内容提要

艺术与历史同行 谭天 历史是个巨大的谜团，大至100亿光年远的宇宙星球，小至百米世界纪录的9.8秒，都留下人类发现与创造的痕迹。新中国的历史已近60年，可谓“弹指一挥间”，伴随这60年成长的艺术家都百感交集，他们或多或少都参与过新中国60年发展历程中的某个历史事件，不由自主地让自展开

艺术与历史同行 谭天 历史是个巨大的谜团，大至100亿光年远的宇宙星球，小至百米世界纪录的9.8秒，都留下人类发现与创造的痕迹。新中国的历史已近60年，可谓“弹指一挥间”，伴随这60年成长的艺术家都百感交集，他们或多或少都参与过新中国60年发展历程中的某个历史事件，不由自主地让自己的艺术伴随历史同行，从幼稚到成熟，从学生到专家。在“首届生”展中亮相的李行简、邵增虎、郝鹤君、洪耀、潘行健五位艺术家自然也在新中国美术历史中行进，分享历史赋予的责任和光荣。 一、“首届生”的意义 “首届”本身就是一个闪耀着历史光芒的名词，它以一个代数词的身份标示着历史事件的开端与发韧，是某一历史序列的起源。“首届生”则是指学校的第一届新生或第一届毕业生。本次展览的“首届生”则专指广州美术学院附中第一届毕业生和以广州美术学院名义招收的第一届新生。参展的李行简等五人都是广州美术学院附中的第一届毕业生。除李行简考到中央美术学院以外，其余四人又都是广州美术学院成立以来正式招收的第一届本科学生。 新中国的美术教育是从1953年起进入正规化建设的时期。“共和国建立之初，西方资本主义国家对中国实行封锁，我国则实施‘一边倒’的政策，向社会主义的苏联和东欧国家学习是当时仅存的条件。我国美术教育的正规化，基本上采用了苏联美术教育的模式，参考苏联美术学校的教学大纲，并按照苏联制度建设美院附中。”[1]中央美术学院是1953年成立了附属中等美术学校，同年还有东北的鲁迅美术学院和西北的西安美术学院也相继成立了附中。广州美术学院与浙江美术学院、四川美术学院等是1954年第二批成立美院附中的。由关山月副院长兼任附中校长，副校长为谭雪生与张信让。附中每年招40位初中毕业生，学制为四年。《附属中等美术学校1954年招生简章》的“第一条，方针与任务”明确写道：“旨在选拔具有美术天赋与发展前途的初中毕业生入学。培养学生具有普通高中的文化程度，确立为人民服务的人生观，体格强健，并能掌握美术理论基本常识与技术基础，使之具备高等美术学校的入学条件，得以进入中南美术专科学校继续深造。”[2]草创时期的美院附中倒是很有几分质朴的自信，到今天就是招收学习美术的大学本科生，甚至招收学习美术的硕士研究生，招生简章也不敢确定招收的学生“具有天赋与发展前途”。可见当时美院附中自视甚高，也正是这种自视，成了后来“文化大革命”整顿附中的理由。1974年全国美院恢复招生，当时主管文化工作的负责人，就因为反对培养所谓的“小天才”，武断地将美院附中取消。至于是不是“小天才”，是不是“具有天赋和发展前途”，我们放在下文讨论，倒是根据当年“文化部《艺术教育座谈会纪要》中艺术人才必须从小培养的先进经验，各艺术院校创办附属中等学校，为大学培养合格的后备生”[3]的初衷，以及当时《招生简章》中许诺的“使之具备高等美术学校的入学条件”，是基本兑现了。广美附中首届招生40人，首届毕业的是33人，其中23人直升广州美术学院本科，4人考入中央美术学院和中央工艺美院，其余人则参加了工作。也就是说从美院附中毕业的首届生有80%的同学后来都升了美院本科，继续深造。这也是全国其他美院附中首届生和从1953年以来历届附中毕业生的基本升学率。换句话说，中国的八大美术学院的附中50多年来为中国的美术队伍输送了数万名美术人才，对中国美术的发展起到了不可低估的作用。更加详细地和深入研究中国的美院附中的教育和学生毕业后的状况，无疑对研究新中国美术的发展起到重要的作用，这也是这次举办“首届生”展览的初衷和意义。 二、“首届生”教学模式的特性 “三岁小孩百岁魂”。新中国一整套崭新的教育模式是从美院附中“首届生”开始的教育模式中发展出来的。新中国美术专业教育模式的确立是对美院附中教育模式的吸收、放大、改进、深化和完善，或者说，附中美术教育是大学美术教育的试验田。新中国美术教育模式是从附中美术“试验田”到大学美术教育“大田”的逐步推广的过程，这个过程是同步的，大学与附中的影响是相互的和潜移默化的。然而附中美术教育模式的制度化先于大学美术教育是比较明显的，这是历史造成的，新中国美术教育伴随革命历史前行。中国的大学专业美术教育并不是从1949年才开始的。国内俗称的“八大美院”，个个都有一段不平凡不简单的创建前史。 中央美术学院是在原国立北平艺术美术系和华北大学三部美术系的基础上发展建立的。 中国美术学院（浙美）的前身是原国立艺术院、国立杭州艺术专科学校。 四川美术学院是在原四川省立艺术专科学校和西北人民艺术学院第二部的基础上发展建立的。 广州美术学院是在原广州市立美术学校、广西艺术专科学校、武昌艺术专科学校基础上合并发展建立的。 西安美术学院的前身是1948年在晋绥解放区成立的西北艺术学校及其美术系。 鲁迅美术学院的前身最革命，是创立于1938年的延安鲁迅美术学院。 天津美术学院是从民国初年中等师范美术教育开始的，建校时期更长，更曲折。 罗列“八大美院”的创建前史，只想说明一个问题，就是在1953年以前中国的美术教育机构还没有统一制度化。1953年以前，新中国开国之初，对内解放战争在全国处于“收官”阶段，开展了各种政治运动，对外进行了抗美援朝斗争。在这种历史情景之下，新中国美术教育制度的建设还未走入正轨。从“八大美院”的校史资料的阅读中，我们可以了解到当时大学美术教育的一些基本情况：一、学制不定，有的学校为二年三年，有的则为四年。二、科目不统一。诸如，绘画科、雕塑科、陶瓷科、图案科、实用美术系、工艺美术系、师范系、国画系、西画系等等。各学科名称不一，教学内容也各有出入。三、师资流动性强，教师专业教学跨行跨系。四、教学方法多样，留日、留法、留英和本土教师的教学各自为政。教学内容随意性强，全国高等院校美术本科毕业生专业水平没有较为一致的评价标准与体系。假设这种美术教育的原生态状态，任其自由的发展和竞争，或许新中国美术的现况会呈现另外一种健康的局面。但是历史没有假设，到了1953年，抗美援朝战争的胜利使国内外形势发生了很大变化，国家开始实行发展国民经济的第一个五年计划。****主席提出了过渡时期的总路线，当时，新中国的定位是共产党领导的无产阶级专政的社会主义国家，国家意志不容许不为政治服务的艺术存在。何况建国之初，西方资本主义国家对中国实行封锁，我国则实施“一边倒”的政策，向社会主义的苏联和东欧国家学习是当时仅存的国际条件。按照苏联美术大学模式改造中国的美术大学，成为教育管理者最佳的选择。“改造”还必须顾及到原有的基础，而按照苏联制度创建的美院附中，则没有历史的负担和旧的教学模式，基本上采用了苏联美术教育的模式，复制了苏联美术学校的教学大纲，为新中国的美术教育的制度化和正规化起到播种和奠基的作用。 新中国美术教育模式有三个主要的特征： 1、从1953年开始，中国美术教育的艺术理念，确立了革命现实主义不可动摇的主导地位，美术创作的题材内容主要集中在两个方面，其一是反映共产党领导下的中国人民为革命前赴后继、英勇斗争的历史事迹。其二是歌颂工农兵的崇高品质和在社会主义建设中的劳动热情和幸福生活。“首届生”展中的五位艺术家早期有影响的作品，其题材内容都没有脱离这一理念。 2、在艺术表现上则是“以素描为基础”的写实主义。苏联在素描教学上有一个完整体系，从课程设置，教学要求，直至作画工具，全从美院附中首届生开始作为规范加以推行。当时苏联列宾美术学院的优秀素描作品已经作为广州美院附中首届生学习的示范作品。实事求是地评价契氏素描教学法，有正负两方面的影响。正面影响是契氏素描教学法具有科学性、系统性，使学生的造型能力得到提高，特别是为今后的现实主义的创作打下了深厚的写实基本功，这一影响也在首届生们一生的创作过程中得到体现。中国美术界目前崇尚写实作品和有较强的写实功力，就与从附中美术教育抓写实素描开始分不开。负面影响是契式素描从客观上排斥了1953年存在于中国各学院的法式和日式等素描表现方法，使整个素描教学形成单一化的局面，过分地强调写实，使中国美术创作或多或少产生了自然主义倾向。而这一点是直到近十年来才被真正作为负面影响，而被从“首届生”以来的美术家所深切认识，使“首届生”越到晚年的作品，越远离单一的写生和自然主义倾向。这是评论“首届生”艺术发展时不可不重视的艺术时代背景。 3、在艺术教学实践方法论的层面上，从1953年起，国家开始实行发展国民经济的第一个五年计划。文化部对美术学院提出要继续贯彻美术教育与社会实践相结合的方针，而这种方针是延安鲁艺与苏联教学模式两方面长处的兼收并蓄。强调课堂素描教学外，增加了创作速写课，并在每学年当中拿出一个多月时间下乡、下厂，深入生活。当时上山下乡是要求与村民“三同”，同吃、同住、同劳动，同学们有时是分散住到农户家，平时还帮农户挑水、扫院子，帮助老乡干活，参加生产劳动。广州美术学院附中的首届生从1954年开始，四年中，他们到了湖北罗田县叶家河、湖南衡山和湖北麻城丁家坂等地。在他们出版的《美的怀念》中，留下许多在乡下体验生活、参加劳动以及和“三同户”一家老小的合影，成为“首届生”在附中紧张学习、愉快生活的见证。至今“上山下乡、深入生活”仍旧是全中国美术院校附中和本科学生的必修课程。这一种美术教育模式，为新中国美术工作者的成才奠定了一个特殊的有中国特色的基础，这在此以后的几十年的美术创作中发挥着极具决定性的影响。 三、“首届生”成才的启示 在中国衡量一所中学的成才率，就是看该中学升大学的升学率。单就这一点美院附中的成才率是其他普通中学不可比拟的，因为学院附中从一开始就明确培养目标是为本学院输送人才。前面提到80%的附中毕业生都可考上美院本科，令其他普通中学羡慕不已，至今，“考上附中就等于考上美院”，仍旧在许多初中爱好美术的学生中流传，考美院附中每年都是热门话题。这也是有“中国特色”的教育现象。 “首届生”往往是幸运的，广州美术学院附中的首届生有23人直升学院本科。1958年也正好是广州美术学院正式成立，他们又有幸成为以广州美术学院名义招收的首届大学生（在他们之前的学长是以中南美专的名义入校的）。上世纪50年代到60年代的大学美术教育的特性就不再累述了，除了分科分专业以外，总的教育模式只是附中教育模式的重复和深化。经常听到升入大学的附中学生头两年抱怨，在大学学的，在附中都学过了。说这话虽然太笼统、太片面，但也道出了部分实情。为什么有些读完附中就中断了大学学习的人，后来在美术创作事业方面同样取得瞩目的成绩，除开这些人个人的奋斗努力，或许也与附中的美术教育的知识基本完备有关。 作为首届广美大学生的经历由于以上的原因，本文就轻易跳过去了，升大学并不是附中学生成才的终极指标。“首届生”成不成才，主要还是看他们走向社会的专业表现。应该说参加本次展览的五位“首届生”，很早就在艺术创作上交出了令人满意的答案。 