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Wong Li Min Winifred
Professor Chua Ying
ADM430 Modern and Contemporary Chinese Art
3rd December 2010
Xu Beihong’s Tian Heng and His Five Hundred Followers (1928-30) and Overseas Chinese
In March 1939, Xu Beihong held his solo exhibition in Singapore with 172 pictures. The
organizer Chinese Commercial Council made three paintings from the exhibition into postcards.
Those with Xu’s autograph were sold for five Singapore dollars each, and the ones without for three
dollars. The price for the twenty-four inches poster was twenty-five dollars. The attendance of the
exhibition was a record-breaking 20,000, and the best-selling postcard was Tian Heng and His Five
Hundred Followers (1928-30) [fig.1]. Xu went on to travel and exhibit in Calcutta, India in 1940,
Penang, Ipoh, and Kuala Lumpur in Malaya in 1941 before returning to China through Burma. Tian
Heng and His Five Hundred Followers received similar overwhelming response from the overseas
Chinese communities there.1
This essay analyses the overwhelming 2 response from the overseas Chinese communities
during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The overseas Chinese communities in Singapore, India,
Malaya and other parts of the world grew tremendously during that period due to unrest, natural
disasters and lack of employment opportunities in China. Though not physically in China, the
overseas Chinese, especially the huge number of first generation immigrants in the 1930s to 1940s,
had strong emotional and financial ties with their homeland – their economic contributions to their
families back home were renowned.3 The overseas Chinese’s overwhelming response to Xu 1 Xu and Jin, Xu Beihong nianpu, 216
2 Xu Beihong described the response of the Southeast Asian Chinese as unexpectedly high. See Xu and Jin, Xu Beihong nianpu, 231
3 For the history and discussion of the overseas Chinese, see Lynn Pan, ed, The Encyclopedia of the Chinese Overseas (Singapore, Archipelago Press, 1998)
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Beihong’s paintings, in particular Tian Heng and His Five Hundred Followers, deserves in-depth
analysis. This essay purports to understand the favourable response of this particularly popular
painting through an analysis of its historical subject matter and social realism style, situating them in
its historical and cultural contexts. After analysing the reasons for its popularity, this essay will delve
deeper and seek to understand the significances of its popularity.
Why they love him – His choice of subject matter
The particularly overwhelming response from the overseas Chinese communities to Tian
Heng and His Five Hundred Followers can be explained by an analysis of its subject matter. The
painting shows a dignified-looking middle-aged man dressed in red robe with his hands clasped
together, bidding a formal farewell to a crowd of varying ages and genders which is composed on
the opposite left half of the painting. He seems to be going to a faraway place — a noble-looking
white horse is apparently prepared for him. It looks like a heavy-hearted farewell with sadness
reflected on all the faces in the crowd — the two men in black and white traditional farmer wear at
the extreme left foreground especially seem to be so overcame by sadness that they cannot even
bear to look at the red-robed man. This man, who overtly possesses the highest standing amongst
the people there judging from the comparatively high quality of his clothes, seems to be embarking
on a dangerous (his long sword gleams sharply) — most possibly fatal (his robe is strikingly blood
red) — mission for his people. The fact that the painting is historical is inescapable — the human
figures in the painting are all clothed in traditional Chinese wear. Its source, to the overseas Chinese
audience, should be just as easy to deduce without the need to refer to its title.
The story of Tian Heng is widely known amongst Chinese people for it is written in a very
iconic ancient Chinese text Records of the Historian (Shiji 史记, ca.100 BCE). The story goes that Tian
Heng, the ruler of a small state Qi, had righteously rebelled against the tyrannical First Emperor Qin
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and declared the independence of his small state upon the tyrant’s demise. Liu Bang of the Han
dynasty who toppled the Qin dynasty casted his wrath on Tian Heng who had demanded
independence. He was evicted to a remote island and five hundred of his loyal followers followed
him. Tian Heng had a monumental choice to make – surrender or death. He chose both – he had
hoped that by cutting off his own head and presenting it to Liu Band, his loyal followers might be
saved. However, his followers, after learning of their leader’s heroic sacrifice, committed mass
suicide out of loyalty.
