From June 22-24, 1999, a grand exhibition/ symposium titled Bashu Parade: '99 Chengdu Retrospective of Chinese Modern Calligraphy at the End of the 20th Century was held in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province. Almost 60 artists and critics from China and abroad attended the event, which exhibited more than 400 works and prompted a number of academic papers. Four group discussions were held during the symposium, which sparked heated debates. The event is widely regarded as a most important review of China's Modern Calligraphy Artistic Movement since the mid-1980s. An overall display and summary of the achieve-ments of modern calligraphy in creation and research in the past 10-plus years, the event is characterized by its documentary value, inclusive nature and unprecedented scale.

Presenting selected representative works of major artists participating in the retrospective exhibition, this book, in a form of documentary catalog, also includes an exhibition foreword by Wei Ligang, a congratulatory letter by Wang Xuezhong as well as essays contributed by Bu Lieping, Chu Sang, Zhang

Qiang, Zhang Nan, Liu Zijian and Yang Yingshi. Attached are bios of the artists and critics and some documents about the organizing and curating aspects of the whole event. The book is bilingual -- in Chinese and English -- serving as a convenient introduction of the achievements and present situation of modern calligraphy to as many friends who care and support it as possible.

(*Bashu is a nickname of Southwest China's Sichuan Province .)

Bashu Parade:

Chief Curators:

Bu Lieping, Wei Ligang, Yan Binghui, Chu Sang

Yang Yingshi, Liu Zijian,
Qiu Zhenzhong (Absent), Zhu Qingsheng (Absent)

Organizing Committee:

Dou Weiping, Jiang Dexing, Wen Bei, Zhang Dawo, Qiu Zhenzhong, Fu Jingsheng,
Bu Lieping, Zhu Qingsheng, Xu Zhongping, Yan Binghui, Wu Baijun, Zhu Guocai,
Liu Zijian, Yang Yingshi, Zhang Qiang, Chu Sang, He Xun,
Wei Ligang, Zhang Nan

Sponsored by:

Sichuan International Culture Exchange Center
China Society of Modern Calligraphic Arts
''Modern Calligraphy'' magazine

Funded by:

Special Thanks to: