A Chronology of Chinese Modern Calligraphy
(1985-1999)

■ Compiled by Yang Yingshi

1985　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　April)
　　China's fine arts circle held a symposium on oil painting in Jingxian County of Anhui Province, which is also known as the Meeting of Yellow Mountain. Topics went beyond oil painting and the appeal for creative freedom and conceptual renovation became the theme of the symposium.

　　May)
　　The Exhibition of Chinese Youth Art in Progress was held in the China National Art Museum in Beijing, unveiling the '85 New Art Wave.

　　July)
　　The Chinese Fine Arts News, a newspaper focusing on introducing new trends of thoughts, was published in Beijing. 　　Li Xiaoshan, then a graduate student at the Nanjing Academy of Fine Arts, published an article ``My Opinion on Chinese Painting'' in the Jiangsu Art Monthly magazine, pointing out that Chinese painting has come to a dead end.

　　August)
　　The French Modern Art Exhibition (1870-1920) was held at the China National Art Museum in Beijing.

　　September)
　　The Art Trends magazine, for the first time in China, issued awards on art theory studies. Artists and critics like Gu Wenda, Li Xiaoshan, Zhu Qingsheng, Yin Shuangxi, and Wang Lin were rewarded.
　　The French Impressionist Painting Exhibition was held in Beijing.

　　October)
　　Jiangsu Youth Fine Arts Week Modern Art Exhibition was held in Nanjing.

　　October 15-19)
　　The First Chinese Modern Calligraphy Exhibition was held in the China National Art Museum in Beijing. Exhibited were works of artists Zhang Ding, Huang Miaozi, Wang Xuezhong, Wang Naizhuang, Li Luogong, Gu Gan, Ma Chengxiang, Zhu Naizheng, Su Yuanzhang, Xie Yun, Dai Shanqing, Zuo Hanqiao, Deng Yuanchang, Xu Futong, Yan Binghui, and Lin Xincheng among others. Simultaneously, the China Society of Modern Calligraphy and Painting was inaugurated with Gu Gan elected as its first president. Its vice-presidents included Ma Chengxiang and Xu Futong. Wang Xuezhong was selected as the honorary president and Zhang Ding, Huang Miaozi, Li Luogong, Wang Naizhuang, Xie Yun as consultants. The exhibition marked the birth of Chinese modern calligraphy.

　　November)
　　Famous American artist Robert Rauschenberg held his exhibition in the China National Art Museum, which included paintings, collages, photographs, video, and installations.
　　The Japanese modern calligrapher Tejima Ukyou exhibited his works in Beijing.

1986　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　 April)
　　The Beijing Sports Institute Press published Modern Calligraphy -- A Collection of Works in the First Exhibition of the China Society of Modern Calligraphy and Painting. The book, which was the first collection of modern calligraphy published in China, included 72 pieces of works.
　　The China Society of Modern Calligraphy and Painting held the Second Modern Calligraphy Exhibition at the China National Art Museum.
　　 Dancing Ink, a TV series directed by Yu Ling, was broadcast.

1987　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　April)
　　Structure of Modern Calligraphy, a book by Gu Gan, was published.

　　August)
　　Chinese Modern Calligraphy Exhibition, sponsored by the China Society of Modern Calligraphy and Painting, was held in East Kyoto Art Museum in Japan, which was the first exhibit of Chinese modern calligraphy abroad.

　　October)
　　The Symposium on Chinese Calligraphy in the Recent Decade was held in Zhengzhou, in which many delegates appealed to allow modern calligraphy to develop.
　　Gu Gan lectured on modern calligraphy in Bonn University and Hamburg Academy of Fine Arts in Germany.

1988　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　May)
　　The Symposium on Chinese New Calligraphy and the Evaluation Meeting for the First New Calligraphy Exhibition was held in Guilin of Guangxi, which was participated by more than 50 delegates.

　　July)
　　The First New Calligraphy Exhibition was held in Guilin, exhibiting about 300 works.

　　August)
　　The Jilin Contemporary Literature and Arts Press published the book Chinese Modern Calligraphy, which included the works of 45 artists.

