Peking University, Oct. 22, 2012: To enhance students’ appreciation of arts and promote the art education at Peking University (PKU), the opening ceremony of a campus landscape painting exhibition was held in the exhibition hall of PKU library on Oct. 16.

The exhibition displayed over 100 paintings by PKU alumnus Chen Taiping, whose paintings mainly embody the academic atmosphere andspectacular glamour of PKU and many world-class universities, by depicting the marvelous landscape of their campuses.

As a graduate from Tsinghua University who later worked at PKU, Mr. Chen Taiping successfully combined in his paintings the skills and inspiration he had acquired from the two universities respectively. He employed Chinese classical painting techniques in combination with modern architecture theories, thoroughly depicting the campus culture of PKU and world top universities statically and dynamically. Although he has been in USA for decades, his paintings are brimming with his love for PKU and China.

"As one of the most prestigious universities in China, PKU needs to shoulder more responsibilities in introducing the Chinese culture to the world, especially at a time when China is becoming increasingly influential in the international arena”, says Chen. From his perspective, PKU is the pioneer of Chinese modern culture as well as the backbone of culture inheritance, which requires its endeavor to level up to top universities and dedication to the rejuvenation of China. Besides, to compare PKU with the esteemed universities such as Harvard, Oxford and Stanford, the paintings showed his expectation for it and the deep and extensive connotations its spirits bear.

Dean of PKU School of Arts, Wang Yichuan delivered a speech at the opening ceremony. He said that "Artistic creation can propel theoretical development. Therefore introducing different forms of arts is beneficial to our students, who focus on research on art history and theories.” He hoped that this exhibition could contribute to the art education in PKU and the students’ future development. He also expressed his confidence in a brand new vision that Chen’s paintings would bring to all PKUers.

Two of Chen’s paintings were adopted by the National Library of China earlier and the certificate was granted on the ceremony. Postcards with Chen’s paintings on them were also given as a gift to all the guests presented.

Written by: Li Chiyang
Edited by: Xu Xinyi
Source: http://pkunews.pku.edu.cn/xywh/2012-10/18/content_254753.htm