Bulletin Number One 1985

Paintings by Yangzhou Artists of the Qing Dynasty from the Palace Museum -by Mayching Kao The Exhibition of Paintings by Yangzhou Artists of the Qing Dynasty from the Palace Museum was held at the Art Gallery of this University from 24th November, 1984 to 9th January, 1985. All of th e one hundred paintings b y eighteen Yangzhou artists on display were selected from the fabulous collection of the foremost museum in China. Th e exhibition featured not only works that have enjoyed great popularity for some time, but also many that were introduced to the Hong Kong public for the first time. ‘The mounting of this exhibition,' as Mr. Yang Boda, Deputy Director of the Palace Museum, pointed out in the ‘Foreword' of the accompanying exhibition catalogue, ‘not only represents the culmination o f many years o f academic exchanges between the Palace Museum and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, it also signifies the beginning of more comprehensive collaborations between the two institutions.' Indeed, we hope that the success of the exhibition will be the basis for closer cooperation between the Palace Museum and The Chinese University, so that we may contribute more to the enrichment of the cultural life on campus and in Hong Kong. Exhibitions of the Art Gallery have invariably been organized to lend support to teaching and research, and this exhibition was no exception. It served to demonstrate the comprehensivedevelopment painting in a major artistic centre at a high point in the history of the Qing dynasty. It was also our hope that the exhibition would help to promote a better understanding of Chinese painting and to encourage research and creative activities in this field. We have published a fully illustrated catalogue, which includes detailed notes on th e paintings and a long article on painting in Yangzhou. Specialists from the Palace Museum were invited to give lectures and their exhibition staff stayed at the University throughout the exhibition period of one and a half months and exchanged views with many of the local and overseas collectors, artists and art teachers who visited the exhibition. The Gallery staff gave guided tours to groups from schools and organizations. Teachers o f the Fine Arts Department have made good use of the exhibits as illustrations for their courses in 'Appreciation of Art' ， ‘Art Theory', 'History of Chinese Art ， and ‘Chinese Painting'. The postgraduate students in Chinese art h i s t o ry also took advantage of this occasion to conduct first-hand research on certain paintings. Close to 15,000 visitors were attracted to the exhibition. In particular, the local and overseas art educators, over seventy in number, who congregated at The Chinese University on the occasion o f the 8th Regional Congress of the International Society for Education Through Art, graced the exhibition with their presence. All those involved in the organization of the exhibition were gratified by the favourable response from the visitors and their enthusiasm for the paintings on display. The more important of the eighteen artists were the famous ‘Eight Eccentric Masters of Yangzhou' (Yangzhou baguai 揚州八怪). The names of the baguai first appeared i n the Record of Paintings and Calligraphy Passing before My Eyes (Ouboluoshi shuhua guomu kao 〈歐鉢羅室書畫過目考〉 ) by Li Yufen ( 李 玉 棻 ) i n 1894. They were Li Shan (李鱓）， Wang Shishen ( 汪士愼）， Jin Nong ( 金農)， Huang Shen ( 黃愼）， Gao Xiang ( 高翔）， Zheng Xie ( 鄭燮），L i Fangying ( 李方膺） a n d Luo Pin (羅聘）. Ye t other artists like Hua Yan ( 華 喦 ) , Gao Fenghan ( 高 鳳 翰 ) , M i n Zhen (閔貞）， Bian Shoumin ( 邊壽民 ) , C h e n Zhuan ( 陳 撰 ) , Li Mian ( 李葂） a n d Yang Fa ( 楊 法 ) h a v e also been referred to as the ‘Eccentric Masters' at different times, resulting in a total of fifteen names. Some modem scholars like Fu Baoshi ( 傅 抱 石 ) a n d Yu Jianhua ( 兪 劍華 ) w e r e inclined to label this group of artists with stylistic affinities as the 'Yangzhou School' or ‘School of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou'. However, the problem of nomenclature remains unresolved. The congregation of the ‘Eight Eccentrics' and other innovative artists in Yangzhou in the eighteenth century may be explained by the artistic currents of the age and the socio-economic situation of Yangzhou. The ‘Orthodox School' led by the ‘Four Wangs' which dominated the early Qing period was gradually losing its inherent vitality from adherence to ancient models by the end of the Kangxi era (1662-1722). Yet followers of this tradition, represented by the Loudong School ( 婁東派 ) a n d the Yushan School (虞山派)， continued to prevail in Beijing and the Suzhou-Taihu region, and new trends would stand a better chance of survival outside their sphere o f influence. As for subject matter, the Orthodox Masters and their followers attached paramount importance to landscape painting. The innovators turned to a much broader spectrum of subjec t matter, including landscapes, figures, flowers and birds, insects 10 RECENT DEVELOPMENTS