The history of the formation of art education in Shanghai in the first quarter of the XX century

Khu wenwen ORCID: 0009-0003-1011-7704 PhD in Art History Postgraduate student, Department of Art History, Siberian State Institute of Arts named after Dmitry Hvorostovsky 660049, Russia, Krasnoyarsk region, Krasnoyarsk, Lenin St., No. 22, sq. 644533389@qq.com Other publications by this author

The first mention of Shanghai as a small fishing village dates back to the 5th century. In the XII century, it developed already in urban status, attracting the attention of entrepreneurs and adventurers from all over the world. The convenient geographical location has defined Shanghai as the center of the political and economic battles of the Western world for spheres of influence. For centuries, the city has been constantly populated by migrants. In the XIX century, its streets, which had a pronounced European flavor, were flooded with immigrants from Holland, Portugal, Iran, England, Russia, Germany, America. According to statistics, in 1930 the population of Shanghai reached 3 million people, 85% of whom came from different cities of China and more than 40 countries of the world ^{[1, p. 9]}. Visitors actively participated in the creation of a unique architectural appearance of the metropolis. The multinational culture of Shanghai manifested itself in its external image and influenced the rapid growth of the economy, which, in turn, determined the increased demand for educated specialists.

At the end of the XIX–beginning of the XX century, the first universities opened in the city, created by Europeans, representatives of missionary schools. Then rich Chinese joined the process, inviting Western teachers to work in private educational institutions. For example, in 1905, several Shanghai entrepreneurs founded Fudan University, which today is one of the largest educational institutions in the world.

The formation of the art education system was also actively taking place. The idea of integrating traditional Chinese and modern art was popular in Shanghai, the search for new creative ideas was welcomed, and all initiatives in this area were supported by the population since the middle of the XIX century. During this period, the Shanghai Catholic Church founded the Tushanwan Art Museum, which held classes for parishioners. The teachers were Italian missionaries, who, among other things, talked about the traditions of European religious art. For the townspeople, this experience, which introduced them to Western painting, was the first ^{[2, p. 149]}.

In 1901, the World of Education magazine was founded in China, it began publishing articles about Western educational systems in the field of fine arts, techniques and materials used by European masters. In 1904, the Qing government promulgated the "Charter of the Zhou Ding School", according to which drawing and craft courses became compulsory subjects for schoolchildren and college students. More than 1,000 primary schools and 149 secondary education institutions operated in the city, where subjects in fine arts were taught. This innovation was most clearly introduced into the educational programs of the Chengzhong School, founded in 1899; the Yukai Secondary School, opened by a British businessman; the English missionary school Mellen College and the American missionary school of secondary education for girls. Until 1949, there were more than 40 public, private and ecclesiastical colleges and universities in Shanghai, which also taught the basics of artistic mastery. An association for the study of art was organized at the American Church University "Saint University" and this experience was picked up by many adherents of art, who created such well-known creative cooperatives as the Chengguan Art Association, the White Goose Painting Association, etc.

Aesthetic education of the population was named one of the five goals of national education and the youth of the city aimed at studying European artistic culture, mastering foreign languages, primarily Russian and Japanese, through which they could gain knowledge in the field of fine art. In 1907, the first art textbook in China was published, and in 1912, at the expense of Liu Haisu, a private Shanghai College of Fine Arts was opened – the first in China. His activity began with work in two directions – in drawing and general education subjects. In 1919, Cai Yuanpei, who had previously held the post of president of Peking University, became the director of the college. He, a well-known educator and philosopher in the country, invited patrons Liang Qichao, Yuan Sitao, Shen Enfu and Huang Yanpei to head the Board of Trustees of the institution. The founder of the college, Liu Haixu, began working as the dean. Such innovations gave a powerful impetus to development and allowed to involve the best teachers in Shanghai in the process, such as: as a politician and philosopher Kang Yuwei; politician, philosopher and writer Liang Qichao; literary critic, historian, public figure Guo Moruo; philosopher Lu Chen; philosopher, writer Hu Shi; writer Zhang Shizhao; poet, writer Xu Zhimo; poet Zhu Tianfan; specialist in Chinese literature Liu Rongchang; specialist in world literature Zhan Yiping. The basics of calligraphy in college were taught by Lu Fengzi, Li Jian, Ma Gongyu, Tang Yun; seal cutting – Wang Gezhen Fan Jiekang, Huang Xiaochi; Chinese painting – Li Baoquan, Zhu Wenyun, He Tianjin, Lai Chusheng, Zhang Yisheng, Pan Tianshou, Wu Fuzhi, Gu Kunbo, Zhu Lesan, Wang Shengyuan, Xie Gongzhan, Huang Binhong, as well as Gao Jianfu, Ye Gongchuo, Zhang Daqian, who studied in Japan. Chen Baoyi, Zhu Qizhan, Xie Haiyan, Wang were educated in the same country Yachen, Guan Liang, Ni Ide, Zhou Qinghao, Lu Husha, Jiang Danshu, who became teachers of Western painting. The latter also studied in Korea. The methods and techniques of European art were explained to college students by Jiang Zhaohe, Li Yishi, who studied in the UK and Li Chaoshi, who in addition to English training received knowledge in France. There, on the banks of the Seine River, they mastered the basics of Zhou art Bichu, At Fadin. Graduate of the University of Paris Fu Lay taught Western theory and art history, French. Pan Yuliang and Jiang Xiaoyu, who also studied in France, in addition to Western painting, explained the basics of sculpture to their students. A significant contribution to the educational process was made by Russian painters Vasily Stepanovich Podgursky and Stoibin (name unknown), Spanish Kanji artist, Japanese master Ishii Biting ^{[3, p. 390]}. The leading teachers of the college were Zhang Chenbo (sculpture), Zhou Sibao (drawing), as well as music teachers: He Lutin, Tang Shuzhen, Ding Shande, Ma Hong Kong, Wei Zhongle, Zheng Jinwen, Ouyang Yuqian, Huang Zi. The last of them was trained in the United States of America.

The variety of knowledge brought to Shanghai from all over the world allowed the college staff to maximize the professional arsenal of educational programs by including such subjects as anatomy, contemporary art, aesthetics, color studies, composition, philosophy of art, perspective, theory and history of domestic and foreign art, psychology, literature, foreign languages. In the synthesis of pedagogical approaches, Western and Eastern traditions of art, advanced techniques, a unique teaching model was created at the institution, aimed at the development of Chinese contemporary art, free from traditional dogmas. For example, the system of elective classes became very popular, according to which students themselves chose subjects from the proposed list and the teachers who conducted them. Moreover, students at their discretion determined teachers for the development of compulsory cycle disciplines.

In 1920, the college organized summer schools for the first time, where not only art lovers wanted to study, but also applicants who were preparing for entrance exams, students of art institutions who wanted to study additionally in the summer, drawing teachers of general education and drawing schools who considered it necessary to take advanced training courses. This experience turned out to be successful, in the summer the number of students reached 200 people. However, there were many more willing to study, so soon there was a set for correspondence education.

Continuous improvement of methodological systems allowed the college to become the country's leading educational institution in the field of fine arts, and in 1921 to change its status to the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts. Only graduates of schools whose educational cycle included artistic disciplines could become its students. The Academy has set a course for mass training of young artists who in the future could be involved in the development of the creative economy of the country. To successfully achieve this goal, patrons invested finances for the construction of new buildings of the institution ^{[4, p. 160]}, which eventually allowed expanding the list of specialties taught and introducing such subjects as: Chinese painting, Western painting, sculpture, design, music, decorative and applied arts, pedagogy in the field of art.

The range of educational and pedagogical problems solved in the classrooms of the Academy was also discussed on the pages of professional magazines that were published within the walls of the Academy, such as "Art", "Kongling", "Art Weekly", "Music Teacher's Friend", "Art Monthly", "World of Art", "Teaching Beauty" and so on. Teachers and students published articles in them. They also actively created creative collaborations, for example, the Western Painting Group, the first in China; the Oriental Painting Association; the Oriental Art Research Association; the Jiangsu Province Education Association; the Fine Arts Research Association; the Tianma Association; the Western painting Art group; the Chuenan Club; the Literary Painting Club, whose members mastered knowledge of Chinese and European culture. Student unions played an important role in the overall process, uniting young people in various fields – sports, music, theater ^[5], fine arts, such as the Te Liu Association for the Study of comic woodcuts.

The bright activity of the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts not only enriched the educational life of the city, but also trained a large number of professional artists who subsequently worked in all provinces of China. According to statistics, more than 1,760 people graduated from it from 1914 to 1937. The works of some of them are Liu Kang, Gao Hong, Mao Fei, Xu Beihong, Zhu Jinyun, Qi Zhang, Wang Ziyuan, Ye Zaizhen, Yang Quan, Xue Lanqi, Jin Lanxun, Wang Linyi, Wu Dayu, Wang Ziyun, Sha Qi,Yu Zhidao, Chen Gang, Feng Qishu, Yan Diren, Huang Chengfang, as well as the girls Pan Yuliang, Liu Wei, Rong Junli – were known not only in China, but also abroad.

The outstanding activity of the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts very quickly gained fame in the country and became an incentive for the opening of new institutions. In 1926, the Shanghai Xinhua Art College was founded, which included teachers of the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, who, working in realism, continued experiments on the integration of domestic and foreign art. Xu headed the college Lansi, an artist trained in Japan. He organized the work of four faculties, named "Chinese Painting", "European Painting", "Decorative and Applied" and "Musical Art". In 1944, the institution was closed for refusing to register in Japan and publish lists of teachers and students. And, nevertheless, over the 18 years of its work, the college has brought up a galaxy of bright artists, including such painters as Li Qingping, Wu Qingxia, Shen Tongheng, sculptor Zhang Chengren, musician Nie Er, etc.

In 1919, the Chinese Association of Aesthetic Education was established in Shanghai. This cooperation brought together teachers from all over the country who set themselves the task of developing art education at the state level. It was important for the members of the partnership to form a new view of society on life, replacing "the aesthetics of religion with the aesthetics of creativity" ^{[6, p. 481]}. This idea was central to the views of Cai Yuanpei, the Minister of Education of the Republic of China, which he defended in his work "Replacing Religion with aesthetic Education". Thanks to this attitude, the Chinese Association of Aesthetic Education insisted that the aesthetic training of children and youth was mandatory and included classes in drawing, needlework, music, literature, as well as gymnastics ^{[7, p. 5]}. The founders of the association were representatives of more than 10 educational institutions in Shanghai: Jiang Danshu, Zhou Liantang, Zhou Lingsun, Liu Haisu, Cai Xiaogu, Jin Mengzhou, Chen Mo, Zhang Gongbi, Chen Meng, Yu Zhaozhou, Hu Jichen, Xiao Tuigong, Liu Zhiping, Guo Boquan, Feng Jikai, Fu Yanchang, Wu Mengfei ^{[8, p. 89]}.

Simultaneously with the establishment of the Chinese Association of Aesthetic Education, the Shanghai Pedagogical School began operating in the city, specializing in the training of drawing teachers for primary and secondary schools. Its founders were graduates of the painting department of the Zhejiang Pedagogical School, Wu Mengfei, Liu Zhiping and Feng Jikai, who noticed a personnel shortage among drawing teachers, which was characteristic not only for Shanghai, but for the whole country. Wu Mengfei became the director of the school, who began the professional training of teachers with classes in painting, architecture, drawing, and music. Drawing teachers for two years made sketches, sketches, then wrote from nature. They mastered various techniques and technologies, worked in watercolor, pastel, charcoal, pencil, oil. They studied Western European art history, classical perspective, academic and decorative drawing, planar and spatial compositions, and also solved various creative tasks when writing productions. Attention was paid to working with clay, gypsum, wood, metal, straw, bamboo. Artists who soon became famous in the city passed through the training system at the Shanghai Pedagogical School: Le Fengzi, Wang Jiyuan, Wang Zhongshan, Li Chaoshi, Zhong Zitong and others.

In 1924, the Shanghai Pedagogical School was renamed first to the Shanghai Pedagogical School of Arts, and then, almost immediately, to the Shanghai Pedagogical University ^{[9, p. 491]}. In 1925, having merged with the Oriental Art School, founded in 1923, at the insistence of members of the Association for Oriental Art Studies, the school changed its status to the Shanghai University of Arts ^{[10, p. 37]}.

Wu Zhihui became the rector of the university, and Zhou Qinghao, who received a professional education at the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, was appointed his deputy. After returning to Shanghai from Japan, he taught at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts. Zhou Qinghao founded the Oriental Painting Research Association in 1922 and the Oriental Art Research Association in 1923. His active nature was actively involved in the work on the educational program of the university. He was at the origin of the opening of several departments – painting, music, design, literature, sculpture ^{[11, p. 127]}, which became part of the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Shanghai University of Arts. It was headed by Professor Hong Ye, a specialist in European painting, who had experience teaching at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts. The teaching staff of the faculty was very reputable, many of them studied abroad and had invaluable teaching experience, including at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts and other educational institutions of the city. For example, Chen Baoi was trained in Japan, where he mastered the basics of oil painting. His colleagues were Li Chaoshi, Qian Binhe, Feng Zikai, Chen Xiaojiang, Li Xiang, Huang Baowu, Chen Wangdao, Wang Laitian, Wu Mengfei, Vasily Stepanovich Podgorsky and others.

Teachers of the university taught novice artists oil painting, traditional Chinese painting, calligraphy, sculpture, aesthetics, the history of Chinese art, the history of world art and the history of Western European painting. Specialized subjects were supplemented with lectures on music history, literature, philosophy, and social sciences. Students were trained so that each of them set ambitious goals and had the knowledge and skills to implement them. The university continued the tradition of summer schools, started in 1920 by the Shanghai College of Fine Arts. Young people were happy to study in them, participated in forums, interest clubs, joined various unions and partnerships. The most popular associations were the Association for the Study of Painting and the Association of Graduates of Fine Arts. The latter was established by the first graduates of the university, who launched a lot of work to improve the status of their alma mater. They edited art textbooks for elementary and secondary schools, published quarterly magazines aimed at popularizing artistic creativity; were involved in organizing student exhibitions and summer schools. Thus, the state task of developing the educational system of China was solved, and this initiative was soon picked up by the Department of Fine Arts, which established the Tanmei Painting Association. Its goal was to develop artistic creativity, which included "the study of painting and the development of clear artistic thoughts and feelings of students" ^{[12, p. 233]}. A powerful student movement of various universities of the country began, which participated in the organization of charity city exhibitions in order to raise funds for the workers of the Celestial Empire.

In 1927, a counter-revolutionary coup took place in the metropolis, Shanghai University was closed. Despite the fact that the university did not work for long, and the number of graduates was 46 people, the education model developed within its walls gave invaluable experience for the subsequent scenario of art education in China. The philosophy of education, which was cultivated at the Shanghai University of Arts, contributed to the spread of new views in the development of culture, the implementation of bright creative ideas and the synthesis of various artistic traditions.

So, summing up the research, we formulate the following conclusions. Firstly, Shanghai in the first quarter of the XX century became a "pioneer" in the formation of the country's modern art education system, even ahead of Harbin city in this process, which was also distinguished by initiative, responsiveness to innovative ideas and a tendency to synthesize various artistic traditions and schools. Under the influence of Western culture, Shanghai's creative education has undergone profound transformations in a very short period of time, changing the artistic life of the country, bringing genre, thematic, technological diversity into it, expanding the palette of the visual and expressive language of art.

Secondly, it was in Shanghai that educational institutions were opened, which soon, due to the innovation of educational programs, overcame the limits of their own status. An example is the activity of the Shanghai College of Fine Arts, which in 1921 was already working under an academic banner. Teachers of Shanghai Xinhua Art Academy, Shanghai Demonstration School, Chinese Art Academy, Shanghai Higher Academy of Fine Arts, Changming Art Academy, Art Department of Shanghai University joined the work of the renovated institution. Their skill, including pedagogical, was known not only in the country, but also abroad. In 1952, the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, having merged with several universities, began to operate as the Nanjing College of Arts, and since 1959 – the Nanjing Academy of Arts, which is still operating today. Thus, the main feature of the scenario of art education formed in Shanghai at the beginning of the XX century was the cooperation of resources, which manifested itself in the second half of the last century, becoming an important characteristic of the national vocational training in the field of fine arts.

Thirdly, the rise of Shanghai art in the first half of the XX century was due to the concentration of a large number of young artists in it, many of whom were educated abroad. They worked not only in the middle and higher levels, but also in drawing schools, which opened in Shanghai in large numbers. Thanks to the press, the townspeople learned about admission to the School of Painting and music (1907), the Songjiang Women's Art School, the Songhu Women's Art School (1909) and others. In 1910 , Zhou Xiang founded the correspondence School of Chinese and Western Painting, as well as the Institute of Comprehensive Education, which included classes in fine arts. In 1911, he promoted the opening of the Shanghai Academy of Oil Painting. Soon, private training centers and studios created by painters, such as the art class "Drawing Friends", Ranyin Studio and others, were actively involved in the educational process in the field of fine arts. However, despite the mass nature of such initiatives and their social relevance, the work in them was unstable: students attended such "circles" haphazardly, there was a turnover among teachers, there were no educational programs, and the founders tried not to register their activities in the city department of education.

And yet, even in this, the most problematic link of the general educational chain, there were absolutely unique institutions. For example, the private studio "Studio Chongren", founded by Zhang Chongren, who was educated in Belgium. At this school, students received knowledge in the field of painting and sculpture at a level that corresponded to the best European educational institutions. Young people from all over the world studied in Zhang Chongren's studio. Among his students, who numbered more than 300 people, the most famous artists were Yang Yuren and Qiu Ruimin. Today, master Zhang Chunren is considered one of the founders of modern Chinese sculpture.

Thus, the artistic forces concentrated in Shanghai in the first quarter of the last century, possessing a high level of concentration of professional knowledge, initiative, willingness to experiment, development and cooperation, formed the scenario for the development of fine art in China, and influenced the formation of its image of the XXI century.