邵增虎的《螺号响了》《农机专家之死》《在延安的日子》《任弼时》等一批代表作被中国美术馆和广东美术馆收藏，并列入多种代表中国20世纪油画艺术水平的作品专集，和中学大学等各个层次的美术教科书之中。作为一名中国人民解放军的军旅画家，在中国美术界有着广泛的影响。 潘行健的黑白木刻《啊！大海》《土地》，木版水印《椰林深处》《水乡世家》，木版油印套色《山城印象》等，多次参加全国美展、全国版画展和许多国际性及区域性展览。毕业留校后，他长期从事高等美术教育，并担任广州美术学院副院长主持教学科研工作。 洪耀，在广美附中的大名是洪耀华，读附中时有一段传奇：1957年，苏联著名油画家马克西莫夫在中国开班教学期间，观看了当时中国美院附中的学生作品，他表扬肯定的两幅画，就是洪耀的线描习作。关山月认为洪耀线条好，应报考国画系。1958年洪耀升入广州美院中国画系继续学习。大学二年级又有一张课堂素描人物入选全国美展，洪耀自己总结说：这是由于苏式素描结合中国画的一些技法的结果。大学毕业后，他当过美工，教过书，作品《添新书》《紫秋》《步步歌》等受到关注。 李行简，在附中首届生中是佼佼者，放弃直升广州美术学院的机会，考上中央美术学院，师从李可染专攻水墨山水，是“李家山水”的大弟子。1963年毕业留校任教，曾任中央美术学院中国画系山水画室主任教授。代表作品有《井冈激流》《江城春雨》《秋红时节》《蕉香千里》《知春亭》《大江东去》《峡江金秋》等等。 郝鹤君与李行简一样，读大学是学习中国画，在广州美院绘画风格师承岭南的黎雄才、关山月。1987年调回广州美院任教，为中国画系教授。代表作品有《河沿风云》《春雨催人忙》《荣睿碑亭》《壶口瀑布》《日月潭》等。 综观他们五位艺术家前期的绘画风格，基本没有脱离附中和美院专业教育的影响。他们取得的艺术成就，基本是附中和美院艺术教育的成果。在艺术理念上是革命现实主义，关心时局，参酌造化，富有时代气息。在创作技法上则是注重写生，追求造型准确，画中物象贴近自然，画风质朴。应该说从整体上代表他们那一代人的艺术风貌和精神风貌。 纵览新中国60年的美术历史止步，“首届生”们凭借他们取得的赫赫的成绩，已可在新中国美术史占有应得的地位。然而，洪耀他们并不满足于此，并不止步如斯。真正艺术家的骨子里随时都有追赶历史的原始冲动。恰逢其时的中华民族的伟大复兴的潮流，拍打和推动着艺术家实现自己抱负的雄心。反对死守传统，反对人云亦云，年届古稀的“首届生”，聊发少年狂，又回到他们附中时代求学的精神状态，各有别出心裁的创作冲动。 洪耀从1981年就开始展出“弹线”作品，他的弹线艺术的工具是中国木匠画直线的墨斗。洪耀弹出的各色线条，从水墨到油彩，从具象到抽象，从形式到观念，弹在画面、器物、建筑、人体，甚至水面上，离经叛道，给人意想不到的惊喜，受到诸多艺评家的好评。他的挚友彭德一语中的：“洪耀的弹线系列作品，既是对经典画法的解构，又是一种新画风的建构。” 邵增虎以创作现实主义人物画成名，转而从事油画风景画创作。在对油画色彩的长期研究中，他形成了自己带有个性的色调和技法。他擅长运用油画色彩的可塑性，用重重叠叠的油彩颗粒，分割物象，使其只有远观才能成像。在对色彩的分割重组和局部放大的过程中，邵增虎在他自己创造的色彩和画面的牵引下，一步一步地走向抽象。在“首届生”展览中邵增虎展出的是一批以石头为素材的作品，画家独具慧眼从石头的纹理中发现了大千世界。不同质地、不同纹理、不同形状、不同色彩的石头，使邵增虎的这批首先从具象到抽象，冲破自己以往熟悉的具象的藩蓠，然后又从抽象返回意象，拉近与观众的艺术距离，重返“似与不似之间”的审美情趣之中。 潘行健这次展出的作品与他老同学印象中过去那种高度写实具象的作品相去甚远，但他这种大跨度的改变，是一个渐变的过程。他这批作品的前奏曲是《立交》，城市的现代化，立交桥的出现和高速公路的建设是具有标志性的。由于立交桥和高速公路是几何构成的结构，画家如实地描绘这些几何形构成的形体和直线，阴影和光线变化，就自然而然带有抽象的意味并不自觉地继续向抽象靠拢。在文学创作中，小说家都谈到，他们自己创作的文学形象，到一定火候往往会自动产生顺从逻辑推理的行为，将作家引导到意想不到的作品结尾。我将这一艺术创作过程称之为“艺术对艺术家的牵引”，前面提到邵增虎有这种现象，潘行健的黑白木刻版画也同样出现这种现象。从现实的抽象到抽象的艺术，一个辛勤的艺术家在持续的创作会从渐悟到顿悟，进而升入到一个更高的艺术境界。 李行简和郝鹤君从事的是中国山水画的创作，他们在艺术上受到严格的双重限制，一是材料上的，必须是宣纸、水墨；一是题材上的，必须是自然山水。无论怎样创新，都不能离开这两个基准点，否则就不成其为中国山水画。因此他们创作思路是使经典的更经典，使传统的更传统。具体到作品画面，其一就是用中国山水画经典的构成原则再现当代的大自然，其二就是在当代的光影世界中锤炼中国传统的笔墨技法。越近晚年，李行简、郝鹤君的作品幅度越来越大，气象越来越开阔，笔墨越来越深厚老辣。从“李家山水”“黎家山水”，观众还可以感受到他们共同参与创造的“新山水画”，乘风破浪，随中国发展的历史潮流迎面而来。 在细细地阅读李行简、邵增虎、郝鹤君、洪耀、潘行健出版的各种画册中，在走访他们绘画工作室的过程中，笔者亲身感受到他们精神状态的活跃与奔放，感受到他们蓬勃的艺术生机，他们的心理年龄仿佛还停留在美院附中年代，年青时代求学的趣闻趣事和天马行空的创作冲动，经常还挂在他们嘴边。青少年时代的附中美术教育潜移默化的影响了他们的一生，仍旧是他们艺术生命的底色。记得十年前，一个朋友的孩子初中毕业就考上省重点高中和广美附中征求我的意见，问我上哪所学校为好，我建议他上美院附中。理由是，在中国目前的中学教育中，美院附中的高中教育是最接近世界先进教育的要求和标准。目前国内高中的应试教育，死记硬背，长时间课堂学习和无休止补课，不间断的小考、中考、模拟考，基本扼杀了青少年本来天生具有的想象力和创造力，造成了成绩好，能力差的恶性局面。相对而言，只有美院附中，还保留上山下乡，户外写生的方式，让青少年广泛的接触大自然，接触社会，接触中国农村的最底层，还在尊重学生的兴趣爱好，保护他们的创造活力和艺术天赋。过去从美院附中毕业的学生，即算将来不当艺术家，也都在各行各业干得有声有色。只可惜往昔胜景已成追忆，欣慰的是“首届生”展的老艺术家用他们的一生证明了美院附中教育的得失与成败，是今后美院附中长期办学的重要参考。他们的成功显示了新中国艺术与新中国历史同步前行的踪迹，突显了艺术自身发展的逻辑和魅力：只要艺术紧随历史，艺术在一个新历史中必将产生新的成就。 注释： [1] 李树声.中央美术学院简史.中华人民共和国文化部教育科技司编.中国高等艺术院校简史集.浙江美术学院出版 社,1991:81. [2]广州美院附中第一届学生校友会编.美的怀念1954-1958-2004.P4. [3]中华人民共和国文化部教育科技司编.中国高等艺术院校简史集.浙江美术学院出版社,P409. Art In Pace with the History By Tan Tian History is a great mystery, large as the distant planet of the universe of 10 billion light-years, small as the 9.8 seconds world record of 100 meters dash, which all has marked the human traces of discovery and creation. The history of New China for nearly six decades could be regarded as “a fingers snap instant”, and artists with the same pace of the country’s growth all have mixed feelings of grief and joy. They more or less involved in a certain event during the New China’s development of 60 years. They can not help keeping their own art creation together with the history’s pace, from childish to mature, from students to experts. Five artists participated in the “First Graduates” Exhibition are Li Xingjian, Shao Zenghu, Hao Hejun, Hong Yao and Pan Xingjian, who are surely included by the Fine Arts history of the New China and are sharing the responsibility and glory entrusted by the history. 1. The Meaning of “First Graduates” The word “first” itself is a word shining with the history light, which act as an ordinal to mark the beginning of a series of certain historical events. The “First Students” refers to the first graduates, or the first freshmen. All the five artists in this exhibition are the first graduates of the senior middle school affiliated to Central South College of Fine Arts (a predecessor of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts), and are also the first freshmen of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art after it was officially established, except for Li Xingjian, who had enrolled his name in China Central Academy of Fine Arts. Art Education of the New China has entered a period of regularization since 1953. “When the People’s Republic of China was just established, the Western capitalist countries embargoed on China, thus China had to implement the ‘one-sided’ policy to the socialist Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. Regularization of art education in our country, basically meaned introducing the Soviet Union model of art education, with reference to the Soviet Union art school curricula, and building schools affiliated to Art Academies in accordance with Soviet institution. "[1] China Central Academy of Fine Arts established its subsidiary art middle school in 1953. At the same year, the Northeast Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts and Northwest Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts also set up their affiliated middle schools. Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts was among the second group with Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts, and Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, who set up their affiliated middle schools in 1954. Guan Shanyue, vice President of the GAFA, acted as the Principal concurrently, and Tan Xue-sheng and Zhang Xinrang acted as vice principals. 40 junior high school graduates enrolled their names in the school each year, and the school has a 4 years educational system. According to the “Admission Guide of the Affiliated Middle Schools of Fine Arts in 1954”, the first item, Principles and Tasks was written clearly, “The intention is to select junior high school graduates with the art talent and promising development, to cultivate the students to the educational level of common high school, form their outlooks on life as serving the people, to build their bodies, and enable them to grasp the basic knowledge of art theory and technology; to enable them to achieve higher entry requirements to be admitted to Central South College of Fine Arts to continue their education.”[2] We could see that the affiliated middle school of Academy of Fine Arts really had some simple self-confidence, even when it was newly started. Today, even the recruit of undergraduate students or the graduates to study fine arts, the Admission Guides are not sure to recruit “talented and promising” students. Such high self-esteem later became the reason to be rectfied during the Culture Revolution. In 1974, all the Academies of Fine Arts in China restored their admissions, however, the people in charge of cultural work arbitrarily cancelled all the affiliated middle schools of Academy of Fine Arts as opposing to training the so-called “small talents”. As to whether they are the “small talents”, or whether they are “talented and promising”, we will discuss later. However, according to Summary of the Forum on Arts Education of the National Cultural Ministry, the original intention has been fulfilled, which is “nurturing artists from a young age as the advanced experience, and setting up affiliated middle schools by Academies of Fine Arts, to train qualified university candidates[3]. 40 junior high school graduates enrolled their names in the senior middle school of the GAFA for the first year, and 33 students graduated, of whom 23 entered Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, 4 were admitted to the China Central Academy of Fine Arts and the Central Technology Academy of Fine Arts, and the rest left school to work. This means that 80% first graduates from the affiliated middle school were admitted into Academies of Fine Arts for their further studies. This is also the average ratio of academy enrollment of first graduates of other academies and all graduates since 1953 of all affiliated middle schools of Academy of Fine Arts in China. In other words, the affiliated middle schools of China's eight major Academies of Fine Arts delivered tens of thousands of talented art students in 50 years, which played an important role in the art development in China. More detailed and in-depth study on the education of the affiliated middle schools and status of students after graduation, no doubt will play an important role in the study on the development of Fine Arts in New China. All the above is the original intention and the meaning of First Graduates Exhibition. 