7
Qiu Liyun ( 邱 麗 雲 ), “A forbearance on the diversity of knowledge & talents from different
branches of the world – The open-minded spirit of Cantonese people” (海納百川．廣東人的開放
精 神 ), 1st
Edition in September 2005, Guangdong, Guangdong Remin Publishing Company Limited
(廣東人民出版社). [P.10: Chinese representatives, such as Lin Zechui and Wei Yuan, advocated the
need of “learning the strengths of enemies to restrict the intransigence of enemies” (師敵之長技以制
敵) and “learning Western knowledge to restrict Western invasion” (師夷之長技以制夷).]
8
Chen Zehong ( 陳 澤 泓 ), “The Cantonese Culture” ( 廣 府 文 化 ), 1st
Edition in April 2007,
Guangdong, Guangdong Remin Publishing Company Limited (廣東人民出版社) as editor, Lingnan
Archive Editorial Committee (嶺南文庫編輯委員會) and Guangdong Chinese Civilization Cultural
Exchange Association (廣東中華民族文化促進會) as co-editors. [P.290: The formation of Lingnan
painting]
9
Four “Wangs” in the early Qing dynasty (清初四王): Wang Shimin (王時敏), Wang Yuanqi (王原祈),
Wang Hui (王翬) and Wang Jian (王鑑)
6

7. Left: A Pair of Egrets (雙鷺圖) Ju Chao (居巢)
Right: A Frog Lying Onto The Leaf (青蛙臥葉圖) Ju Lian (居廉)
Left: Five Auspicious Items (五福圖) Ju Chao (居巢)
Right: Wealth And Longevity In Love Relationship (富貴白頭圖) Ju Lian (居廉)
7

8. Gao Jianfu as an avant-garde in Cantonese art academia to liberate the psychology
of Chinese-ink cultivation with global perspectives
Personal photos of Gao Jianfu (高劍父)
Chinese painting art was historically regarded as a “supplementary leisure” among
scholar-officials due to their prior emphasis on the recitation of Confucian scriptures.
Thus, the corresponding thematic approaches were limited to the description of
sceneries, ecology and objects in monarchical courts. Gao Jianfu ( 高劍父, 1879 -
1951)10
, a Cantonese painter with scholastic experiences in Japanese Academy of Fine
Arts beyond the outbreak of 1911 Revolution11
, was aspired to “secularise” Chinese
painting as both a professional area of education for increasing people’s cultural
awareness and a legitimate occupation for inheriting the spirit of Chinese heritage in
10
Cai Shengyi (蔡星儀), “A Famous Collection of Chinese Painters – Gao Jianfu” (中國名畫家全
集．高劍父), 1st
Edition in March 2002, Hebei, Hebi Education Publishing Company Limited.
[Gao Jianfu studied in Japan between 1906 and 1908. After 1908, Gao returned China and supervised
the Guangdong Tongmenghui (廣州同盟會). He worked as a Chief Commander in the Guangzhou
Rebellion. After the 1911 Revolution, Gao Jianfu endeavored with the tasks of national art education.
He established the Chunshui Painting Academy (春睡畫院) and Nanzhong Academy of Fine Arts (南
中美術院). He had ever worked as the Principal of Guangdong Province Industry College (廣東省立
工業學校), Guangzhou Municipal Academy of Fine Arts (廣州市立藝專) and Nanzhong Academy of
Fine Arts (南中美術院). He worked as the Fine Art Professor of Zhongshan University (中山大學)
and Central University (中央大學). He was the Chairman of Guangdong Fine Arts Association. In
1949, Gao relocated in Macao.]
11
Cai Shengyi (蔡星儀), “A Famous Collection of Chinese Painters – Gao Jianfu” (中國名畫家全
集．高劍父), 1st
Edition in March 2002, Hebei, Hebi Education Publishing Company Limited.
8

9. Gao Qifeng (高奇峰)
global art scene.
Gao Jianfu led a new trend of aesthetic
observation in the academia of Republican China.
His younger brother, Gao Qifeng ( 高 奇 峰 ),
persisted with this enlightened perception to gain
intellectual recognitions on a sincerity in national
art reforms. Due to his acknowledgement on the
Western manner of “life painting” (xie sheng, 寫
生 ), Gao highlighted the importance of
proportion, luminance, chrominance and
composition apart from a reflection of
calligraphic leisure. He encouraged the younger
generation in Republican China to regard Chinese
ink as simply an approachable medium to express
what they observed and appreciated in their daily
livelihoods, i.e. the process of visualization with
a slight level of stylistic modifications. He advocated that, the idea of realism was
reflected if the portrayed targets, like flowers and fruits, would deliver a concreted
sense of vividness that helped entertain the mentality of audiences with spiritual
nourishments. Being a Cantonese intellectual with open-mindedness on the
naturalistic beauty of “golden-stone” aesthetics ( 金 石 派 味 道 的 藝 術 ) as a
characteristic of Southern School, Gao Jianfu supposed that, “delicacy” was not a
definite criteria for a painting to become a precious art collection that suited the
bourgeoisie favour. Rather, an accidental reservation of rough particulars during the
contouring process was significant enough to justify whether the author could reflect
the uniqueness of his/her creative identity.
There was a long history of cultural, ideological and commercial contacts between
Cantonese and Indians since the expansion of East Indian Company under the
influence of British Imperialism in the early 19th
century, and this trend of Sino-Indian
exchanges persisted in the decades of Gao Jianfu’s artistic endeavour due to the
eventual opening of coastal ports in Pearl River Delta Region after Chinese defeat in
the two Opium Wars. Especially for Hong Kong, its colonized political status enabled
Indian immigrants to establish their family heritages and career foundations under
British initiations. Throughout the past two centuries, Indians were acknowledged
with the highest literacy rate in Asia, as they used to receive a profound system of
compulsory education implemented by British colonialists. Although the Indians
9

10. Gao Jianfu (Left) with Ranbindranath
Tagore during his visit to India in 1931
could only survive with low-waged employments in the basic level of Hong Kong and
Guangdong society, they were aspired to persist with their enlightened intellectual
characteristics and enjoy a cultural coexistence with the Chinese community.
According to the discovery of Wong Siu-hon ( 黃 兆 漢 ) from the Centre of Asian
Studies in the University of Hong Kong in 1972, Gao Jianfu, whose residential origin
was Panyu (番禺)12
, was proved of communicating ideas with an Indian poet-writer
called Ranbindranath Tagore in the aspect of Sino-Indian aesthetic comparisons. Gao
proved that, the Indian painting methodology, interpreted by Ranbindranath Tagore,
shared similar elements with the “Six Rules”
(六法) proclaimed by Xie He (謝赫) during
the Southern and Northern Dynasty of Wei
and Jin13
. The vividness of spiritual essence
(qi yun sheng dong, 氣韻生動) corresponded
with Indian emphasis on the contexts of
elegance and the expression of personal
sentiments ( 表 現 情 感 ). The vibrancy of
structural brushwork (gu fa yong bi, 骨法用
筆) and the colour distribution according to
secular code (xui lei fu cai, 隨 類 賦 彩 )
corresponded with the Indian manifestation
on brush theories with a subtle attachment of
chrominance (筆法與傅彩). The likeliness of
forms (ying wu xie xing, 應 物 寫 形 )
corresponded with Indians’ comprehensive
observation on the rationale of image (形象
體 察 的 認 識 ), as well as caring for a
consistent vividness between forms and
innermost qualities with realism as an
essential criteria (形神的迫肖). The spatial distribution (jing ying wei zhi, 經營位置)
corresponded with Indian alertness on the appropriateness of measurements and
compositions (尺度與結構的正確). The only difference between Chinese and Indian
art was that, Indian painters did not encourage a persisting habit of imitation on styles
(chuan yu mu xie, 傳移模寫) by ancient masters as a fulfilment of learning process.
12
Chen Chuanji (陳傳席 ), Chen Jichun ( 陳繼春 ) and Shi Li ( 石莉) as editors, “The School of
Lingnan Painting” ( 嶺 南 畫 派 ), 1st
Edition in October 2003, Hebei, Hebei Education Publishing
Company Limited [P.34: Gao Jianfu (1879-1951) – A Panyu citizen in Guangdong Province (廣東番禺
人)]
13
Wong Siu-hon (王兆漢), “Kao Chien-fu’s Theory of Painting” (高劍父畫論述評 ), 1972, Hong
Kong, Centre of Asian Studies, The University of Hong Kong. [P.7: The Process of Transformation in
Traditional National Painting – The six painting rules from China and India]
10

