Lecture Topic

Zheng Banqiao Under the Eight Eccentrics’ Words

Lecture Time

April 30, 2024, 10:00 a.m.

Lecture Location

Academic Lecture Hall of the Eight Great Mountains Man Memorial Museum

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Speaker

He Wanli

Doctor of Fine Arts, scholar of art history, art critic, and landscape painter. Formerly served as a professor at the key post of Yangzhou University, leader of the key discipline in fine arts, a professor of the third rank, and a graduate supervisor. Also served as a correspondence reviewer for the National Social Science Fund and the Ministry of Education’s social science planning projects. Previously held the positions of Dean of the School of Fine Arts and Design at Yangzhou University and Director of the Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics Research Institute at Yangzhou University; currently serves as Honorary President of the Qing Dynasty Yangzhou Painting School Research Association. Member of the Chinese Artists Association, Vice Chairman of the Art Education Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial Artists Association, and Vice Chairman of the Yangzhou Artists Association.

He has published more than ten books, including “The Eternal Avant-Garde: Reflections and Critiques on Modern Chinese Art,” “A History of Contemporary Chinese Installation Art,” “Who Is Pretending to Be Cultured?” “A History of Yangzhou Art,” “A Study on the Confucianization of Chinese Painting,” “An Overview of Research on the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou,” and “Research on the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou: Advancing Beyond Regional Paradigms.” He has also published over a hundred critical essays and articles.

Lecture Content

The Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics were a group of literati and painters from all over China who were active in Yangzhou during the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong reigns. Among them, Zheng Banqiao was the leading figure. Of the 15 households comprising the Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics, Banqiao was renowned for his "three masterpieces"—poetry, calligraphy, and painting—as well as for his "three extraordinary qualities"—thought, writing, and artistic creation. He excelled in every aspect: his dedication to public service, his literary and artistic works—including poetry, prose, music, and drama—his innovations in calligraphy and painting, his artistic philosophies, his interpersonal interactions, and his moral integrity and character. As such, he became the quintessential representative of the Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics. His ideas on integrity and closeness to the people have been praised by state leaders throughout history. Without Zheng Banqiao, we simply cannot imagine today’s Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics.

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