Ex-chief editor explains Chinese painting to expatriates
Shanghai Daily's founding editor-in-chief Peter Zhang.
Shanghai Daily's founding editor-in-chief Peter Zhang gave a talk on traditional Chinese paintings in English to expatriates and locals over the weekend.
More than 50 people including multinational company executives, diplomats and international students at local universities, attended the lecture in downtown Changning District on Saturday.
In his lecture titled, "Getting a closer look at traditional Chinese painting," Zhang introduced what makes Chinese painting unique, the three major genres – bird and flower, figure and landscape – as well as distinctive painting styles, such as super realistic or fine-brush and impressionist style or freehand paintings.
"Traditional Chinese painting, also known as brush painting or ink-wash painting, is one of the oldest art forms in the world," said Zhang.
"Its unique styles, special techniques, shifting focus perspectives and rich symbolism are often very different from popular Western aesthetic concepts."
Zhang explained the basic knowledge as well as the deep cultural meaning of traditional Chinese paintings. He displayed many classic works and guided the audience to better understand and enjoy the paintings.
Kesia Mouxella Marengo from Suriname, an international student at Shanghai University, watches local artist Wen Jing create a work on a fan.
Zhang graduated from Stanford University in 1984 with a master's degree on journalism. He founded Shanghai Daily, the leading English newspaper in Shanghai, in 1999 and served as the editor-in-chief.
Zhang, who is good at painting, has published many English books on traditional Chinese painting as well as China's historical figures and ancient architecture.
Saturday's event was the first of a series of lectures by Zhang who intends to promote Chinese culture and concepts through traditional art.
Sun Weimin, secretary general of the Shanghai Public Diplomacy Association, said Zhang explained the profundity of traditional Chinese painting in simple terms, which could help the audiences to better learn the unique meaning, status and value of Chinese culture.
The event was organized by the Shanghai Yanbo Culture Media Co which is devoted to promoting traditional Chinese culture through bilingual programs on new media platforms like WeChat and audio apps.
Members of the audience try their hands at traditional Chinese art after Peter Zhang's presentation.
