Beijing exhibition traces artistic lineage of Chinese painters

An exhibition exploring Chinese flower-and-bird painting opened Sept. 9 at the Beijing Fine Art Academy Art Museum, showing how four master painters influenced each other across history. 

"Brushstrokes Across Centuries" displays more than 70 works by artists Xu Wei, Bada Shanren, Wu Changshuo and Qi Baishi.

More than 10 major museums and research institutions helped organize the show, which the Ministry of Culture and Tourism selected for its 2025 national exhibition season.

The exhibition shows how each generation of artists learned from and changed earlier techniques. Curators arranged the works to show connections between the artists rather than competition, presenting Qi Baishi as both student and innovator of older artistic styles.

Four sections guide visitors through the development of Chinese freehand painting. The displays include compact paintings, seals and calligraphy with explanatory panels, videos and a family tree showing how the artistic styles passed between generations.

The exhibition banner for "Brushstrokes Across Centuries" at the Beijing Fine Art Academy Art Museum, Sept. 19, 2025. [Photo by Liu Ziying/China.org.cn]