11. The aforementioned pairs of methodological similarities provided a pragmatic and
unbiased framework for Gao Jianfu to re-integrate a set of painting methodologies for
the on-going maturity of Lingnan Fine Arts, which corresponded with the ultimate
goal of cultural assimilation – “Chinese aesthetics as substances, Western aesthetics
as application” and “Western expression of Chinese soul”. Gao Qifeng acknowledged
a fact that, the code of “evolution” (jin hua, 進化)14
was theorized in the on-going
process of his “New National Painting Campaign” (xin guo hua yun dong, 新國畫運
動 ) – an expediency to guarantee a recognition from global art scene on the
sustainability of Chinese-ink philosophy when Republican China was still troubled by
its established weaknesses. Gao and his allies anticipated that; driven by the emerging
trend of New Cultural Movement stressing a critical evaluation on the ideological
restrictions by the Confucian etiquette, the Lingnan painters would continue with their
open-mindedness to accept scientific theories from the West as supplements to further
diminish the separateness between the “spiritual culture” of humanity and the
“instrumental culture” of commerce while pushing forward an international set of
Chinese-ink expression codes that encouraged a general consciousness on the
importance of “self-motivated” creativity.
14
Liu Ruikuan (劉瑞寬) as author, Sang Bing (桑兵) as editors, “The Modernization of Chinese Fine
Arts – An analysis on the art journals and art exhibitions between 1911 and 1937” (中國美術的現
代化 ：美術 期刊與 美展活 動的分 析 1911 – 1937), 1st
Edition in December 2009, Beijing, Joint
Publishing Company Limited.
[P.107-109: Jian Youwen (簡又文), who had frequent contacts with Gao Jianfu, cited a paragraph from
“An Impression from a Visit to Chunshui Painting Academy” (春睡畫院訪問印象) to acknowledge
Gao Qifeng’s effort in “New National Painting Campaign” –
“This type of painting is sociably regarded as “The School of Cultural Moderation” (折衷派) or “The
New School” (新派). In fact, it is “The New National Painting” (新國畫). Its approach of brushstroke
and colour manifestation was developed based on the orthodox painting code of Song Dynasty,
together with a kind reference on the strengths of foreign art trends and the new methods of modern
science, for example, the law of distance, the law of perspectives, luminance, chrominance, air strata
and the code of life drawing. Apart from Western art methodology, the New National Painting merged
with particular elements of Indian, Egyptian, Persian and other types of ethnical art styles. They were
fostered in the process of spiritual practice. This new school of painting was formed based on a
transformation of old national-painting style. The old national painting persisted with the features of
spiritual sensitivity, whereas the Western painting was competitive with its rational expression of
forms. Because of a mixture between philosophical spirits and mechanical codes, the new school of
painting experienced integration among truth, benevolence and grace. Ranbindranath Tagore, an
Indian poet-writer, titled this new school of painting as an “Evolutional Chinese painting” or an
“Evolutional Western painting”.”
11

12. Left: The Roaring Flame in Eastern Battlefield (東戰場的烈焰) Gao Jianfu (高劍父)
Right: A Pair of Auspiciousness (雙吉圖) Gao Jianfu (高劍父)
Annual Commemoration of Gao Jianfu organized by the successors of Lingnan Fine
Arts in Guangzhou
12

13. Eagle (鷹) Gao Jianfu (高劍父)
13

14. Left: High Mountains with Long Waterfalls (山高水長圖) Gao Qifeng (高奇峰)
Middle: A Heroic Horse under a Tree with Falling Leaves (落葉駿馬) Gao Qifeng (高奇峰)
Right: Jade-Liked Water Flow (玉淵圖) Chen Shuren (陳樹人)
Impact of Lingnan Fine Arts –
The Cantonese painters set a prior example for nationwide art intellectuals to
regard “Sino-Western aesthetic enlightenments” as an essential criterion of
reforming Chinese people’s intellectual qualities
The Lingnan painters advocated that, different schools of painting thoughts sought for
a general consensus while pushing forward a trend of “renaissance” in the art
academia of Republican China. Their avant-garde spirits in aesthetic reformation were
greatly inspired by the nationalistic sentiments of May Fourth Movement, which
targeted at a protest against the conservative stagnation of Chinese cultural
perceptions that hindered the capable persons from making socio-economic
progresses. Hu Xi (胡適), Cai Yuanpui (蔡元倍), Lu Xun (魯迅), Chen Duxiu (陳獨
14