The very fact that Tian Heng and His Five Hundred Followers depicts a historical story passed
down from the ancient Chinese text and commonly shared by all Chinese is enough reason for the
overseas Chinese to garner particular interest to it. Their physical dislocation made the overseas
Chinese (most of whom had just recently immigrated in the 1930s to 1940s period) crave for cultural
ties with their motherland. Historical paintings that depict visual manifestations of their
motherland’s cultural history were hence eagerly snapped up, in the form of prints or posters, by the
overseas Chinese communities,. Their craving to be culturally linked to China could be evinced by
their passionate insistence on the accuracy of the historical paintings. Tian Heng and His Five
Hundred Followers, not escaping this passionate insistence, had also invoked many overseas Chinese
critics to challenge its authenticity. 4
Tian Heng and His Five Hundred Followers amongst all other historical paintings garnered the
most response from the overseas Chinese because of its strong resonance with the then present day
China of 1930s to 1940s. The painting was painted in the period of 1928 to 1930 during the chaotic
interwar years in China history and its overseas Chinese communities’ exhibition tour was from the
end of the 1930s during the period of the Sino-Japanese war.5 The impending heavy bloodshed of all
4 See Chen Zhenxia, “Tian Heng Wu bai shi zhi wo jian” 田横五百士之我见 in Xu Beihong yishu wenji, 376-80. In response, Xu Beihong wrote the article “The Difficulties in History Painting” stating that his images were based on detailed research; however, artistic liberty had to be taken in creating a visually harmonious and compelling picture. See Xu, “Lishihua zhi kunnan” 379-84
5 See http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/111803/China/71804/The-interwar-years-1920-37 for detailed outline of different periods in modern China history.
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the people in the painting mirrored the high casualty rates of the war years; the oppression of Liu
Bang mirrored the oppression of the tyrannical Japanese; the fervent loyalty of the followers
mirrored the strong nationalism that rose during the chaotic periods. Indeed, Xu Beihong had
achieved his personal aim of making his painting “connected with the expression of life.”6 Many
overseas Chinese found this painting moving for this pictorial narrative of the past poignantly
mirrors the Chinese nation at present. Moreover, the painting’s obvious laud for loyalty and
martyrdom was especially uplifting in those troubled times. The painting’s ability to move and incite
loyalty from the overseas Chinese was apt for its tour was meant to raise fund for the Sino-Japanese
war through sale of prints. To overtly support the struggling motherland, buying of this particular
painting could not be more appropriate. Hence, it was no wonder that prints of Tian Heng and His
Five Hundred Followers sold the best.
Overseas Chinese might also felt particular resonance with Tian Heng and His Five Hundred
Followers for it similarly mirrored their own historical experiences in lands away from the mainland.
Many overseas Chinese were under the rule of colonial powers and most of them faced pending
invasion by the Japanese too. The exile theme of the painting also might reminded them of their
own ‘exiles’ from the mainland – many were literally forced to leave China due to famine, war and
unemployment. With such strong resonances with the overseas Chinese from its subject matter
alone, the popularity of Tian Heng and His Five Hundred Followers is well-justified.
Why they love him – His social realism style
The particularly overwhelming response from the overseas Chinese communities to Tian
Heng and His Five Hundred Followers can also be explained by an analysis of its social realism style.
In the painting, the non-idealised human figures are depicted in realistic proportions with natural
6 Xu Beihong proclaimed that one must avoid the danger of aestheticism (weimei zhuyi 唯美主义), which only indulges beauty (mei美) but ignores the truth (zhen真) and virtues (shan善); to him, virtue means “content” (neirong内容). See Xu, Meishu manhua [General Talk about Art, 1942] in Xu Beihong yishu wenji 2, 414.
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poses, perspectives are accurately maintained despite the large size of the work and the play of light
on the human faces and landscape is painstakingly realistic. It is a painting that is easy to understand
without any distracting abstraction and the overseas Chinese, who were mostly not highly educated
in the art of deciphering conceptual art form such as literati paintings, would find this realist style
especially appealing.
Besides, the overseas Chinese, informed by the May Fourth Movement in China (1917-
1921), would also have been influenced by the movement’s messages – the use of vernacular
language in writing and the recognition of literature that concerned the weak and oppressed are to
be upheld.7 Hence, situated in such cultural context, the realist style of Tian Heng and His Five
Hundred Followers stood it in good stead in gaining favour with the overseas Chinese of that time –
its apparent, straightforward manner of depicting ordinary people is the visual manifestations of
May Fourth Movement’s influential messages.
