Liu Jintang

Liu Jintang (March 8, 1894 – March 15, 1937), also known as Wang Yuezhi and originally styled Yuezhi, was a native of Taichung, Taiwan. He was a watercolorist, oil painter, and Teacher, and is regarded as one of the pioneers of Chinese art in early modern China.

History Liu Jintang was born in Dingqiaozitou, Taichung County, Qing Taiwan (now Dingnan Village, South District, Taichung City), as the third of four brothers. His family originally ran a rice business, but due to the upheavals of war, their fortunes declined, and they moved to the countryside to take up farming. After graduating from the branch campus of Taichung Public School (now ), Liu was admitted to the Normal Department of the Governor-General’s (present-day University of Taipei). In 1914, he graduated as an outstanding student in the field of art and was awarded a government scholarship to study in mainland Japan. Upon passing the scholarship examination, he first enrolled at the to study drawing. He later passed the entrance exam to the Western Painting Division of the Tokyo Fine Arts School (now Tokyo University of the Arts), where he studied under renowned masters such as Fujishima Takeji. He also established the "Apollo Art Research Institute," where he taught Western painting techniques and knowledge during summer sessions. In 1925, due to personnel changes, both the Apollo Society and the Art Research Institute were dissolved. Subsequently, Liu collaborated with painter He Tianjian and others to raise funds for the establishment of the private Beiping Academy of Fine Arts. He relocated to a three-story building in the Ping'anli area of today Beijing's Xicheng District, which served as the school’s premises and student dormitory. At the same time, he was commissioned by the Ministry of Education of the Beijing government to travel to Japan as an education inspector to study art education, and he took the opportunity to visit Taiwan for further research. Later, Liu served as an advisor to the Overseas Chinese Affairs Bureau in Beijing and co-founded the "Taiwan Research Association" with several Taiwanese compatriots, serving as its president. Taiwanese Survivors, and Diary of an Exile.

In 1932, Liu Jintang reestablished the Private Beiping Academy of Fine Arts in today Xicheng District, which was later renamed the Beiping Academy of Fine Arts. In 1934, the institution received official recognition from the Ministry of Education and was reorganized as the Private Beijing Vocational School of Arts. Beginning in 1978, Liu Yì started organizing his father's works and related materials. He also wrote a piece of literary reportage titled Portrait of the Abandoned, which was published in the 7th issue of Beijing Literature and Art in 1979, drawing public attention. This provided an opportunity for him to establish connections with the art community in Taiwan.

In 1982, the 12th issue of Fine Arts magazine published an article and related records commemorating the 45th anniversary of Liu Jintang’s death. In the same year, Liu Jintang’s family donated more than 40 of his preserved works to the National Art Museum of China. In 1994, to mark the centennial of Liu Jintang’s birth, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum held a memorial exhibition titled The Centennial Retrospective of Liu Jintang.

The Second Creative Period (1928–1929) is regarded as a pivotal stage in Liu’s artistic development. Representative works from this period include Swallows in Flight, Double Seventh Festival, and Watering the Seedlings of Love. He also produced a substantial number of landscape paintings centered on West Lake. His format shifted from traditional horizontal oil paintings to vertically oriented compositions resembling Chinese hanging scrolls. During this time, he employed black oil lines for outlining and adopted Chinese mounting techniques for presentation, reflecting a synthesis of Eastern and Western aesthetics.