15. 秀), Li Dachao (李大釗) and their fellow campaigners cherished a popularisation of
“plain language” (bai hua wen, 白 話 文 ) as a substitute to the “eight-legged
scriptures” (ba gu wen 八股文 or wen yan wen 文言文) in the monarchical era.
Corresponding with the spread of New Cultural Movement, a change in the linguistic
methodology of Chinese written language further liberated intellectuals, who were
interested in modern literature, from the burden of rigid grammatical restrictions. The
process of liberation was regarded by Lingnan painters, like Gao Jianfu, Gao Qifeng
and Chen Shuren, as a practical reference for them to think about the matter of an
integration between “modernity” and “tradition” in the aspect of Chinese painting art.
In fact, the Lingnan painters adapted to communicate with outsiders by plain dialects,
humble etiquettes and popular customs. The “non-exclusive” feature of Cantonese
culture offered Gao Jianfu and his allies with a guiding code to develop art forms that
accommodated diversified ideological concerns – raising the idea of “harmonious
coexistence with a tolerance on stylistic variations”. The Lingnan painters understood
that, the Chinese-ink aesthetics staunchly remained with its fundamental and ancient
contexts under a strict Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist framework. This made the art
of Chinese painting hardly conductive with the code of “evolution”. To conduce a
progressive mode of creative psychology, the Lingnan painters had no choice, but to
select the expressionistic, anatomical and structural elements of Western Art as
alternatives to change the “functionality” of Chinese painting – from a cultural hobby
of scholars to either a nationalistic propaganda or an exhibition-based creativity that
aimed at legitimising the Chinese art philosophy as a part of the international norms.
Even though a greater emphasis was put onto the issue of “innovation”, Lingnan
painters, from Ming Dynasty to Republican Era, did not attempt to exclude the
conservation of “racial identity” in their painting heritage. Western scholars with
devotion in the education development of China, such as John Dewey, John Leighton
Stuart15
and John King Fairbank16
, regarded an insistence of “racial identity” as a
profession of “Sinology” (han xue, 漢學). The ultimate aspiration of “Sinology” was
to build up a sense of belonging on our established cultural perceptions, and it was a
requested foundation for Chinese intellectuals in Republican Era if they wanted to
search for enlightened inspirations from Western art ideas. What Gao Jianfu, Gao
Qifeng and Chen Shuren endeavoured to do was an introduction of Lingnan aesthetic
elements, namely “brightness” (liang, 亮), “moisture” (run, 潤), “vitality” (sheng, 生)
15
John Dewey and John Leighteon Stuart were the two presidents of Peking (Yanjing) University
between 1910s and 1930s.
16
John King Fairbank was a scholar from Harvard-Yenching University & Harvard University with an
academic concentration on Confucius principles. He formed New Confucianism and encouraged his
Ph-D students to focus on China Studies by establishing the Fairbank Enterprise.
15

16. and “fusion” (rong, 融)17
, to the northern school of Chinese art academia, and it was a
process of cultural inheritance with “Sinology” as a guiding spirit. In Northern China,
Xu Beihong (徐悲鴻), Qi Baishi (齊白石), Huang Binhong (黃賓虹), Fu Baoshi (傅
抱 石 ) and Ren Bonian ( 任 伯 年 ) were the most enthusiastic art reformers to
demonstrate a self-strengthening image of
Chinese-ink art through diplomatic channels
with Europe by organizing exhibitions in the
metropolitan cities of France and the Soviet
Union. The aforementioned four
characteristics of Lingnan Fine Arts caused a
particular extent of wholesome influence to
the existing stylistic approaches of Northern
School. For example, Gao Jianfu’s belief
corresponded with Xu Beihong’s emphasis
on the elimination of pretentious textural-
strokes and the direct ink manifestation
based on the objective sensation of mankind
– “Denied the aesthetic rules of Early-Qing
four distinguished painters, cherished the
painting methodology of Song Dynasty,
sought for a sophisticated sense of luxurious
beauty, and refused an adoption of
superficial painting skills from scholar-
officials” (鄙薄四王，推崇宋法，務求
精深華妙，不取士大夫淺許率平易之
作)18
.
17
The four characteristics of Lingnan painting – originated from Lin Mingchen (林明琛)’s presentation
in the Academic Forum during the “2010 Traveling Exhibition of Oil Painting – Guangzhou, Hong
Kong and Macao” (2010 穗港澳油畫巡迴展) at Hong Kong Central Library [Lin Mingchen was the
Former Instructor in Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, with “Chrominance” as his concentration.]
18
Chen Chuanji (陳傳席), “A Full Collection of Prominent Chinese Painters – Xu Beihong” (中國
名 畫 家 全 集 ． 徐 悲 鴻 ), 1st
Edition in Oct 2003, Hebei, Hebei Education Publishing Company
Limited (河北教育出版社)
[P.11: During his French studies in Zhendan University, Xu Beihong had chance to provide a painting
service for Hatong Villa (哈同花園). There was both Cangshengmingzhi University (倉聖明智大學)
and Guangcang Society ( 廣 倉 學 會 ) in Hatong Villa. The Guangcang Society frequently invited
celebrities and distinguished scholars to conduct seminars, whereas Kang Youwei was also one of the
guests. Xu made Kang Youwei as his devoted master. Kang gave guidance to Xu in the aspect of
calligraphy practice, and discussed with him on the stagnated phenomenon of art development in
China. With the inspirations from Kang, Xu concluded a mission called “Denied the aesthetic rules of
Early-Qing four distinguished painters, cherished the painting methodology of Song Dynasty, sought
for a sophisticated sense of luxurious beauty, and refused an adoption of superficial painting skills
from scholar-officials” (鄙薄四王，推崇宋法，務求精深華妙，不取士大夫淺許率平易之作).]
16
The Ninth Ode of Quyuan – National
Grief (屈原九歌．國殤) Xu Beihong
(徐悲鴻)