2. The Characteristics of "First Graduates" Teaching Mode There is a Chinese saying that a child of three has the hundred-year-old soul. A set of new educational mode of New China is developed from the teaching mode of affiliated middle school of Academy of Fine Arts with the "First Graduates" as the beginning. Patterns of professional education of New China established on the absorption, enlarging, improving, deepening and perfection on the mode of affiliated middle school, or that the affiliated middle school is the experimental field of the education in Academies of Fine Arts. New China’s art educational mode was a step-by-step process from the "experimental field" of affiliated middle school to the "broad field" of Academy of Fine Arts, and the process was synchronized, the impact of Academies and affiliated middle schools was mutual and subtle. However, it is obvious that the institutionalization of art education in the affiliated middle school is earlier than that of the Academies, which is caused by the history. The history of art education is following the revolution history. China's professional art education in high school did not begin in 1949. Of the so-called "Eight Academies of Fine Arts" in China, each has an extraordinary history before their founding. China Central Academy of Fine Arts was founded from the Fine Arts Department of Beijing University and the third part of Fine Arts Department of North China University. The predecessor of China Academy of Fine Arts (Zhejiang) is the original National Institute of Arts, National College of Art in Hangzhou. Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts was established from the Sichuan Provincial College of Arts and the second part of Northwest College of People’s Art. Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts is the result of the merging of the original School of Fine Arts of Guangzhou City, Guangxi College of Art, Wuchang College of Art. Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts was formerly known as the Northwest Schools of Fine Art and its Art Department was established in the Jinsui liberated areas in 1948. The predecessor of Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts was the most revolutionary one, Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts in Yan'an, founded in 1938. Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts began from the middle normal art education in early Kuomintang Period, and it has a longer and more complicated history. Listing of the history of the "Eight Academies of Fine Arts" before their founding, I just want to state that before 1953, China's art education institutions has not yet unified and institutionalized. Before 1953, at the beginning of the founding of the New China, the country's liberation war at home was in a "closing" stage, a variety of political movements were carried out, and the Korean War was the external situation. Under such historical situation, the building on art educational system had not yet entered the right track. Reading the historical data of the "Eight Academies of Fine Arts", we could understand some basic conditions of their art education at that time, first, their educational system was variable from three years to two years and four years. Second, subjects were not uniform. Such as painting subjects, sculpture Branch, Ceramics Division, designs subject, practical art, arts and crafts department, the Department of Pedagogy, Department of Chinese painting, Western painting department and so on. Each discipline had different names, and the teaching content was of the discrepancy. Third, the teachers were unstable, and professional teaching could be multi-disciplinary, Forth, the teaching methods were varied, teachers studied abroad in Japan, France, England and the native graduated teachers each had his own method. The educational content was arbitrary and there was no consistent evaluation criteria and system for graduates from national institutions of higher education. Assuming that the original art education system continued and got free competition, perhaps the current situation of art in China would be in another healthy situation. However, history is not assumption. By 1953, the victory of the Korean War had greatly changed the situation at home and abroad. China introduced the development of the national economy on its first five-year plan. Chairman Mao Zedong put forward the general line of the state during the transition period as that the identification of the New China was the socialist country of the dictatorship of the proletariat led by the Communist Party, and the will of the State would not allow the existence of the arts not serving for politics. Moreover, at the beginning of the founding of the New China, western capitalist countries embargoed on China, and China implemented the "one-sided" policy, so the only remaining international conditions was learning from the Soviet Union and Eastern European socialist countries. The best option of people in charge of education was to transform domestic Academies of Fine Arts in accordance with the art institute mode of the Soviet Union. Transformation must take into account the original basis of the Academies, while the affiliated middle schools newly created in accordance with the Soviet system had no burden of history and of the old teaching mode, basically copied the Teaching Outline of Soviet Union on Fine Arts education, which had played the role of planting and laying foundation on the institutionalization and standardization of the New China's art education. The Art educational mode of the New China has three main features. 1. From the beginning in 1953, the artistic idea of the Chinese art education established the revolutionary realism as the unshakable dominance of the subject. The creation content focuses on two aspects---one is the reflection of the history of the heroic deeds of the struggle of Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party for the revolution, the second is to praise of the high quality and their laboring enthusiam and happy life during the socialist construction of workers, peasants and soldiers. The early influential works of the five artists in the “First Graduates” exhibition are not out of this idea. 2. The art performance is the "sketch-based" realism. Sketch teaching in the Soviet Union had a complete system, from the curriculum, teaching requirements, to the painting tools, which were all implemented as norms to the first session of students in the affiliated middle school. At that time, outstanding drawing works of the Repin Academy of Fine Arts in Soviet Union had been used as the first model works for students of the middle school affiliated to the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. Actually, there are both positive and negative implications of Чистякова’s Sketching Method. The positive impact is that it is scientific and systematic, so that it improved the students’ modeling capacity, especially it laid a solid basis on techniques for their future realism creation which has been showing in the “first graduates’”creations later. The reason why China is currently advocating realistic art and the strong ability to depict the reality can not be separated from the efforts to start drawing realistic in the affiliated middle school. The negative impact is that the Чистякова’s Sketching Method objectively excluded the presence of French and Japanese-style methods of art performance from academies in China in 1953. As a result, the whole sketching teaching system formed a single situation of focusing too much on realism, and more or less caused the naturalism tendencies of Chinese fine art. Only until the last decade, this negative impact was profoundly realized by artists from the first graduates. Thus, the works of the first graduates in their later years are further and further away from the single sketch and naturalism tendency. This is an important historical background to comment the development of the art of First Graduates. 3. On the practical methodology level of art education, since 1953, the country started to implement the first Five-year Plan to develop the national economy. The Ministry of Culture proposed the guiding principle to continue to implement the combination of art education and social practice in art education. This principal has both the advantages of Yan’an mode and the Soviet Union mode for art education. Other than emphasis on teaching sketch, it also added the creational literary sketch, and organized students to spend more than one month in the countryside, factories to have more life experiences every year. At that time, students were required to have the same food, shelter and work with the villagers in the countryside. Students were sometimes distributed to the farmer's home, and usually also helped farmers to fetch water, sweep the yard, and participate in labor. During the 4 years since 1954, the first graduates of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts had been to the countryside in Yejiahe in Luotian County of Hubei Province; Mt. Hengshan of Hunan Province, and Dingjiaban in Macheng County of Hubei Province, etc. Many photos published in the book, Beautiful Memories, became witness of their tensional study, and happy life in the countryside of their participation in labor, and being with the family of households they stayed with. Today it is still the required course for undergraduates of all the Chinese art academies to go to the mountains and countryside to experience life there. This art education mode has laid a special basis in the development of Chinese art education with Chinese characteristics, which has been playing a decisive role in students' later art creation. 