This book situates the development of 20th and 21st century Chinese art in such fundamental contexts as Chinese politics and social change and is ideally suited for readers to understand the particularities of Chinese art that are distinct from Western art history. Such an approach is appropriate to the understanding of the development of modern Chinese art, which differs from both the Western approach to art history and the approach to traditional Chinese art, which is limited to the combing of ink and brush heritage and ideological traditions. Based on the scale and influence of historical works, considering the specificity of the term involving 'fine art' in China, and the scope of influence of the phenomenon of fine art in the cultural field, this book's study of the phenomena of painting, sculpture, photography, video and mixed-media art follows two linear time lines of historical relevance: 1949-1978 and 1978 to the present. Special attention is paid to the development of modern and contemporary art after 1978. The main readers of this book are: undergraduate students in art schools, graduate and doctoral students in art history; students in other humanities disciplines; experts and professors in the study of 20th century Chinese art and cultural history should be important readers of this book.

Translated by: Bruce Doar