Fist academic study on modernity at the Shanghai Art College The Shanghai Art College was one of the most important art schools in Republican China. This is the first academic study written on the early history of the College. It makes a major contribution to the history of aesthetic education in China, Shanghai in particular. The book presents a new approach to how people understand the modernization of Chinese art, and the significance and consequences of modernity in the Shanghai art world of the period 1913-1937. The author proposes new theoretical models to explain the interactions between multiple levels of social structures and artists, with a special emphasis on the role of art education institutions in transforming artists, artworks and the development of artistic fields. Presenting unique historical images hereto hidden in the archives of the College, the book brings forward the distinctive modern characteristics of the early 20th-century Shanghai Art College.
This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, CHARTS AND FIGURES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
1 Theorizing Multi-level Interactions that Influenced Chinese Art in Shanghai
2 Theorizing the Role of the Art Education Institution in Nurturing Modern Shanghai Artists
3 The Structure of the Book
PART 1. THE SHANGHAI ART COLLEGE IN THE FIELD OF PRIVATE ART SCHOOL IN SHANGHAI
CHAPTER 1. BEFORE 1913: A RESPONSE TO MARKET DEMAND-THE INCEPTION OF THE SHANGHAI ART COLLEGE
CHAPTER 2. STAGE ONE, JANUARY 1913 - JULY 1919: WINNING THE COMPETITION IN THE SHANGHAI COMMERCIAL ART MARKET
1 Beating the Competition in the Shanghai Market
2 The First Shift in School Goals: from Commercial Art to Aesthetic Art
CHAPTER 3. STAGE TWO, JULY 1919 - NOVEMBER 1928: THE AGE OF AESTHETIC EDUCATION
1 Academic Art Education
2 The Nude Model Incident
3 The Campus Upheaval: Seeking Survival through the Sacrifice of Educational Ideals
CHAPTER 4. STAGE THREE: RECONSTITUTING THE CAMPUS AFTER THE UPHEAVAL, NOVEMBER 1928 - JULY 1937
1 Economic Crisis in the 1930s Impacts the Art World
2 The Second Shift in The Shanghai Art School’s Main Educational Goal: Changing from an Aesthetic Education Focus to the Pursuit of Patrons in Shanghai
3 Art Education Programs as Cultural Capital for Fundraising Purposes
PART 2. ART EDUCATION AND ART AT THE SHANGHAI ART COLLEGE
CHAPTER 5. POPULARIZING AND INDIGENIZING THE ART FROM THE WEST
1 Introducing Chinese Students to Western Painting Practices
2 Embracing Various Cultural Elements
3 Accessibility
4 Western-style Painting at the College under Multi-cultural Influences
CHAPTER 6. TRANSPLANTING LITERATI PAINTING INSTRUCTION INTO THE MODERN ART SCHOOL SYSTEM
1 Obeying the Official Order. The Initiation of Guohua Education in the College
2 Literati Painting in College Education
CHAPTER 7. A BOOM IN “NEW-STYLE” RESEARCH ON ART-RELATED SUBJECTS
1 Studying Applied Art
2 The Research Initiatives in Chinese Art History and Theory
CHAPTER 8. FOSTERING ARTISTIC CREATIVITY IN THE COLLEGE’S ART EDUCATION
1 The College’s Policy: Stimulating Student Initiative in Art Education
2 The Creativity of Modern Literati Art in a Cross-Cultural and Inter-disciplinary Background
3 “The New Literati Art”
PART 3. ARTISTS AND ART AT THE SHANGHAI ART COLLEGE
CHAPTER 9. RELOCATING ARTISTS’ LEARNING AND TEACHING FROM THE PRIVATE TO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Institutionalizing Art Students’ Learning at the College
2 Restructuring Teaching Styles and Techniques
3 Reformulating Teaching Psychologies
4 Enhancing Artists’ Working Capabilities through Administrative
Positions
5 Art at the Margins of the Artist’s Public Role
CHAPTER 10. INTEGRATING ARTISTS INTO THE MAINSTREAM ECONOMY OF SOCIETY
1 School Salary System: Drawing Artists into the Public Economic
System
2 Raising Funds through Art Exhibitions
CHAPTER 11. THE NEW LADDER LEADING TO CELEBRITY
1 The Short Cuts toward Celebrity
2 Fame and the New Artistic Criteria
CHAPTER 12. WOMEN ARTISTS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Calls for Modern Art Education for Women
2 The “Goal of Women’s Art Education” at the College
3 Women’s Art Practice at the College
CONCLUSION
1 New Insights about Art Education in Republican China: Contributions to Filling the Four Research Gaps
2 Towards a New Approach to Understanding the Modernization of Chinese Art in Shanghai
3 Contributions to Clarifying Historical Confusions
FIGURES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
Joining a growing body of studies which serve to underscore the impact of the market on the multifaceted modes of art production and consumption in Republican-era Shanghai,
The Modernization of Chinese Art is an informative account that will be of interest not only to specialists in the field but also to those looking for a richly detailed introduction to this important and complex period in Chinese art history.
Ros Holmes, The China Quarterly, Volume 232, December 2017 , pp. 1143-1144
The China Quarterly
'This complex and thorough book conveys a detailed portrait of an outstanding art school fusing tradition with modernity amid turbulent times. The remarkable extent of surviving archives adds richly to exhaustive research, particularly so in the many reflective narratives.'David Haste, History of Education, July 2017
History of Education
While Cheng Man-ch'ing is not a main subject of this fascinating book, through it one can get a better picture of the huge societal changes that gripped China and the nuances, politics, and personalities of the art world that dramatically affected Cheng's life.
The Cheng Man-ch'ing Biography Project
