In the Chinese painting scene of the early 20th century, the regions of Beijing-Tianjin, Shanghai, and Lingnan emerged as three key strongholds for the revolution of traditional painting, producing a number of renowned traditionalist masters.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, artist groups such as the Chang'an School, the New Jinling School, and the Lingnan School increasingly focused on realist creation, while traditionalist artists in Beijing-Tianjin and Shanghai gradually faded into the background. Following the reform and opening up, particularly in recent years, the art world began to reflect on the "Xu Jiang system," bringing traditionalism back into the spotlight. People are now paying increasing attention to the contributions and value of those forgotten traditional artists from the Beijing-Tianjin region, Shanghai, and the Jiangsu-Zhejiang painting circles.
Looking back at their art and examining their paths can restore a more authentic and objective cultural and historical coordinate system, which is beneficial for our current efforts to continue tradition and foster innovative development.
Chen Banding (1876-1970) is undoubtedly a highly significant yet previously overlooked artist of the Beijing School of painting. He was a leading figure in the art world after the decline of the Beijing School's leaders, Jin Cheng and Zhou Zhaoxiang, and served as a central hub for organizing and connecting various artists in the Beijing School during the 1930s and 1940s. This influence continued into the early years of the People's Republic of China, where he actively proposed the establishment of the National Institute of Fine Arts and the Beijing Chinese Painting Academy (now the Beijing Fine Art Academy).
Chen played a crucial historical role in uniting and protecting the Beijing School painter group and in inheriting and developing Chinese painting art, making very significant contributions to modern and contemporary Chinese art history. Artistically, Chen was a legitimate direct successor of the Shanghai School and a representative of the south-to-north trend, but his study and inheritance of Wu Changshuo were further shaped by his personal cultivation and the subtle influence of the northern cultural environment. His painting style, in fact, underwent a significant transformation from his teacher's methods.
Especially after entering the northern painting scene, Chen's art was nourished by the Ming and Qing dynasties' northern traditions. He restrained the sharpness of his brushwork and the essence of epigraphy, moving into the realm of "small freehand" (xiao xieyi). He transformed the vigorous and simple style into one that was elegant, meticulous, serene, and peaceful, while also appropriately strengthening realism, making his style more accessible and comprehensible. After 1949, Chen also actively expanded his brush-and-ink language, creating many flower-and-bird paintings for national halls, venues, and diplomatic affairs. These commissions required his style to be steady, elegant, and possess an aura of official grandeur, where overly expressive literati interest and personalized brushwork were unsuitable for such political functions.
The art of Wu Changshuo and Qi Baishi is often imbued with the spirit of epigraphy. Their styles are bold and vigorous, not seeking exact likeness or operating in the realm of "between likeness and unlikeness," belonging to the "big freehand" (da xieyi) category that emphasizes individual expression, inheriting the tradition of Xu Wei, Chen Chun, the Eight Eccentrics, and the Four Monks. Their stylistic orientation aligned with the theory of artistic evolution under the backdrop of the late Qing and early Republic's Western learning eastward movement, subverting traditional concepts and representing a revolutionary path of change. For this reason, they were praised by Xu Beihong and recognized by the new China's academic circles.
In contrast, the gentle reformist style represented by Chen Banding was labeled "conservative," a group that included most of the veteran Beijing School artists like Wang Shensheng and Hu Peiheng. Viewed with an impartial and balanced perspective, Chen Banding emphasized depth, elegance, inner beauty, and inner refinement. Although his brushwork and colors could sometimes be unrestrained, bold, and daring, he was always careful to exercise restraint, presenting a surface impression of plainness, innocence, introspection, and profound elegance. His series of "Pure Offerings" paintings serve as evidence; his vase flower works are rich with scholarly and desk-side atmosphere, gentle, sincere, elegant, and profound.
Furthermore, in his later years, Chen often taught children painting, and some of his works pursued a simple, childlike quality, plain and easy, clear and bright, maintaining a childlike innocence. The art of Chen Banding, along with Wang Mengbai above him, and Wang Shensheng and Wang Xuetao below him, belongs to a distinct path of "small freehand" painting style. Simply comparing the styles and skill levels of Chen Banding with Wu Changshuo and Qi Baishi would be unfair, as they differ in standards and systems. Chen's path of artistic reform and positioning was more moderate and balanced, distancing himself from Xu Beihong's integration approach and Qi Baishi's "decay" of brushwork, deeply implementing the Beijing School's spirit of "meticulously studying ancient methods and widely absorbing new knowledge."
Artists like Chen Banding followed a gentle reformist path in Chinese painting. Their stylistic positioning and individual brushwork were not overly prominent or self-assertive, making it easier for them to collaborate harmoniously. He co-created many large-scale flower-and-bird paintings with Wang Shensheng, Wang Xuetao, Wang Zhujiu, Pu Xuezhai, and He Xiangning, offered as birthday greetings to Chairman Mao and blessings to the motherland, forming a cultural landscape of traditional ethnic art forms. Additionally, Chen was capable of independently handling monumental works, especially those created for national halls. His large-scale flower-and-bird paintings used pine, cypress, and massive rocks as structural elements, with clear priorities, reason and emotion, grand and upright elegance, traditional elements, and appropriate innovation. The compositions were stable, and the color usage appealed to both refined and popular tastes.
Chen Banding was also a modest, honest, and sincere gentleman. He treated others with authenticity and spoke frankly, valuing loyalty and possessing a chivalrous spirit. He was moderate in his dealings, kind-hearted, and had the demeanor of an elder, uniting many famous artists with his low-key and generous nature. During the Republican era, Chen's status and reputation far exceeded Qi Baishi's. After the founding of the People's Republic, the state reorganized the ranks of the Beijing School, positioning Qi Baishi as the representative of traditional art and the head of the school, surpassing Chen in status. Chen was indifferent to this and, after Qi's death, actively took up the torch, continuing to fulfill an artist's duties and responsibilities by completing various creative tasks assigned by the state and the academy. From these perspectives, Chen was remarkably resilient and magnanimous.
The tradition and path of the Beijing School painting, represented by Chen Banding, have profound cultural and artistic value. Their artistic orientation has benefited future generations and enriched the art world. He tirelessly advocated for Chinese painting, dedicating his life to the continuation of its cultural lineage. From a longer-term perspective, the innovative path of "meticulously studying ancient methods and widely absorbing new knowledge" followed by the Beijing School artists represented by Chen Banding, while appropriately referencing Western methods but not losing their own logic, has a positive role in our current efforts to look back and inherit tradition. Therefore, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Chen Banding's birth, this article is written in memory of this low-key master artist of a century in the painting world.
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