Page 100 - JCAU-7-1

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Modern Chinese architecture adaptations

approach (Wu, 1997). The lavish ornamentation of the 1900 – 1992) and Lin Wenzheng (林文铮, 1903 – 1989),
Art Deco style became, when translated into Western established the Phoebus Society (later known as the
culture, “a new mediation between the neoclassicism of Overseas Art Movements Society) in 1924. In 1928, Lin
British imperial power […] and the ebullient new spirit Fengmian, together with Liu Jipiao, founded the Hangzhou
of American capitalism” (Lee, 1999, p. 11). Others have National Academy of Art (now China Academy of Art)
argued that the strong decorative heritage of Chinese and launched the avant-garde “China’s Art Movement”
culture allowed Art Deco’s incorporation into modern (Denison & Guang, 2008, p. 92). Their declared aims for
times (Minick & Jiao, 1990). the Academy were: “To introduce Western art; reorganize
During this period, modernism achieved a breakthrough Chinese art, combine Chinese and Western art, and create
in China. The 1919 May Fourth Movement spurred an art for this epoch” (Sullivan, 2006, p. 92).
remarkable development in Chinese publishing, resulting Artist and architect Liu Jipiao’s strong artistic beliefs
in hundreds of new periodicals in the society. Until 1927, of “Architecture as Fine Art” greatly influenced the
these periodicals included Hui-ha Zazhi (绘画杂志; development of a new artistic and architectural movement
Painting Magazine) published by Peking University, Mei-yu in early 20 -century China. As with Lin Fengmian, he
th
(美育; Art Education) from the China Association of Art attended the L’Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris,
Education, Meishu Zazhi (美术杂志; Art Magazine) edited receiving a diploma in 1926. During his studies in France,
by Shanghai Art Schools, Yishu (艺术; The Arts) and Xin Liu not only co-organized the first overseas Chinese art
Yishu Banyuekan (新艺术半月刊; New Art Fortnightly) exhibition but also served as the architect and general
by the Society for Art, Yishu Pinglun (艺术评论; Art director of the Chinese pavilion at the 1925 Exposition
Criticism) by the Eastern Art Research Association and the Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes
Dawn Art Association, and Yishujie (艺术界; Art World), (International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and
a column introduced in the newspaper Shanghai Daily in Industrial Arts) in Paris. Originally scheduled for 1915
1925 (Chen, 2009; Zhou, 1960). but postponed a decade due to the First World War, the
A significant shift in attitudes toward Western art Exposition gathered many avant-garde ideas in architecture
also occurred after the 1911 revolution, largely due to and applied arts. China’s participation in the 1925 Paris
the influence of Cai Yuanpei (蔡元培, 1868 – 1940), a Exposition, in which the Overseas Art Movements Society
remarkable figure in modern China. Chai joined the was closely involved, marked a significant contribution.
Revolutionary Alliance (同盟会; Tongmenghui) under Chinese artist Lin Wenzheng, who had studied Western
Sun Zhongshan (1866 – 1925) in 1905, and studied painting in Paris and co-founded the Society of Overseas
philosophy in Europe from 1907 to 1912. He advocated Artists with Lin Fengmian and others in 1924, wrote a
for an emphasis on esthetic art and education in China prologue in French, entitled Zhongguo Canjia Bali Guoji
(Zheng, 2007). Chinese art historian Kao Mayching Zhuangshi Yishu He Xiandai Gongye Bolanhui Fulu
(高美庆) has traced the establishment of a Western (中國參加巴黎國際裝飾藝術和現代工業博覽會附錄;
painting school in China and the gradual assimilation of Appendix of Chinese Participation in the International
Western influence into traditional painting. Kao describes Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts)
this as a historical process that transformed both the form (Clunas, 1989; Lin, 1999). In this prologue, Lin mentions
and content of Chinese art, which contemporary Chinese that Liu Jipiao’s “execution method, modeling, colors, and
artists interpreted as a “consequence of China’s encounter style make him a truly modern artist. He even excels in
with foreign cultures and attempted to place this process the European way of painting; his oil paintings were very
within a historical perspective” (Kao, 1972, p. 202). French successful during the Exposition of the Chinese Modern
3
influence on the modern Chinese art scene was also and Ancient Art, which took place last June in Strasbourg.”
introduced through the Catholic (French Jesuits) Aurora For the design of the Chinese pavilion at the 1925 Paris
University (Zhendan University) in Shanghai’s Xujiahui Exposition, Liu Jipiao demonstrated his knowledge of
district, founded in 1903 (Sullivan, 1959). Chinese art by weaving traditional elements into the
Modern Chinese painter and educator Lin Fengmian ( interior decorations. However, it was Liu’s designs for the
林风眠, 1900 – 1991), considered a pioneer in blending Hangzhou West Lake Exhibition in 1929 that seemed to
Chinese and Western painting styles in modern Chinese 3 By Lin Wenzheng, then President of the Association
painting, remarked in the 1930s that artists were a of Chinese Artists in Europe, in the catalogue of
fundamental force in reforming society (Lin, 1934). the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs
Responding to Cai Yuanpei’s call for education through et Industriels Modernes, 1925. Retrieved from
art, Lin Fengmian, together with Liu Jipiao (刘既漂, http://liujipiao.com/

Volume 7 Issue 1 (2025) 6 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.3710