　　October)
　　Xu Bing's Analysis of the World (Xishijian) Art Exhibition was held at the China National Art Museum, which exhibited his famous installation work ``Magic Writings (Tianshu).
　　The Modern Calligraphy and Painting Society of Anhui Province was established, with Wang Tianmin serving as its president and Wen Bei as secretary-general.

1989　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　February 5-19)
　　The Chinese Modern Art Exhibition, which was curated by Gao Minglu and others, was held at the China National Art Museum. On display were 293 works of 186 artists, including paintings, sculptures, videos, installations and performances. The exhibition was closed twice during the period and caused a great sensation across the country. Works of Xu Bing, Gu Wenda, Yan Binghui and Liu Zijian were included.

　　March)
　　The Modern Calligraphy and Painting Society of Anhui Province and the Jiangsu Art Monthly magazine among other sponsores held the Symposium on Chinese Modernistic Calligraphy in Beijing.

　　April-June)
　　A student movement happened in China.

　　June 4)
　　The Tian'anmen Square political disturbance resulted in a crackdown in Beijing.
　　In a wave of fighting against capitalist liberalism that followed in China, modern calligraphy was besieged by some extremely leftists.

　　July)
　　The New Fine Arts magazine of the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts published Qiu Zhenzhong's essay ``On the First Four Series and Else" with some of his modern calligraphy works.
　　 `` The First Four Series: Exhibition of Qiu Zhenzhong's Calligraphy. '' was held at the China National Art Museum in Beijing.

　　August)
　　The Nanjing Press published the book ``A collection of Wen Bei's Modern Calligraphy."

1990　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　February)
　　The Exhibition of Luo Qi's Works was held in Hangzhou.

　　July)
　　The Xiamen University Press published the book ``Huamei Modern Calligraphy Collection''with works of more than 30 artists.

　　August)
　　The Huamei Modern Calligraphy Exhibition was held in Xiamen, exhibiting more than 100 works. The exhibit was organized by Tai Ran, Chen Tewei, and others.

　　September)
　　Wang Xuezhong began to teach Chinese calligraphy in Japan.

　　November)
　　The Modern ? Exhibition was held in the Zhejiang Institute of Paintings in Hangzhou, with 23 artists exhibiting more than 80 works.

　　December)
　　The Third Chinese Modern Calligraphy Exhibition, which was sponsored by the China Society of Modern Calligraphy and Painting, was held in Japan.
　　Gu Gan continued to teach Chinese modern calligraphy in Germany.
　　Zhu Qingsheng began his graduate study in Germany and continued his experiment and demonstration of modern calligraphy.
　　Xu Bing, Gu Wenda and other Chinese modern artists moved to the United States for further development.

1991　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　January-February)
　　The Chinese Contemporary Calligraphy Exhibition was held in Guangzhou, Beijing and other places.

　　July)
　　The Shanxi Peoples Press published a Collection of Wei Ligangs Calligraphy and Seal-Carving.

　　October)
　　The '91 Nanjing Invitation Exhibition of Works by Chinese Contemporary Calligraphers was held in the Jiangsu Art Museum in Nanjing. Post-modernistic works by artists like Zhang Qiang and Wang Nanming emerged and drew particular attention on the exhibit, which was organized by Qiu Zhenzhong, Wen Bei and others.

　　November)
　　Shanghai Exhibition of Modern Calligraphy was held in the Shanghai Artists' Gallery.
　　Wu Hua moved to Paris, France for further develop-ment.
　　Critics like Li Xianting, Lang Shaojun and Liu Xiaochun published articles showing their concern on and support for modern calligraphy.

1992　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　April)
　　Deng Xiaoping made an inspection tour to the south and encouraged speeding up the pace of reform with bolder efforts.

　　May)
　　The Shenzhou Calligraphy and Painting Institute of the People's Daily held the Chinese Modern Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition in Guangzhou.

　　June)
　　The Exhibition of Shao Yan's Calligraphy was held at the Central Academy of Fine Arts Gallery in Beijing. The Chinese Calligraphy magazine carried a full report on a conference of his works.