Moreover, that the realist style as depicted in the Tian Heng and His Five Hundred Followers
could also be seen as a social revolution that harnessed art to promote political ideals also greatly
contributed to its popularity with the overseas Chinese. Favouring of the realist style in paintings had
a political dimension during that highly political time – a painting adopting the realist style was seen
as catering more for the common people then the upper class. If one wanted to paint for the elite,
conceptualism (xieyi写意), which stressed on subjectivity and embodiment of poetic spirituality, not
realism (xieshi写实) would be the key – the elite had more appreciation for such abstract portrayals.
Seen in this cultural context, Tian Heng and His Five Hundred Followers was a painting painted in a
style that could be said to be catering specifically for the common class overseas Chinese and hence,
they naturally responded overwhelmingly to it.
7 Lu Xun, a prolific writer of that period, asserted that if the modern Chinese wanted to “come to life”, they need to speak the language of “living men” and use “easily understood” vernacular” to give clear expression to thoughts and to give clear expression to thoughts and feelings”. See Lu Xun, “Silent China,” in Lu Xun – Selected Works, vol.2, trans., Gladys Yang (Beijing, Foreign Language Press, 1980), 332-2.
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Significance – Xu’s art embodied and enhanced the construct of the imagined Chinese community.
After analysing the reasons for its popularity, this essay will delve deeper and seek to
understand the significance of Tian Heng and His Five Hundred Followers’s popularity – So what if it
was popular? Did its popularity mean anything?
As analysed, Tian Heng and His Five Hundred Followers enjoyed much popularity with the
overseas Chinese due to its historical subject matter and its social realist style which found much
resonances. Our understanding of the reasons behind its popularity helps us to understand why its
popularity was significant – It was popular because it resonated with the overseas Chinese and this
was significant because it showed that Tian Heng and His Five Hundred Followers actually helped to
embody and enhance the construct of the imagined Chinese community for the overseas Chinese at
that time. By implementing a shared historical past, mirroring a coexisting present – all done in the
highly relatable social realism style –, Xu Beihong’s historical painting allowed the dislocated
overseas Chinese to imagine themselves as quintessentially Chinese.
The nation as an imagined community is a theory popularized by Benedict Anderson – the
nation is imagined and citizens have to imagine themselves as part of this imagined community
because the “members of the nation never know or meet most of their fellow-members, yet in the
mind of each lives the image of their communion”8. Xu Beihong’s Tian Heng and His Five Hundred
Followers provided this “image of their communion” for the overseas Chinese by making it extremely
relatable through its subject matter and style.
Indeed, Tian Heng and His Five Hundred Followers is a painting that calls for its viewers to
participate in a shared historical narrative of China and imagine the community – the open form of
8 From “imagined community” A Dictionary of Sociology. John Scott and Gordon Marshall. Oxford University Press 2009. Oxford Reference Online.
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the composition extends beyond the canvas and draws the viewer into the dramatic moment when
Tian Heng bids farewell to his followers. The overseas Chinese at that time could easily see
themselves amongst the crowd in the painting – Xu had taken care to include males and females of
all ages to facilitate such subconscious “imagining”. In fact, Xu seems to have even transposed
himself into the painting – the young man in yellow in the centre of the painting looks uncannily like
Xu Beihong himself.
This particular quality of Xu’s work is significant given that the conceptual effort to
incorporate the overseas Chinese into the national praxis had been a complex and contentious issue.
Ambiguity as to what qualify one as “Chinese” – based on residential state or ethnic race – had
badgered the dislocated overseas Chinese. Xu Beihong’s painting with the ability to induce the
overseas Chinese at that time to imagine themselves as quintessentially Chinese was a strong
ideological instrument in forming the Chinese identity, expanding the boundaries far beyond
geopolitical state of China. The overseas Chinese, with the help of the visual manifestation of the
collective social bond given by Tian Heng and His Five Hundred Followers, would find it easier to
imagine the collective social bond across physical and temporal distance.
Significance of significance – Demonstrated the new ambassadorial role of art
Indeed, Xu Beihong’s Tian Heng and His Five Hundred Followers had the significance of
embodying and enhancing the construct of the imagined Chinese community for the overseas
Chinese. This also signified that paintings started to gain a new ambassadorial role at that time.
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This new role of art was propelled by the development in mass media and communication at
that time. Beginning in 1926, Xu Beihong’s iconic Tian Heng and His Five Hundred Followers and his
other works had been compiled and published by 2 large companies – the Commercial Press (商务印
书馆) and China Bookstore (中华书局). In addition, plates of his painting frequented the covers and
pages of commercial publications at the time, from newspapers to art and literary journals to
popular life style magazines. Almost all definitive art books regarding the modern period of China
included Tian Heng and His Five Hundred Followers, reinforcing its role in the collective reimagining
of the Chinese nation. More than just a painting on the wall, it had now taken on new forms and
new dimensions.
Indeed, in spite of Xu Beihong’s “real” motives – a showcase for his technical virtuosity,
realism conviction, personal frustrations, or national duty –, Tian Heng and His Five Hundred
Followers and other works assumed an intention of their own and became subject to all of the
vicissitudes of reception once launched into the world. The original home for the Tian Heng and His
Five Hundred Followers was the lecture hall of the Central University in Nanjing. Yet, it took on the
ambassadorial role as the new art of a new China that flaunted the pages of publications and toured
across the country and around the Pacific and, as analysed in detail in this essay, helped the
overseas Chinese communities imagined the imagined Chinese community.
The high visibility and mobility of Xu Beihong’s Tian Heng and His Five Hundred Followers,
having such an overwhelming response from Chinese worldwide and touring within and outside of
the mainland, imparted an extraordinary facet about art and modernity. Art works were no longer
the untouchable objects that stood solemnly on plinths and could be appreciated only by the erudite
literati. They were, instead, like highly relatable Tian Heng and His Five Hundred Followers,
accessible and comprehensible – a part of the machinery in the era of nation building. No longer
mere fantasy, aesthetic pastime, or escapist contemplation for the elite, art broke away from its
“private” cocoon and made contact with a large audience, including overseas Chinese communities,
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who thronged the spaces of public exhibitions like the 1939 Singapore exhibition and even bought
these images home in the form of prints. In a time of both internal and external social instability, the
new common ground between artist and spectators could be summed up as a sense of nationalism
and civil virtue. Accordingly, it is no astonishment that Xu Beihong’s realistic and obviously patriotic
history paintings garnered such overwhelming response from Chinese worldwide.
Conclusion
The field of art history is a network of “analytic methods, theoretical perspective, and
discursive protocols,” and the art of art history lies in its instrumentality for “imagining the social,
cognitive, and ethical” pasts and transforming the understanding of “the identity and history of
individuals and nations.” 9 This essay uses the analytic methods of understanding the overwhelming
favourable reception of Tian Heng and His Five Hundred Followers by the overseas Chinese through
analysis of its historical subject matter and social realism style, situating them in its historical and
cultural contexts. As Donald Preziozi states, “the art of art history” – the significance of this essay –
lies in its instrumentality for “imagining the social, cognitive, and ethical” pasts of the overseas
Chinese – we can now better understand and imagine the strong yearning of the overseas Chinese to
be culturally linked to their motherland. Through such understanding, our understanding of “the
identity and history of individuals and nations” is also transformed – the nation is an imaginary
construct and art had to take on a new ambassadorial role, especially for the overseas Chinese, to
help visually manifest the great Chinese nation.
9 Donald Preziozi, “Art History: Making the Visible Legible,” in The Art of Art History, 13, 18.
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Selected Bibliography
Clark, John. “Open and Closed Discourses of Modernity in Asian Art.” In Modernity in Asian Art,
ed. John Clark. Sydney: Wild Peony, 1993.
Lu Xun. Selected Works, vol.2, trans., Gladys Yang. Beijing: Foreign Language Press, 1980.
Preziosi, Donald. Ed. The Art of Art History: A Critical Anthology. Oxford/New York: Oxford University
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Press. 1988.
Xu Beihong . Xu Beihong yi shu wen ji [Collection of art criticism by Xu Beihong], vol.1 and 2. Eds, Xu
Boyang and Jin Shan. Taipei: Yi shu jia chubansge, 1987.
Xu Boyang and Jin Shan, eds. Xu Beihong nianpu [Biographical Chronology of Xu Beihong] Taipei: Yi
shu jia chubansge, 1991.