17. Left: The Landscape of Qingcheng (青城山色圖) Huang Binhong (黃賓虹)
Middle: A Return to Homeland (還家圖) Qi Baishi (齊白石)
Right: Su Wu Shepherded the Lambs (蘇武牧羊) Ren Bonian (任伯年)
Left: Ranbindranath Tagore (泰戈爾) Xu Beihong (徐悲鴻)
Middle: A Manifestation on Landscape since Adolescence (待細把江山圖畫) Fu Baoshi (傅抱石)
17

18. Conclusion
To conclude, the Lingnan Fine Arts was the earliest school of painting thought with a
long-history record of Sino-foreign communications in the dynastic history of China.
Despite the predominant trend of being ignorant with the possible integration between
aesthetic perfection and commercial interests, Cantonese ethnic accommodated the
curatorial philosophies from Western art circuit. Art academia in northern provinces
strongly depended on the stylistic positioning of the royal court, and the painters there
created pieces that inherited their institutional habits in civic examination. The
Cantonese art circuit adapted to establish self-regulating art associations, such as the
Chunshui Painting Academy ( 春 睡 畫 院 ) established by Gao Jianfu, that pushed
forward the art reformation within the strata of civil society, and that was a feature of
“liberty” to identify Southern School as being different from the bureaucratised and
institutionalised painting culture of Northern School. Due to the weak and non-
interventionist administration of Kuomintang Government in Guangdong, the
scattered painting associations were independent enough to maintain an appropriate
order of painting
development in the provincial
level, as well as spreading
nationalistic messages to
counteract with the
intransigence of Japanese
militarism. Because of the
sub-tropical and coastal
location of Guangdong
Province, the painters there
were more adventurous19
in
applying their universal
horizon to the pragmatic
affairs in cultural
promotion. Unlike the
literati painters in
monarchical era, Gao Jianfu chose not to retreat from the bureaucratic affairs due to
his alertness on the endangered status of China. Rather, Gao persisted with a reference
on the revolutionary ideas of Sun Yat-sen, Liao Zhongkai (廖仲愷) and the members
of Chinese Tongmenghui ( 中 國 同 盟 會 ). Gao Jianfu actively participated in the
19
Lu Yuanding (陸元鼎), “Lingnan – Humanity, Personality & Architecture” (嶺南人文．性格．
建 築 ), 1st
Edition in June 2005, Beijing, China Construction Industry Publishing Company Limited
[P.43: The feature of innovation in Lingnan culture]
18
Gao Jianfu (Left 2) with Liao Zhongkai (廖仲愷) (Left
3) and other revolutionists in the Early Republican Era