　　September)
　　The Exhibition of Wang Nanming and Ni Weihuas Works was held in Beijing in conjunction with a symposium on contemporary art in Shanghai. Wang Nanming exhibited a video of his famous work ``Combination: Balls of Characters.

　　October)
　　The Modern Calligraphy magazine was launched by the Guangxi Fine Arts Press in Nanning, with Jiang Zhenli as its editor-in-chief. The magazine was the first to specialize in modern calligraphy officially and to circulate in China. It indicated that Chinese modern calligraphy had entered a good development stage.

　　December)
　　The Chinese Peoples University Press published Gu Gans book Three Steps of Modern Calligraphy.
　　Zhang Dawo moved to Australia.

1993　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　August)
　　An Appreciation of Chinese Modernistic Calligraphy, a book edited by Bu Lieping, was published by the Sichuan Fine Arts Press.
　　The First Exhibition of Calligraphism was held in Zhengzhou of Henan, exhibiting the works of artists like Zhang Qiang, Luo Qi, Xing Shizhen, Shao Yan, Li Qiang. Calligraphism as a new school became noticed.
　　In the Fifth National Exhibition of Calligraphy by Middle-Aged and Young Calligraphers, sponsored by the Chinese Calligraphers' Association, the works of Guangxi modern calligraphers Zhang Yuxiang and Cai Mengxia became a new attraction and was rewarded. This was known as the Guangxi Phenomenon in China's calligraphy circle.
　　Wang Dongling returned to China after lecturing on Chinese calligraphy in the United States.
　　Bai Di's solo exhibition Blackism was held at Duo Yun Xuan Art Gallery in Shanghai.

　　December)
　　Calligraphism, Guangxi Phenomenon, and the publishing of Modern Calligraphy magazine were listed among the top 10 news of the Chinese calligraphy circle in 1993.
　　Zhang Qiang's book A Comprehensive Review of Modern Calligraphy was published by the Shandong Friendship Press.

1994　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　June)
　　Wang Nanming's book Understand Modern Calligraphy was published by the Jiangsu Education Press. A symposium on the book was held on the Yellow Mountain in August.

　　October)
　　Jiangsu Society of Modern Calligraphy and Painting was established in Nanjing, with Zhang Xuecheng serving as the president and Wen Bei as vice-president and secretary-general.
　　Wang Dongling and his students held the Explorative Exhibition of Modern Calligraphy at the China National Art Museum.

1995　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　 February)
　　The Modern Calligraphy and Painting Research Institute of the Southeast University was established in Nanjing, Jiangsu, with Wen Bei as the director and Ling Jiyao as honorary director. This was the first research institute on modern calligraphy established in a major Chinese university.

　　July)
　　The Second Calligraphism Exhibition and Symposium was held in Weihai, Shandong. The exhibition included more than 30 works by over 30 artists.
　　Shao Yan's modern calligraphy won first prize in the Six National Exhibition of Calligraphy by Middle-Aged and Young Calligraphers, which aroused heated discussions in China.

　　August)
　　Bu Lieping and Wei LBigang established the Song Feng Xuan Art Gallery in Beijing, which was the first gallery specializing in modern calligraphy in China. The Beijing-based gallery became a major center for the Chinese modern calligraphy circle while explored ways for modern calligraphy to enter international art market.
　　The '95 Liuzhou Invitation Exhibition of Works by Famous Artists in Chinese Modern Calligraphy was held in Liuzhou, Guangxi. Jiang Zhenli and others organized the exhibit, with more than 20 artists participating.

　　October)
　　The Activities to Commemorate the 10th Anniversary of Chinese Modern Calligraphy was held in Nanjing, Jiangsu, including the Exhibition of Works by Representative Artists in Chinese Modern Calligraphy in the Past 10 Years held at the Jiangshu Art Museum and a symposium. Ling Jiyao, Wen Bei and Zhang Qiang organized the activities.

　　November)
　　The First International Biennial of Modern Calligraphy was held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang.

