An artist started painting the Silk Road on a bicycle 40 years ago. Now, in his seventies, he is still creating art based on the Silk Road.
The "Silk Road - Yang Xiaoyang's 40 Years of Silk Road Art Creation and Document Exhibition" recently exhibited at the Shanghai Haipai Art Museum focused on the artistic exploration of the Silk Road over the past 40 years by Yang Xiaoyang, former president of the National Academy of Painting, chairman of the China Culture and Art Development Promotion Association, and artist, and used his works to showcase the cultural charm of this thousand-year-old trade route. This is also the first time that Yang Xiaoyang has held a large-scale solo exhibition in Shanghai. The Paper interviewed Yang Xiaoyang on his 40 years of Silk Road art creation.
In 1985, Yang Xiaoyang, who was in his 20s, was on the Silk Road
In the exhibition hall on the first floor of Shanghai Haipai Art Museum, a crowd of people gathered in front of a 30-meter-long masterpiece "Silk Road·Kushui Community Fire". The work condenses the grand scene of "February 2nd Dragon Raising its Head" in Kushui Town, Gansu Province with unrestrained freehand brushwork, and intangible cultural heritage elements such as stilts and dragon dances are reborn in the blending of ink. This magnificent work is the masterpiece of "Silk Road - Yang Xiaoyang's Silk Road 40 Years Art Creation and Document Exhibition", which records Yang Xiaoyang's magnificent journey of measuring the Silk Road with his brush.
At the end of the exhibition hall, a sketch of Xinjiang in 1985 is quietly displayed on the exhibition wall. The smooth and vibrant simple lines record the artist's visual experience of the Silk Road when he first encountered it. The 2014 work "Silk Road: Travels in Northern Shaanxi" hanging next to it shows the change of style from realism to impressionism.
Exhibition site
Yang Xiaoyang's early sketches
"In July 40 years ago, when I was in my 20s, I decided to ride bicycles with six classmates from Xi'an. It took four months and we passed through Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang. Every day was spent in the excitement of surprising discoveries. I kept looking and painting until I was too tired to lift my eyelids and my hands and feet were out of control," Yang Xiaoyang told The Paper. "From 1985 to 2025, a full forty years have passed. Over the past forty years, I have recalled what I saw and heard at that time from time to time. After many things have settled down, the indelible impressions have become clearer and clearer. At that time, I only knew the strange and dazzling appearance, but now I am gradually understanding the deep spirit."
The encounter 40 years ago, the gullies of the Loess Plateau, the sandstorms of the Hexi Corridor, and the camel bells of the ancient Western Regions Road have been deeply imprinted in Yang Xiaoyang's heart.
Artist Yang Xiaoyang on the Silk Road
Yang Xiaoyang was born in Xi'an, Shaanxi in 1958. He was admitted to the Chinese Painting Department of Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts in 1979 and served as the president of Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts. He served as the president of China National Academy of Painting from 2009 to 2018 and is currently the chairman of China Cultural and Art Development Promotion Association. From a young student who initially carried a sketchbook to record the customs of the Silk Road, Yang Xiaoyang has traveled to more than 30 countries along the traditional Silk Road and experienced the cultural scenes of more than 60 countries along the "Belt and Road" for 40 years. The Silk Road has always been an inexhaustible source of his creation.
This exhibition adopts a dual narrative of "creation + documentation", presenting four major sections: life sketching, theme exploration, painting connotation, and ink spirit, systematically presenting the complete trajectory of Yang Xiaoyang's 40 years of artistic exploration. His works not only accurately capture the natural landscape, folk customs and historical imprints along the Silk Road, but also incorporate profound thinking on the integration of civilizations, forming an artistic style that "emphasizes spirit, temperament and overallness".
Many large-scale works were presented on site, including the green landscape "Fu on Afang Palace", the detailed and colorful "Chang'an on the Silk Road", and the ink-and-wash "Kushui Community Fireworks", all of which revealed his artistic exploration that was rooted in culture and appealed to new terms.
Part of "Silk Road Chang'an"
1990s, part of "Persian Wedding"
Zeng Chenggang, dean of Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts, Shanghai University, said: "Yang Xiaoyang has always maintained the simple and rough nature of the 'Loess School of Painting', and his paintings pursue a vigorous and sophisticated ancient atmosphere. He uses line drawing to express the mutual generation and restraint of virtuality and reality, yin and yang, and the unity of opposites."
In the "Theme Exploration" section of the exhibition, the new work "People Coming and Going" series in 2025 became the focus of the whole audience. Twelve large-scale paintings of 200×240 cm surround the exhibition hall, and the camel caravan business travel is transformed into a flowing ink rhythm, where the concrete Silk Road customs and the abstract rhythm of life blend together. Yang Xiaoyang uses the artistic technique of "blurring the subject matter and multi-meaning the theme" to break the limitations of time, space and region and reconstruct the humanities map of the Silk Road. Xu Jiang, vice chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, commented: "The "People Coming and Going" series, its creative journey and new language of pen and ink, with a magnificent atmosphere, directly feel the creator's "earth-like" years-mud-like simple characters, earth-like vast world."
The huge painting "Silk Road" on display
Zhang Jianhua, executive director of Shanghai Haipai Art Museum, accepts the donated works by Yang Xiaoyang (center) on behalf of the museum
At the opening ceremony of the exhibition, Yang Xiaoyang donated his works "Pine Wind" and "Mother and Son Love" to Shanghai Haipai Art Museum. Xia Chao, Chairman of the Chinese Society of Literary and Art Critics, said: "The 'Silk Road' is a symbol of the openness, tolerance and eclecticism of Chinese culture. The theme of this exhibition is a vivid interpretation of this great historical and cultural concept and spirit, and it is also a enrichment and expansion of the connotation of Haipai culture in the new era."
Li Lei, vice chairman of the Shanghai Artists Association, believes that Yang Xiaoyang is the successor and pioneer of the "Loess School of Painting". He not only inherited the mellow brushwork of the "Loess School of Painting", but also integrated it with traditional Chinese visual images and contemporary Western multi-faceted composition to form a unique visual style.
Dialogue｜Yang Xiaoyang: My creations have never left the "Silk Road"
The Paper : The subtitle of this exhibition is "Forty Years of Silk Road Art Creation and Documentation Exhibition". How do you understand the Silk Road and what were your feelings when you first encountered it?
Yang Xiaoyang : The Silk Road has been around for more than 2,000 years, and my creations have never left the theme of the "Silk Road" for 40 years. Occasionally, I have touched on other themes, such as the Great Wall, the Yellow River, the Yangtze River, and some other countries, but in the end I still focused on the "Silk Road". The first time I walked the Silk Road was by bicycle. That was when I was in my 20s. I set out on July 10, 1985 and returned from Urumqi on November 10. I didn't ride a bicycle when I came back, and the bicycle was broken. In the end, I was left alone. I was alone in Xinjiang for the last month. I lived in the army in Kuche, Hami, Shanshan, and Baicheng. One reason was that it was safe, and the other was that it was free. I also taught some lessons to the army and communicated with the officers and soldiers of the army.
The Paper : That was also your first time to Xinjiang. How was the cultural impact and artistic appeal of it?
Yang Xiaoyang: Yes, it was my first time there, and the impact was lifelong. I had never even been to Lanzhou before.
Since there have been forty years of attention and research on the history, politics, economy, culture, military, archaeology, and legends of the "Silk Road", from the practical process to the creative results, to the theory, and then to the next step, I think there should be a 40-year review.
Academically speaking, for the Silk Road, I read history, researched cultural relics along the way, experienced people and events, and studied cultural relics. In the process of experience, history, philosophy and reality are combined, so the experience is deeper, richer and more rewarding. In the 40 years of sketching, in the early years, it was mostly basic training, collecting experience materials and recording the life I experienced. With the understanding of the history and culture of the "Silk Road", tracing the origins behind it through reality, exploring the deep aesthetic philosophy, and gradually the style of painting has slowly changed from sketching to freehand painting.
1985 Silk Road Sketches
The Paper: I saw your sketches from 1985 in the exhibition hall. Although they were created when you were in your 20s, the lines were relaxed and the white space was good.
Yang Xiaoyang: Actually, I had already received solid training in art. I recall that before I started college in 1985, I had already mastered a lot of knowledge about body structure, perspective, anatomy, composition, and color. Later, I avoided the pure fixed classroom sketching and tried to draw vivid life as much as possible. Starting from Xi'an, I drew a lot of sketches along the "Silk Road", some of which were just a few strokes, and some took many hours to draw. Later, as my horizons broadened and my skills became more proficient, I gradually moved from what I saw to what I thought in my heart, from the image in my eyes, the image in my heart, the image in the painting, to the image outside the painting.
The Paper : Can you tell us about your experience pursuing art since childhood?
Yang Xiaoyang: My father studied oil painting. At that time, I first studied oil painting with teacher Chen Beixin. Later, I studied with teachers such as Yang Jianjian, Wu Dezu, and Zhang Xueyin. Later, I formally studied Chinese painting and worshipped Chen Guangjian and Liu Wenxi as my teachers. After being admitted to the Chinese Painting Department of Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts, I followed teacher Liu Wenxi to sketch in northern Shaanxi during the summer vacation. I drew more than 300 sketches in Fengzhuang, Yan'an, and received a lot of encouragement from teacher Liu Wenxi. Teacher Liu has a habit of carrying all his luggage and all his painting tools by himself, and not letting others touch them. Why? Where is his eraser or knife? He doesn't even look at it. He can find it by reaching out. If others carry it, he thinks it's a waste of time (worrying that he can't find it). I also had this experience later, but I followed Teacher Liu, and I knew what he wanted to do. My undergraduate graduation work was done under his personal guidance. The two paintings of "Yellow River Shaogong" were done when Teacher Liu personally took us to the countryside. He was in charge of the final completion, and he suggested which areas should be heavier, which areas should be lighter, and which areas might need to be changed. Everything was completed under the guidance of Teacher Liu.
The Yellow River in the 1980s
The Paper: You have visited many famous people with Mr. Liu Wenxi, and had interactions with Mr. Zhu Qizhan and Mr. Tang Yun in Shanghai. Can you talk about your connection with Shanghai at that time?
Yang Xiaoyang: Teacher Liu Wenxi personally took me to the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy, Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts, and Guangdong to meet some famous artists, including Zhu Qizhan, Fang Zengxian, Huang Zhou, etc. I was fortunate to meet all of them. I remember when we went to Mr. Zhu Qizhan's house, we knocked on the door and rang the doorbell, but there was no response. Suddenly, I looked up and saw someone upstairs. It was Mr. Zhu's wife. She said, "Liu Wenxi, wait!" and threw the key down. I picked up the key and opened the door. They were on the second floor. I realized that Mr. Zhu's Chinese paintings and oil paintings were not separated. He had Chinese paintings on his desk and oil paintings on his easel. His oil paintings also looked like Chinese paintings, and Chinese paintings also looked like oil paintings. Moreover, he used both brushes. There is a kind of brush, like a toilet brush, which is made of bamboo. He used this brush to paint flower baskets and rattan. Can a brush compare to it? That kind of thick brushwork is related to the tools. When painting in color, of course, he also had to coordinate with the framework. His brush tip was very thick and experienced. He did not mix the colors evenly. Basically, he mixed 30% of the colors and then painted directly on the canvas. He then integrated them during the painting process, just like Mr. Li Keran said, "from nothing to something, from something to nothing". He spent a long time painting, and his works are pleasing to the eye, just like Mr. Huang Binhong said, "ink clumps, black clumps".
Yang Xiaoyang (first from left) at the Silk Road in 1985
The Paper: In fact, you were influenced by the Zhejiang School, Shanghai School and Chang'an School of Painting. Did your interactions with many masters of freehand painting have anything to do with the theoretical framework of freehand painting that you later proposed?
Yang Xiaoyang: Objectively speaking, after studying with Teacher Liu Wenxi, I became familiar with the traditions of Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts, from Shanghai School to Guangdong School, and in fact, Chang'an School, and Beijing-Tianjin School. Later, when I became the president of Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts, I also invited famous artists from all over the country to be visiting professors at Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts. At that time, when China was carrying out reform and opening up, Xi'an was inland and foreign exchanges were still relatively closed, so I was interested in communicating with all parts of the world. In this way, in my painting method, there is no distinction between China and the West, ancient and modern, and north and south. These three distinctions make me not consider which one is authentic when painting, and I don't consider what my style is like, or how this painting should be painted.
Liu Wenxi (left) and Yang Xiaoyang in 2004
The Paper: This exhibition adopts a dual narrative method of "creation + documentation", focusing on four major sections: life sketching, theme exploration, painting connotation, and ink spirit. How did you plan it?
Yang Xiaoyang: I still have to explain that some people may think that this exhibition is more planned, but in fact it is all improvisation. These four parts are formed naturally, not intentionally - I did not say that I would focus on ink painting, nor did I say that I would specialize in heavy colors in a certain period. It was all accidental. The exhibition spans 40 years, and I tried to show every stage, but they are just the tip of the iceberg of my overall creation. Behind the exhibition, there may be many failures in each period and each type. What is presented here does not represent success, but is just the exploration process.
The first part is my early works after I graduated from school. The second part is "theme creation". In my theme creation, it is from realism, freehand brushwork to abstraction, symbolism, to the use of comprehensive materials, to the capture of inexplicable accidental effects. I work on these five parts independently, and never stop working on one part after finishing it.
Details of The Silk Road, 1990s
For example, the 12-piece series of works "People Coming and Going" that were first exhibited in Shanghai this time, the characters' eyebrows and eyes were all in the initial draft, but I spent three days to cover them up, some of them were completely covered up, and some were broken into pieces. "People Coming and Going" was completed the day before it was shipped to Shanghai, and in the end it was all destroyed. I think this is just like Balzac's "Rodin's Hands", the parts have their own life and affect the whole, so try to discard the parts as much as possible.
Exhibition site of “People Come and Go”
The third part is called "Danqing Yiyun", which is actually heavy color painting. Heavy color painting has been involved in my theme painting part, and some works are heavy color painting. But there is a stage, or a part of each stage, where we are purely practicing colors, and we use heavy colors to express our thoughts and ideas at that time. The fourth part of ink painting is even more colorful. Our ink painting started with small regular script and line drawing, from regular script to cursive script. From fine brushwork to small freehand brushwork to large freehand brushwork. From outlining method to outline method, ink splashing method, ink accumulation method, to the repeated superposition and replacement of comprehensive materials, and the mutual destruction of various materials, pigments and brushwork, it produces accidental effects.
Part of Yang Xiaoyang's Xinjiang-themed work "Tarim Customs"
The Paper: You just talked about freehand ink painting and deformation. How did you draw on folk art, including some of the Silk Road cultural relics, such as horse posts, Han Dynasty figurines, and Tang Dynasty figurines, to draw inspiration from them?
Yang Xiaoyang: There is no difference between the Chinese and Western approaches to depicting spirit through form. Spirit comes out when form is gathered. As long as the painting is accurate, whether you understand it or not depends on your feeling. If you express the object seriously and objectively, even a beginner can convey the other person's spirit. The ancient saying "nothing is better than painting to preserve form" is the same as "depicting spirit through form", which means that we can preserve our memory in the form of pictures. The former Soviet Union's sketching system said that the initial step of sketching is to get as close to a photo as possible, but there is a sentence at the end, "stop when appropriate" - which means that it is not an endless pursuit of the light and shadow of the real object.
In China, Qi Baishi said, "If you don't see the brushwork, you can't paint the quality." Mr. Baishi was a master of portraits in his early years. "Using form to depict spirit" can be turned around, "Using spirit to depict form," "Focus on one point and ignore the rest," strengthen the most characteristic of the person, relax, weaken, ignore, and omit the others. It's between making choices, and only by making choices can the selections become very precious, "It's better to cut off one finger than to hurt ten fingers." Now, Western modernism has something in common with it, as well as folk art. The most divine, the most infectious, the most powerful, the most prominent, and the thing that first enters your impression is always a certain characteristic, not all-encompassing.
The Paper: Does folk art have a big impact on you?
Yang Xiaoyang: Art history does not distinguish between ancient and modern times, China and foreign countries. In fact, folk art that can be observed, experienced and touched is everywhere. Previously, Chinese art academies followed the methods of the former Soviet Union, and students did not understand folk art. But when we study art history, it is comprehensive. Art history also includes folk art, arts and crafts, and classics from all dynasties.
What we see when we go deep into life is definitely not limited by class assignments. Therefore, when I go deep into life, I feel this very deeply. In addition, during the trip to the Western Regions in 1985, I was interested in everything I saw. Art is not a concept in history, but a concrete feeling in life. So I painted folk art realistically. Once I painted folk art, I knew that the proportions and colors were like this.
The Paper: What are your experiences with ink painting?
Yang Xiaoyang: I don’t distinguish between the East and the West in ink painting techniques. For us, we can’t stick to our teachers and this region when facing the future. Since we have become internationalized, we don’t distinguish between the East and the West, the ancient and the modern, the north and the south. We also need to combine the use of lines, dots and water. I have been experimenting with ink painting for several years. I also support experimental ink painting and contemporary ink painting.
The Paper : Looking at the inscriptions on your paintings, I can see that the calligraphy style has also changed. Can you share your experience in this regard?
Yang Xiaoyang: I choose the fonts according to the picture, but in the process of learning calligraphy, we also learn calligraphy, epigraphy, calligraphy, and art characters. For example, the early "Song of the Yellow River" used Weibei, and I was writing Weibei at that time. "Foolish Old Man Moves the Mountains" is completely Weibei style, and the pen does not return when it is put into writing. This time, the second floor exhibition hall is all ink paintings. I saw it myself yesterday. I didn't feel anything when I wrote it. The most neatly written small regular script is the work of the "Longnan Old Memories" series, which is half black and half gray. There is no light in that group of paintings, but that word is a point and line composition in it, which can be said to be required by the picture.
Works from the "Longnan Old Memories" series
The Paper : You used to be the president of the National Academy of Painting, but you also paid special attention to some marginalized artists. Why?
Yang Xiaoyang : Like Li Shinan, Shi Hu, and Han Yu from Hebei, after I arrived at the National Academy of Painting in 2009, I hired these distinctive old gentlemen and insisted on inviting them to participate in our exhibitions. I hoped for diversity and didn't want the mainstream to be monotonous. It's hard to find a few distinctive painters, and they must not be forgotten.
The Paper : What do you hope to say to the Shanghai audience through this exhibition? What are your own expectations?
Yang Xiaoyang: Shanghai is, after all, a multicultural international metropolis. I have never left the ancient capital. I grew up, lived and worked in Xi'an, and now work in Beijing. Although it is closer than European and American countries, the cultural genes of Shanghai and Guangdong are different. I hope to listen to the Shanghai style and the voices from all walks of life in Shanghai here. Some of these reactions may be contradictory, and some may be my shortcomings. I hope to absorb more nutrition in Shanghai, be open to all, accept all kinds of criticisms, suggestions, questions and challenges, and continue to enrich myself.
Angkor series
