Chinese ink painting has a history of thousands of years and has been developed into tremendous styles by different painters. Li Hu is one of them. He had fused Western techniques into traditional Chinese art form. 

An exhibition is being held in Beijing to commemorate the late Chinese artist, Li Hu, as 2019 marks the 100th anniversary of his birth.

In a generation that witnessed China's war period, as well as post-war reconstruction, Li spent his whole life depicting the country's major changes. The stories in his works are unique, so are his painting techniques.

"In this piece, Li Hu used Western painting techniques during the whole process from sketching to the final color ink painting," says curator Cao Qinghui. "When he did the sketches, he did it from Western perspectives. But all the materials were for traditional Chinese color ink painting. Unlike oil painting paper, the rice paper is quite thin. In order to present light and shade, he drew on both sides of the paper."

Li's career was largely influenced by his teacher, Xu Beihong, a Chinese ink painting master who had spent years studying art in Europe. Western ways of painting could always be found in Li's works. He combined the techniques from both cultures and experimented with them in his creations.

According to Curator Cao Qinghui, traditional Chinese ink painting doesn't focus on light much. It's more about artistic conception. So the series of night scenes are seen as another breakthrough by Li, who used light and shadow in ink painting to set a specific time of a day. Quite a number of Li's manuscripts are collected in the exhibition, displaying the artist's thoughts and steps in his creative process.

Cao said, "Li Hu was very strict with himself in his working procedure. Each step was specific. We couldn't say that his color ink painting is an art piece, while the initial sketch was just a process to it. Quite the opposite, his sketches all carry aesthetic value."

The exhibition "Four Stanzas on Aspiration" runs through January 3 at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing.