ABSTRACT
Reforms in Chinese art, along with reforms in language and education, became key for the Ministry of Education at the start of the twentieth century after the fall of the Manchu Qing empire. As Minister of Education, Cai Yuanpei 蔡元培 (1868–1940) pressed for a broad and interlinked approach. A visionary and one of the nation’s most influential thinkers in this period, Cai Yuanpei paid special attention to art. Like many others, he wanted to achieve social change through the aesthetic education of the general population. Unlike others, however, he was in a position to initiate measures to advance art as a state project, to institutionalise modern art practice and education, and to support individual talents. The story of art reforms in China in the early decades of the twentieth century is the story of Cai Yuanpei’s vision, courage and leadership. Subsequent developments discussed in this book were all in one way or another related to his efforts. Chapter 1 outlines the process by which art in China was transformed: its conception, beginnings, development, implementation and consequences.