1996　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　March)
　　Chinese Modern Calligraphy 10 Years, a book edited by Yang Chaoling, was published by the Guangxi Fine Arts Press.
　　Zhang Qiang's book, Broken Cubes in Games -- Postmodernism and Contemporary Calligraphy, was published by the China Social Press.

　　June)
　　Worms/Itching Characters--An Exhibition of Wei Ligang's Recent Works was held at Song Feng Xuan Art Gallery in Beijing.
　　Wang Nanmings work was exhibited in the exhibition ``From the Central Country Chinese Avant-garde Art in Barcelona.

　　November)
　　The Comprehensive Exhibition of Zhang Qiang's Traceology Report was held at the art gallery of the Capital Normal University in Beijing.
　　The Exhibition of Wei Baorong's Modern Calligraphy and Wash-ink Art was held at the Shenzhen Art Museum, together with a symposium on the works. A collection of Wei Baorong's works was published.
　　Ni Weimu and other artists organized the Chinese Red Tomb Figure: The First Exhibition of the Culture of Chinese Characters, in Guangdong.

1997　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　 　January)
　　 Zhu Qingsheng began to published a series of article under the title ``What Is Modern Art?'' in the Jiangsu Art Monthly magazine, which appeared in all 12 issues of the year. The articles were highly influential.

　　February)
　　Deng Xiaoping died.

　　Early this year)
　　Xu Futong, Wei Ligang, Wang Nanming, Zhang Dawo and others tried to organize the Second International Biennial of Modern Calligraphy in Beijing but failed.

　　May)
　　The Ten-Person Exhibition of Chinese Modern Calligraphy and Painting was held at the Jiangsu Art Museum in Nanjing. Wen Bei organized the show.
　　Qiu Zhenzhong returned to China after doing research on calligraphy in Japan.

　　July)
　　Hong Kong returned to the motherland.
　　Zhang Yiguo, then a Ph.D. candidate in art history at the Columbia University of the United States, came back to China to organize a contemporary Chinese calligraphy exhibition. He met with some artists in modern calligraphy in Beijing, Shandong, Zhejiang and elsewhere.

　　August)
　　A Collection of Wen Bei's Calligraphic Art was published by the Liaoning Fine Arts Press.

　　October)
　　Chinese-American calligrapher and scholar Wang Fangyu died in New York.
　　Bu Lieping, Zhang Dawo, Wei Ligang began preparatory work on establishing a national modern calligraphy organization in Beijing, Tianjin and Shandong. Yang Yingshi offered 10 suggestions for the development of modern calligraphy, which stroke a responsive chord in the modern calligraphy circle.

　　October-- November)
　　Yang Yingshi organized the project ``A Visit of Modern Calligraphy to Nankai.'' Bu Lieping, Wei Ligang, Zhang Dawo, and Yu Ling gave a series of lectures on modern calligraphy at the prestigious Nankai University in Tianjin.

　　December 5-8)
　　The Meeting on the Development of Modern Calligraphy was held at the Dongyuan Hotel at No. 8 Zhongshan Mausoleum in Nanjing with nine formal delegates: Bu Lieping, Wen Bei, Wei Ligang, Zhang Qiang, Zhu Qingsheng, Fu Jingsheng, Yang Yingshi, Wang Nanming, and Zhuang Tianming. Five sessions were held during the meeting, at which delegates decided to establish a national modern calligraphy organization temporarily named China Society of Modern Calligraphy. (Later it was formally named China Society of Modern Calligraphic Arts.) Zhu Qingsheng, Wen Bei, Bu Lieping, and Yang Yingshi were chosen as regular coordinators during the preparatory period of the organization.
　　Work on establishing archives for modern calligraphy was started in Beijing University with Zhu Qingsheng in charge and Liu Chao and Yang Yingshi assisting.

1998　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　January)
　　A Collection of Documents on Modern Calligraphy in the Past 10 Years, which was co-edited by Wen Bei and Zhang Qiang, was published by the Guangxi Fine Arts Press.