19. nationalistic and fund-raising campaigns against Japanese invasions. The Lingnan
paintings became a direct channel for foreigners to comprehend the natural ecology of
China. Most of the themes were related to the genuine description of rural scenes,
fruits, flowers, forests, gardens, pavilions, climatic phenomenon, animals and daily
activities of minimal citizens. These conveyed inspiring metaphors with lively
iconographies, and crossovers of thematic substances were tolerated. During the
transformation of China’s cultural capacity, the Lingnan Fine Arts allowed foreign
intellectuals to perceive how Chinese Civilization cared for the conservation of
normal human relationships with the Earth as its tradition, and they could be inspired
to think about the possibility of “organic lifestyle” despite the predominance of
commercial, technological, mechanical and utilitarian values in their highly-
industrialized European society. The Lingnan painters, like Gao Jianfu, understood
that, a mutually complementary level of Sino-Western aesthetic coexistence was the
only sort of theory for Chinese fine arts to obtain an academic say in the global art
scene, judging from the weak diplomatic status of Republican China after a series of
war defeats and territorial humiliations. With religious thoughts, education system,
civic customs and philosophical studies as solid institutional base, the Cantonese art
intellectuals from Ming Dynasty to Republican Era fulfilled their loyal missions to
prosper the non-exclusiveness of Chinese fine arts by stressing a diversification of
aesthetic languages with both emotional and rational elements, which paved a way for
an eventual globalisation of Chinese-art appreciation in the latter half of 20th
century.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Qiu Liyun (邱麗雲), “A forbearance on the diversity of knowledge & talents
from different branches of the world – The open-minded spirit of Cantonese
people” (海 納 百 川 ． 廣 東 人 的 開 放 精 神 ), 1st
Edition in September 2005,
Guangdong, Guangdong Remin Publishing Company Limited (廣東人民出版
社).
 Liu Ruikuan ( 劉 瑞 寬 ) as author, Sang Bing ( 桑 兵 ) as editors, “The
Modernization of Chinese Fine Arts – An analysis on the art journals and art
exhibitions between 1911 and 1937” (中國美術的現代化：美術期刊與美
展 活 動 的 分 析 1911 – 1937), 1st
Edition in December 2009, Beijing, Joint
Publishing Company Limited.
 Aaron Chen Kai-wing (陳佳榮), “A History of the Communication between
China & Foreign Countries” ( 中 外 交 通 史 ), 1987, Hong Kong, Learner’s
Bookstore (學津書店)
19

20.  Chen Zehong (陳澤泓), “The Cantonese Culture” (廣 府文 化 ), 1st
Edition in
April 2007, Guangdong, Guangdong Remin Publishing Company Limited (廣東
人民出版社) as editor, Lingnan Archive Editorial Committee (嶺南文庫編輯委
員會) and Guangdong Chinese Civilization Cultural Exchange Association (廣東
中華民族文化促進會) as co-editors.
 Cai Shengyi ( 蔡 星 儀 ), “A Famous Collection of Chinese Painters – Gao
Jianfu” (中國名畫家全集．高劍父), 1st
Edition in March 2002, Hebei, Hebi
Education Publishing Company Limited.
 Chen Chuanji (陳傳席), Chen Jichun (陳繼春) and Shi Li (石莉) as editors,
“The School of Lingnan Painting” (嶺 南 畫 派 ), 1st
Edition in October 2003,
Hebei, Hebei Education Publishing Company Limited (河北教育出版社)
 Lu Yuanding (陸元鼎), “Lingnan – Humanity, Personality & Architecture” (嶺
南人文．性格．建築), 1st
Edition in June 2005, Beijing, China Construction
Industry Publishing Company Limited (中國建築工業出版社)
 Chen Hsiang-pu (陳薌普), “Art Criticism 33 – Kao Chien-fu: His Life and His
Paintings” (美術論叢 33．高劍父的繪畫藝術), July ROC Year 80 Edition,
Taiwan, Taiwan Fine Art Museum (台北市立美術館)
 Wong Siu-hon (王兆漢), “Kao Chien-fu’s Theory of Painting” (高劍父畫論
述 評 ), 1972, Hong Kong, Centre of Asian Studies, The University of Hong
Kong.
 Chen Chuanji (陳傳席), “A Full Collection of Prominent Chinese Painters –
Xu Beihong” (中 國 名 畫 家 全 集 ． 徐 悲 鴻 ), 1st
Edition in Oct 2003, Hebei,
Hebei Education Publishing Company Limited (河北教育出版社)
 Guangzhou Museum of Fine Arts (廣州美術博物院), “The Sketches of Gao
Jianfu” (高劍父畫稿), December 2006 Edition, Guangzhou, Lingnan Fine Arts
Publishing Company Limited (嶺南美術出版社)
20