3. The Inspiration of the Success of the “First Graduates” In China, to measure a secondary school is to see its rate of students to be admitted into universities. On this point alone, affiliated middle schools are far better than regular schools, because at the beginning, the goal of affiliated middle school is very clear to deliver talented students into academies. 80% students from the affiliated middle schools can enter art academies that I mentioned before makes the ordinary middle schools admire much. Even today, the saying that "being admitted to affiliated middle schools equals to being admitted to the academies" is still heard among many students. The enrollment examination of the affiliated middle school is hot topic every year. This is also the Chinese characteristic phenomenon on education. The first graduates were so lucky that 23 of them were admitted into Academies. The year 1958 was just when the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts formally established. The first graduates luckily became the First Freshmen of the Academy (the Academy was called Central South Academy of Art before). It is not necessary to repete the characteristics of academy art education in the 1950s to 1960s, for the general mode was just the repeating and deepening of that of affiliated middle schools. Undergraduates from affiliated middle schools often complained that the courses in first two years of academy had been learned in their middle schools. Although this complain was too general and one-sided, it might have spoken out some of the facts. Some graduates of affiliated middle schools have made great achievements in art even without receiving education in academies. Apart from their personal hard wok, perhaps it is also because that what they have learned in affiliated middle schools was basically completed. For the above reason, I would like to neglect the first freshmen’s experiences in Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. To enter the academy was not the ultimate aim of the students from affiliated middle schools. Whether the first graduates are successful mainly depend on their professional performances in the society. It should be said that all the five first graduates in this exhibition have provided satisfactory answers on art in their very early years. Shao Zenghu’s representative art works like Conch Horn Rang, Death of the Agricultural Machinery Expert, Days in Yan’an, Ren Bishi, and so on, have been collected by the National Art Museum of China, Guangdong Museum of Art, and have been listed in a variety of art catalogues representing the art level of 20th century, as well as art textbooks at all levels. As an artist from the People's Liberation Army, he has a wide-ranging influence in China. Representative art works of Pan Xingjian are Oh, the Sea, Land, Deep in Coconut Woods, Water Family, Impression of Mountain City, etc. He has often participated in the National Artwork Exhibition, National Exhibition on Printmaking, as well as many international and regional exhibitions. After graduated from the Academy, he has long been engaged in art education in high school, and served as the vice President of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts leading the teaching and research work. Hong Yao, with his name in the affiliated school as Hong Yaohua, had a legendary when he was in the middle school. In 1957, during the Soviet Union well-known oil painter Maksimov’s teaching in China, he praised two paintings from all students’ paintings of affiliated middle schools, and one of them was Hong Yao’s drawing. Guan Shanyue regarded that as Hong Yao had gift in drawing, he should apply for Chinese Painting Department. In 1958, Hong Yao was admitted into Chinese Painting Department of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts to continue his study. In his second year in the Academy, one of his sketches on figure drawn in class was selected to the National Artwork Exhibition. Hong Yao concluded by himself that it was because he combined the Soviet Union-style sketch with some traditional Chinese painting techniques. After graduation, he acted as a art designer, then a teacher, and he drew people’s attention by his art works like New Textbooks, Purple Autumn, and Song of Steps, etc. Li Xingjian was one of the best of the first graduates, who gave up the opportunity to enter Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts without passing the entering examination, but