Xie Zhiliu (; 1910–1997) was a leading traditional painter,

calligrapher Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

, and art

connoisseur A connoisseur (French traditional, pre-1835, spelling of , from Middle-French , then meaning 'to be acquainted with' or 'to know somebody/something') is a person who has a great deal of knowledge about the fine arts; who is a keen appreciator o ...

of modern China. He was a noted member of the Shanghai School of art. Xie and his wife Chen Peiqiu are one of the most famous couples in Chinese art. The government of

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

has opened a museum in Nanhui New City dedicated to them.

Biography

Born Xie Zhi (谢稚) in Wujin (now part of

Changzhou Changzhou ( Changzhounese: ''Zaon Tsei'', ) is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provin ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

province in 1910, Xie went by his

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theob ...

Zhiliu. He also used the

art name An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ''ho'' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by East Asian artists, poets and writers. The ...

Zhuangmusheng (壮暮生) in his later life. Xie began learning to paint at the age of nine, and received an education according to the Chinese artistic tradition, which is a combination of drawing directly from life and copying the paintings of old masters. At the age of 19 he began to emulate the style of

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

master

Chen Hongshou Chen Hongshou (1598–1652), formerly romanized as Ch'en Hung-shou, was a Chinese painter of the late Ming dynasty. Life Chen was born in Zhuji, Zhejiang province in 1598, during the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhanghou (章侯), and hi ...

. In the 1930s Xie Zhiliu befriended the famous painter

Zhang Daqian Chang Dai-chien or Zhang Daqian (; 10 May 1899 – 2 April 1983) was one of the best-known and most prodigious Chinese artists of the twentieth century. Originally known as a '' guohua'' (traditionalist) painter, by the 1960s he was also renowned ...

. In 1942 Xie went to Dunhuang with Zhang to study the art of the

Mogao Caves The Mogao Caves, also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes or Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, form a system of 500 temples southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu p ...

. After returning he published several books including ''Records of Dunhuang Art'' () and ''Compilation of Dunhuang Cave Art'' (). In 1943, Xie was hired as an art professor by the National Central University (now Nanjing University), then exiled in Chongqing during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

. He held personal exhibitions in many Chinese cities including

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese pro ...

, Chongqing, Kunming,

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...

, and

. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, he worked on cultural relic preservation, and served as a consultant for the Shanghai Museum and vice chairman of the Shanghai branch of the

China Artists Association The China Artists Association (), originally the China National Art Workers' Association (), is the official national association of Chinese artists, with its headquarters in Beijing. It was established in July 1949, with Xu Beihong as its first c ...

Museum collections

Xie Zhiliu's works are in the collection of the

National Art Museum of China The National Art Museum of China (NAMOC, ) is located at 1 Wusi Ave, Dongcheng District, Beijing, People's Republic of China. It is one of the largest art museums in China, and is funded by the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of Chin ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, and he is one of the seven artists featured in the Exhibition for Noted Painters at the

China Art Museum The China Art Museum, also called the China Art Palace (; Shanghainese: ''Zongwu Nyizeh Ghon'') or its original name, Shanghai Art Museum, is a museum of modern Chinese art located in Pudong, Shanghai. The museum is housed in the former China ...

in Shanghai. He donated many artworks to his hometown Changzhou, which established the Xie Zhiliu Art Gallery in the Changzhou Museum in 1992. In 2010, the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

held an exhibition of around 150 of his works donated by his daughter Sarah Shay, commemorating his 100th birthday. Xie Zhiliu's wife Chen Peiqiu is also a well-known artist. In 2015, the Shanghai municipal government opened the Xie Zhiliu and Chen Peiqiu Art Gallery in Nanhui New City,

Pudong Pudong is a district of Shanghai located east of the Huangpu, the river which flows through central Shanghai. The name ''Pudong'' was originally applied to the Huangpu's east bank, directly across from the west bank or Puxi, the historic cit ...

, in honour of the artist couple.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xie, Zhiliu 1910 births 1997 deaths Republic of China painters Republic of China calligraphers People's Republic of China calligraphers Academic staff of Nanjing University Educators from Changzhou Painters from Changzhou People from Wujin District