Anna Zhao

    Anna.whizh@yahoo.com

    PAINTINGS may not be as faithful as photographs and films when showing old life, but the three handscrolls on a yearlong exhibit on the second floor of Guan Shanyue Art Museum in Futian District definitely are a mirror of Chinese people’s life more than half a century ago.

    The three handscrolls, created in the 1950s, are treasured collections at China’s top art museums as similar works are scarce in China. In the company of a number of historical manuscripts, photos and videos, they offer a panoramic view of the lives of ordinary people in rural areas of China.

    Handscroll is a long narrow scroll that presents an artwork in the horizontal form. Originated from ancient Chinese text documents, a handscroll has a backing of protective and decorative silk with a small title label on it. The front of a scroll usually consists of a frontispiece on the right side, the artwork itself in the middle, and a colophon panel on the left side with various inscriptions. The right side of the scroll, where the frontispiece is located, is known as the “heaven.” Vertical strips are used to separate the different sections.

    “Flood-prevention in Wuhan” created by Li Xiongcai in 1956, is a collection from the National Art Museum of China.

    The scroll, measured at 27.88 meters long, delineates the scenes of people working to safeguard their homes, and conducting relief work when a huge flood hit Wuhan, a city in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, in 1954.

    Li, then a local college art professor who participated in fighting the flood, recorded with his brush the scenes of damage and the people’s persistent spirit in the face of natural disaster.

    Li, a master painter of Lingnan School, presented a vivid picture with smooth lines and skillful configuration of landscapes and people.

    “The Spring in Beijing” is a 45.6-meter scroll created in 1959 by six artists from Beijing Art Museum. It offers a panoramic view of the capital with its famous landscapes and landmarks on the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

    Curator Chen Xiangbo, who is also the president of Guan Shanyue Art Museum, said the exhibition aims to explore art development in a particular social environment through sociological and iconological perspectives.

    Dates: Until June 1, 2017

    Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

    Metro: Longhua or Longgang Line, Children’s Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit B