Draft:Li Shaowen

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Li Shaowen (李少文）

Li Shaowen (李少文) in 2010

Li Shaowen (Chinese: 李少文; born 1942) is a renowned Chinese painter and art educator, doctoral supervisor at the School of Chinese Painting, Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), celebrated for his contributions to modern ink painting and classical literary-inspired art. He taught at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in Beijing, where he served as a professor of Chinese painting, doctoral supervisor, and director of the Li Shaowen Studio. His work encompasses figure painting, flower-and-bird painting, literary illustration, calligraphy, murals, sculpture, and ceramics. His major painting series include Nine Songs (《九歌》), based on the poems traditionally attributed to Qu Yuan, and The Divine Comedy (《神曲》), inspired by Dante Alighieri’s poem.

He is a recipient of the Chinese State Council Special Allowance（国务院政府特殊津贴)

Early life

Born in 1942, Li grew up in Beijing in a family originally from Ye County, Shandong, now Laizhou. As a young child, he was adopted by his paternal uncle, Li Guangda, who owned a clothing business in Beijing. His uncle collected Chinese paintings, including works by Qi Baishi and Wang Xuetao. Li developed an interest in drawing during childhood.

He initially attended a church school associated with the Catholic church at Wangfujing, where instruction was in English, before transferring to a Chinese-language school. His family’s financial circumstances declined during the 1950s, and he undertook manual work as a teenager before entering formal art training.

Education and career

In 1957, Li entered the preparatory programme at Beijing Art Normal College(later merged into Capital Normal University in 1960), which subsequently became part of the Beijing College of Arts. He initially studied Western painting before training in gongbi flower-and-bird painting under Yu Zhizhen. He graduated in 1963 and was assigned to teach at Baijiazhuang Middle School in Beijing.

During the 1970s, Li produced historical paintings for the Chinese History Museum, now part of the National Museum of China. These included Zhuang Qiao Uprising (《庄硚起义》).

In 1978, he entered the postgraduate programme in CAFA’s Chinese Painting Department, studying under Ye Qianyu. He completed his studies in 1980 and joined the teaching staff. His graduation work, Nine Songs, received the Ye Qianyu First-Class Scholarship. He subsequently became a professor and doctoral supervisor at CAFA and also held teaching and supervisory appointments at Tsinghua University.

Li enrolled in the Beijing Art Normal College in 1957 , initially studying Western painting before shifting focus to Chinese ink painting. Studied traditional Chinese realistic (Gongbi) bird-and-flower painting under Yu Zhizhen. He later undertook postgraduate study in Chinese painting at the Central Academy of Fine Arts under Ye Qianyu. He graduated in 1980 and joined the academy’s teaching staff, subsequently serving as a professor and doctoral supervisor. His graduation work, Nine Songs, received the Ye Qianyu First-Class Scholarship. Central Academy of Fine Arts biography

Artistic work

Nine Songs

Completed in 1980, Nine Songs consists of nine paintings executed in detailed brushwork and rich colours on silk, a technique known as gongbi zhongcai. The series depicts mythological figures and subjects from the poems traditionally attributed to Qu Yuan.

In “彩墨写出无声诗——读李少文的《九歌》”, published in 美术研究 in 1981, art historian Shui Tianzhong (水天中) discussed Li’s use of colour to convey different poetic moods and his portrayal of mythological figures with human emotions. Shui considered the paintings interpretations that could enrich a reader’s understanding of the poems..

Art historian Hong Zaixin(洪再新) discussed Nine Songs within the development of modern Chinese gongbi painting, noting Li’s emphasis on the transformation of forms and the division of pictorial space

The Divine Comedy

Li began his Divine Comedy series in the early 1980s, depicting episodes from Dante’s poem through Chinese painting on silk. The paintings include scenes from Inferno, such as Paolo and Francesca, the forest of suicides, and the frozen lake.

The series received a Diploma of Merit (1984) from the Dante Alighieri Society, according to CAFA’s biography

Literary illustration and other media

Li illustrated works of Chinese literature and history, including Journey to the West, stories from the Tang and Song dynasties, and Gongwei jingbian (《宫闱惊变》). His illustrations for Gongwei jingbian received a second prize in the third national book design and illustration competition in 1986.

Alongside painting and illustration, Li worked in murals, sculpture, lacquer, and ceramics. His works in these media include the sculpture Fire Phoenix (《火凤凰》), lacquer works depicting mythological figures, and a series of ceramic totemic masks.

Teaching and the Li Shaowen Studio

Li directed the Li Shaowen Studio within CAFA’s Chinese painting programme. Its teaching explored the expressive possibilities of Chinese painting, encouraging experimentation with visual language and the development of individual artistic approaches.

His teaching addressed composition, rhythm, spatial relationships, and the connection between artistic form and emotional expression. He drew comparisons across painting, literature, music, calligraphy, and sculpture, encouraging students to apply knowledge from different art forms to their own work.

A seminar on the teaching of CAFA’s Chinese Painting Department’s Third Studio was recorded in “多元开放，厚积薄发——中国画系第三工作室教学研讨会纪要”, compiled by Yin Shuangxi and published in 美术研究, issue 3, 2003.

Notable students

Li’s students include the ink painter Liu Qinghe (刘庆和), who became his postgraduate student in 1987. In a published account of his years at CAFA, Liu described Li’s interest in his photography, printmaking, and small sculptures as well as his paintings. He credited Li’s teaching and intellectual independence with helping him develop his own artistic approach.

Collections

A 2010 exhibition announcement records Zhuang Qiao Uprising （《乔装起义》）in the The National Museum of China collection and the oil painting Hunting Rhinoceros (《猎犀》) in the National Natural History Museum collection. His works are also held by the National Art Museum of China and the CAFA Art Museum.

Selected print bibliography

• Shui Tianzhong (水天中). “彩墨写出无声诗——读李少文的《九歌》”. 美术研究, no. 1, 1981.
• Tao Yongbai (陶咏白). “李少文与其画”. 江苏画刊, no. 12, 1985.
• Hong, Zaixin (洪再新). “力求再現與超越再現——中國現代工筆重彩畫發展斷想” [Striving for and Transcending Representation: Reflections on the Development of Modern Chinese Gongbi Heavy-Colour Painting]. 臺灣美術, no. 30, October 1995. In Chinese.
• Yin Shuangxi (殷双喜), compiler. “多元开放，厚积薄发——中国画系第三工作室教学研讨会纪要”. 美术研究, no. 3, 2003.

External links

• Official website
• Central Academy of Fine Arts biography