entered the China Central Academy of Fine Arts. He learned from Li Keran to specialize ink and wash landscape as the eldest disciple of "Li Keran’s Landscape School". He graduated in 1963 and acted as a teacher there. He has been the Dean Professor of the Department of Chinese Landscape Painting, China Central Academy of Fine Arts. His representative works are Jinggangmycin Torrent, Jiangcheng Spring Rain, Red Autumn, Banana Fragrance, Welcoming Spring Pavilion, The Mighty River Flows Eastward, Golden Autumn of Xiajiang River, etc. Similarly to Li Xingjian, Hao Hejun learned from Li Xiongcai and Guan Shanyue and specialized in Chinese Landscape Painting in Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. In 1987, he returned back to the Academy to teach as a professor in the Chinese Painting Department. His representative works are Wind and Clouds along the River, Spring Rain Urging Farmers, Rongrui Stele Pavilion, Hukou Waterfall, Pound of Sun and Moon, etc. Generally speaking, the painting style of the earlier period of the five artists was basically under the impact of professional education of the affiliated middle school and the Academy of Fine Arts. The artistic achievements they have made are basically the outcome of arts education from there, too. Their art concept is the revolutionary realism. They care about the current situation, take natural scenery as references, and have rich flavor of the times. They pay attention to painting from life, pursuing accurate modelling, and their painting images are close to the nature, with simple style. They are on behalf of the art and spirit of their generation. Overview of the history of the New China’s Fine Art in the past 60 years, the first graduates deserve the status they possessed by virtue of their illustrious achievements in the art history. However, they are not satisfied and do not wang to stop in art. These true artists have the original impulse essence at any time to catch up with the history. The great rejuvenation trend of China keeps promoting the artists to realize their ambitions. To defend against the rigid tradition, to oppose parroting, the first graduates in their seventies find back their passion as teenagers when they studied in the affiliated middle school, and each show his own original creative impulse. In 1981, Hong Yao began to display his shooting-line art works. His tool is the carpenter’s ink marker to shoot straight lines. Lines shot by Hong Yao are various from ink to oil, from figurative to abstract, from forms to concept, and he made them on paintings, artifacts, architectures, human bodies, and even on water surface, which are deviant, and give us an unexpected surprise, and are praised by many art critics. Peng De, his best friend, said, “Hong Yao’s shooting-line works are the deconstruction of classical painting, and the construction of a new painting style.” Shao Zenghu got his fame for realism portraits, but now he transferred to landscape oil paintings. During his long research on oil painting colors, he formed his own personality of colors and techniques. He is good at using the plasticity of oil color in partition images with many-tiered oil particles, so that his painting could only image in distance. In the segmentation and restructuring of color and the partial amplification, tracted by his own creation, Shao Zenghu moves step by step towards the abstract. In the “First Graduates” Exhibition, Shao Zenghu displayed a number of paintings with stones as the content. From the rock textures, the artist found his world. Stones of different qualities, textures, shapes and colors lead Shao Zenghu to paint firstly from figurative to abstract, breaking down fences of being figurative which was his familiar past, and then back from abstract to idea expressing, to narrow the gap with audience and to return to the aesthetic taste of between like and unlike. Pan Xingjian’s works displaying in this exhibition are far from what his old classmates remember as being highly realistic figurative. However, this large-span transference happens gradually. The prelude to this group of works is Flyover. During city's modernization, the emergence of flyovers and highways is a sign. As the highways and the flyovers are composed of the geometric structures, even if the artist accurately portrayed these geometric structures and straight lines, shadow and light changes, he naturally had the meaning of abstract, and unconsciously but continually kept moving closer to be abstract. In literature, novelists have expressed that the personage they created in their works often generated automatically acts of obedience logic, which leads the writer to an unexpected end. I call this process of artistic creation " art’s leading to the artist". I mentioned before that such phenomenon happened on Shao Zenghu,so as on Pan Xingjian’s black-and-white woodcut creation. From watching abstract of reality to making abstract art, the hard working artists has changed from gradually realization to getting the insight, and are promoted to a higher artistic level. Li Xingjian and Hao Hejun engaged in the creation of Chinese Landscape Painting. They are limited strictly both on materials and subjects. They have to make use of Xuan paper and ink, and they have to painting the natural landscapes. No matter how innovative they are, they can not leave these two points, otherwise, their painting will no longer be Chinese Landscape Painting. Therefore, their way is to make the classic more classic and the traditional more traditional. Specifically to the works, their first way is reproducing the nature today with the compositional principles of classic Chinese landscape painting; and the second is tempering the traditional Chinese ink and wash techniques in the current world of light and shade. In recent years, works of Li Xingjian and Hao Hejun have the increasing margins, more and more open sights, and more profound techniques. From the "Li's(李家) Landscape," and the "Li's（黎家）Landscape", the audience can appreciate the "new landscape" they created together, which come braving the wind and waves, with the history of the development trend of China. In my careful reading of the catalogues of Li Xingjian, Shao Zenghu, Hao Hejun, Hong Yao and Pan Xingjian, and during my visit to their studios, I feel their active spirit and thriving art life. Their mental age seems to remain in the middle school, and they often talk about the interesting anecdotes and strong creative impulse of their study time. The art education they received from the affiliated middle school exerted an imperceptible influence on their life, and is still the background of their art life. Ten years ago, a friend asked my advice on whether his child should go to study in the provincial key junior secondary school or the middle school affiliated to Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. I suggested him to choose the latter. My reason was that in China's current secondary education, that of the affiliated middle school of the Academy of Fine Arts was the closest to the world's most advanced educational requirements and standards. At present, the exam-oriented high school education focuses on cramming up knowledge into children, and the long classroom learning, and endless supplementary schooling, uninterrupted quizs, midterm tests, and analog tests have basically stifled the young people's imagination and creativity, and resulted in the vicious situation to produce students of good scores and poor abilities. Relatively speaking, only the affiliated middle school of Academy of Fine Arts retain the tradition of painting from life in the mountains and countryside, which make the youth get in touch with the nature, society, and China's rural areas. Only the affiliated middle schools respect the interests of students to protect their creativity and artistic talent. Graduates from affiliated middle school of Academy of Fine Arts, although do not all become artists, do well in walks of life. Unfortunately, it has been the past. I am pleased that artists taking part in the “First Graduates” Exhibition has proved the pains and gains of the education of affiliated middle school education of Academy of Fine Arts, which can be important references for High School Education in the future. Their success shows the traces of art in pace with history in the New China, highlights the logic and charm of the development of art. As long as art follows the history closely, art will have new achievements in a new history. Notes [1] Li Shusheng, A Brief History of the China Central Academy of Fine Arts, Collection of the Brief Histories of the Chinese Institutions of Higher Art Education, edited by Technology Division, Ministry of Education and Science, People’s Republic of China, and published by Zhejiang Academy of Fine Art Press, 1991,P81. [2] The Beautiful Memories, Edited by the High School Alumni Association for the first graduates, 1954-1958-2004.P4. [3] Collection of the Brief Histories of the Chinese Institutions of Higher Art Education, edited by Technology Division, Ministry of Education and Science, People’s Republic of China, and published by Zhejiang Academy of Fine Art Press, P409. 收起