　　January-February)
　　Zhu Qingsheng, Wang Nanming, Liu Zhengcheng, Yang Yingshi, Bu Lieping, Wei Ligang and others planned to organize the Exhibition of Explorative Chinese Calligraphy at the Central Academy of Fine Arts Gallery in Beijing as part of the 20th Century Calligraphy Exhibition sponsored by the Chinese Calligraphers' Association. The plan was aborted at the last minute due to sabotage.
　　The Qingdao Haiqing International Artists Studio was established with Wang Nanming as the curator.

　　February)
　　The Academic School of Calligraphy Exhibition, advocated and organized by Chen Zhenlian, was held in Beijing.
　　The Modern Calligraphy magazine held a conference in Beijing to condemn the sabotage and suppression of modern calligraphy as well as to discuss the future development of modern calligraphy. The meeting, which drew more than 20 artists and critics then in Beijing, played an important role in uniting the modern calligraphy circle, as well as inspiring morale.

　　March)
　　The Century Women Art Exhibition was held at the China National Art Museum in Beijing. As part of the grand show, an exhibition of Zhang Qiang's Traceology Report was held at the neighboring Contemporary Art Museum.
　　Gao Le and Dang Yu went separately to Japan for exhibitions and academic exchanges.

　　April-June)
　　Brushed Voices: Calligraphy in Contemporary China, an exhibition curated by Zhang Yiguo, was held at the Wallach Art Gallery of Columbia University in New York, the United States. A catalog of the same title was published. Among the works of 21 artists exhibited were modern calligraphy by five artists: Bai Di, Luo Qi, Shao Yan, Wang Dongling and Zhang Qiang.

　　May)
　　The World of Brush -- A Joint Exhibition of Avant-garde Calligraphy and Modern Calligraphy was held in Melbourne, Australia. The exhibit drew artists from China, Japan and Australia, including works of Zhang Dawo, Wei Baorong and Xing Shizhen.

　　August)
　　The Working Conference on Establishing Modern Calligraphy Archives was held by Beijing University at the Jiaojiehe International Artists' Village in Huairou of suburban Beijing. The meeting was hosted by Zhu Qingsheng and attended by more than 20 experts from China and abroad.
　　Yang Yingshi went to study at the University of Hawaii in the United States.

　　September)
　　Inside Out: New Chinese Art, a grand exhibition curated by Gao Minglu, went on tour in the United States. An English-language catalog of the same title was published. The exhibition and the catalog, which introduced the avant-garde art movements in the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong, became a worldwide sensation. Works of Xu Bing, Gu Wenda, Qiu Zhijie, Wu Shanzhuan and Yan Binghui were included.

　　October)
　　At the invitation of the Oriental Art Society of Hawaii, Yang Yingshi gave an English lecture ``New Trends in Chinese Calligraphy (1898-1998) at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, introducing to the West China's Modern Calligraphy Artistic Movement and its representative artists.
　　The New Trunk Line Art Saloon Exhibition of Calligraphy was held in Taiyuan, Shanxi. Works of six artists including Wei Ligang and Yang Xiaojian were exhibited.

　　November)
　　A Review of Tradition: Chinese Contemporary Art was held at the German Embassy in Beijing. Modern calligraphy works of Wang Nanming, Qiu Zhenzhong, Chen Guangwu, Zhang Dawo, Zhu Qingsheng, Liu Chao and others were included in the exhibit.

　　November 28-30)
　　The Symposium on the Strategic Development of Chinese Modern Calligraphy was held in Gaoyou of Jiangsu, during which the establishment of the China Society of Modern Calligraphic Arts was formally announced. Ling Jiyao was nominated as the president of the organization, with Wen Bei, Bu Lieping, Zhang Qiang, Wei Ligang, and Yan Binghui serving as vice-presidents. Wen Bei served as secretary-general, and Yang Yingshi as deputy secretary-general. The society's Board of Directors, Standing Committee of the Board of Directors, and specialized sub-commissions were established. The society also invited some artists and scholars as its consultants, honorary president, and honorary board directors. Most of the first 30-plus members of the organization were prominent artists and scholars specializing in modern calligraphy. The site of the society was located at the School of Arts of the Southeast University in Nanjing.

　　December)
　　The Exhibition of Calligraphy in Modern China was held in Paris. Modern calligraphy works of Qiu Zhenzhong, Wang Dongling, Shao Yan, and Yang Lin were included in the exhibit.

1999　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　 　January)
　　Yang Yingshi began to curate an exhibition of works by representative artists of modern calligraphy in the United States and to establish an Internet web site for Chinese modern calligraphy.

　　June)
　　Bashu Parade: '99 Chengdu Retrospective of Chinese Modern Calligraphy at the End of the 20th Century, which included an exhibition and a symposium, was held at the Chengdu International Convention and Exhibition Center and the suburban Jindi Villa in Chengdu, Sichuan. The activities were mainly organized by Bu Lieping, Wei Ligang, Yan Binghui and Chu Sang. Yang Yingshi and Liu Zijian were invited to be the academic presiders. More than 400 works by over 50 artists were exhibited and four sessions were held during the symposium which sparked heated discussions on the works and theoretical issues. Meanwhile, the Yufu Village International Modern Calligraphy Center was established in suburban Chengdu. A Chinese-English exhibition catalog was later published with Yang Yingshi as the editor and translator.

　　July)
　　An auction of works winning prizes in the 7th National Exhibition of Calligraphy by Middle-Aged and Young Calligraphers were held in Beijing. Modern calligraphy works of Yang Lin and Shao Yan were auctioned at the highest prices.

　　October)
　　The Calligraphy Exhibition of Yang Lin, Shao Yan and Liu Yi was held at the China National Art Museum in Beijing.

Bibliography　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　Gao Minglu,
　　A History of Chinese Contemporary Art (1985-1986), Shanghai People's Press, October 1991
　　Inside Out: New Chinese Art (In English), University of California Press, the United States, 1998
　　Chinese Avant-Garde Art, Jiangsu Fine Arts Press, July 1997
　　Liu Chun,
　　Chinese Avant-Garde Art, Baihua Literature and Arts Press, April 1999
　　Wen Bei & Zhang Qiang,
　　A Collection of Documents on Modern Calligraphy in the Past 10 Years, Guangxi Fine Arts Press, January 1998
　　Liu Huiyu,
　　Entering the World of Wen Bei (Volume 1), China Overseas Chinese Press, June 1997
　　Chen Chuanxi,
　　Zhang Qiang (Volume 1, Background of Traceology), China Overseas Chinese Press, June 1997
　　Pi Daojian,
　　Chinese Experimental Wash-Ink in the 90s, Hong Kong World Chinese Arts Publication Co. Ltd, July 1998
　　Yin Jinan,
　　Door-Knocking Alone: An Up-close View of Chinese Contemporary Art, Beijing Three-Union Bookstore, October 1993
　　Yiguo Zhang,
　　Brushed Voices: Calligraphy in Contemporary China (In English), Wallach Art Gallery of the Columbia University in the United States, 1998
　　Bu Lieping,
　　An Appreciation of Chinese Modernistic Calligraphy, Sichuan Fine Arts Press, August 1993
　　Wang Nanming,
　　Understand Modern Calligraphy, Jiangsu Education Press, June 1994
　　Zhang Qiang,
　　Broken Cubes in Games -- Postmodernism and Contemporary Calligraphy, China Social Press, March 1996
　　Schneider, Eckhard R.,
　　Im Spiegel Der Eigenen Tradition: Ausstellung Zeitgenossicher Chinesischer Kunst (A Reiew of Tradition: Chinese Contemporary Art), The German Embassy in Beijing, 1998
　　Zhang Qiang,
　　Images in Disorder -- The Cultural Point of View of Modern Art in China, Shandong Fine Arts Press, December 1998
　　Yang Yingshi
　　Bashu Parade: '99 Chengdu Retrospective of Chinese Modern Calligraphy at the End of the 20th Century, The Sichuan International Culture Exchange Center, September 1999

Periodicals　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　Modern Calligraphy 　　Jiangsu Art Monthly
　　Chinese Calligraphy　　Art Observation 　　Chinese Art

| Events | People | Reviews | Others | dddd