Systems Research and Behavioral Science

Syst. Res. 33, 150–158 (2016)

Published online 18 September 2014 in Wiley Online Library
(wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/sres.2316

■ Research Paper

Chinese Art in the Social Context: Unfolding

the Interplay of the ‘Four Enemies’
Jian-Jing Li*
Center for General Education, National Chi Nan University, Puli, Nantou County, Taiwan

Chinese art has an important status in the world. The aesthetic value of Chinese art is em-
bedded in the social context. The meanings of art to human beings are perceived through
their inner values that could limit their vision regarding the systems of interest. Unfolding
the values and ‘sweeping-in’ the social, cultural, political and economic considerations
could provide systemic insights into the complex world. Based on Churchman’s
‘unfolding’ concept, this study examined the implications of politics, morality and religion
in regard to the aesthetic system of Chinese art. The results show that the interactions of
the four ‘enemies’ have had a deep influence on Chinese art and generated artistic styles
and forms that should be interpreted in their temporal and social contexts to acquire the
whole meaning of the works. The implications and potential sweeping-in of other consid-
erations in the social context are also discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Keywords Chinese art; social context; systems approach; four enemies

INTRODUCTION mysteries of Chinese culture (Wang, 1980). Those

Chinese art has an important status in the world
(Sullivan, 1984). China has accumulated a large
amount of cultural heritage during its 5000-year
history. The forms and styles of Chinese art
shown in paintings, calligraphy, antiques and
architecture reflect the long-term fusion of
heterogeneous ethnic and cultural aspects of this
ancient civilization (Wang, 1997). The rich collec-
tions of the cultural heritage, as those treasures in
the famous National Palace Museum, have
attracted millions of visitors to explore the
* Correspondence to: Jian-Jing Li, National Chi Nan University, Center
for General Education, 470 Dah Shih Road, Puli, Nantou County,
54561, Taiwan.
E-mail: jjli@ncnu.edu.tw
unique artefacts not only represent the aesthetic
values in different dynasties but also reflect the
complex context of Chinese society and culture.
The aesthetic value of art is embedded in the
social context (Hauser, 1999). Artists, audiences,
collectors and sponsors from different social
hierarchies influenced the art styles and aesthetic
values in their particular ages. Chinese art devel-
oped diverse forms and styles during different
periods and in various geographic locations.
Those styles are expressed in various forms, such
as paintings, calligraphy, sculptures and architec-
tures (Shih, 1996). The whole picture of Chinese
art could not be completely understood by the
art expressions alone. In addition to delivering
the concept of beauty, artworks are also regarded

Received 29 April 2014

Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Accepted 26 August 2014
Syst. Res.
as the media for delivering messages and thoughts
(Shih et al., 1987). Furthermore, art collections also
indicate the social status and social hierarchy of
their possessors. Therefore, the social-shaping
nature of Chinese art cannot be ignored.
Compared with western art styles, Chinese art
in general was less realistic and focused more on
spirituality (Cahill, 1985). Differing from western
conceptualization, which placed greater emphasis
on rationality, Chinese aesthetic theory relied more
on intuition and the direct perception of the art
object and its context. Therefore, the researchers
of Chinese art need to immerse themselves into
the specific contexts to appreciate the meanings
of the artworks (Lee, 1973). In other words, some
essential meanings could be missed without
consideration of the context. The social context
should be considered along with the artwork as a
whole, in order to derive the real meaning of that
work (Suzuki, 1987).
However, the social context is very complex and
sometimes implicit. It requires appropriate perspec-
tives that are holistic and fundamental to identify
and interpret the structures of the social context.
Systems approaches are appropriate to bridge East-
ern and Western thoughts. Previous researches
used systemic thinking to align theories of physics
(Rhee, 1997), process theory (Sabelli, 1998), organi-
zation theories (Tuan and Ryan, 2000), complex
problem solving (Tuan and Ryan, 2002), cultural
systems (Bahm, 1988) and multi-methodologies
(Zhu, 1998) with oriental thinking such as Taoism,
Confucianism, the ying-yang concept and Bud-
dhism. Researchers also introduced Chinese
systems approaches such as the Wuli Shili Renli
(WSR) approach (Zhu, 2000) and the Buddhist
systems methodology (Shen and Midgley, 2007) to
the systems thinking discipline. Using systems
approach to explore the impacts of Chinese social
context would be an appropriate approach.
The systems approach is useful to address
aspects regarding human beings. Most human
beings have values that may limit their vision to
the systems of interest (McIntyre-Mills, 2006).
Being aware of these inner values and beginning
to see the world through the eyes of another
provide a starting point of the systems approach
(Churchman, 1979a). Churchman (1979b) character-
ized four inner values: politics, morality, religions
Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Chinese Art in Social Context: Unfolding the Interplay of Four Enemies
RESEARCH PAPER
and aesthetics as ‘enemies within’. Unfolding
the values and ‘sweeping-in’ the social, cultural,
political and economic considerations could
provide systemic insights into the complex world
(Churchman, 1982; Ulrich, 1988).
“Human history is a tapestry made up of the inter-
play of the four enemies…” (Churchman, 1979b,
p. 26); considering this interplay could be a useful
means to unfold the tapestry and enable us to better
understand and appreciate the evolving values of
Chinese art. This study examined Chinese art based
on the perspective of the interplay of the four ene-
mies in the social context, as illustrated in Figure 1.
The aesthetic system, along with the other three
‘enemies’, is embedded in the social context. The
expression of the aesthetic value of Chinese art is
under the influences of those factors. Based on this
perspective, this study examined the implications
of politics, morality and religion in regard to the
aesthetic system of Chinese art. The results are
summarized in Table 1 in terms of their implica-
tions and related artistic styles and forms. The
implications and potential sweeping-in of other
considerations in the social context are discussed
in the final section.
THE POLITICAL ASPECT
Social hierarchy has strongly influenced the
development of Chinese art. In ancient Chinese
feudal society, art was the privilege of the upper
classes. The preferences of the upper classes
would greatly influence the formation of art
Figure 1 The interplay of the four enemies in the social context
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Table 1 The social context and implications to Chinese art
Aspect in the
social context Impacts to aesthetics
Politics 1. Courtly art and propaganda
2. The intellectuals and the recluse
Morality 1. Moral stereotype of gentlemen
2. Art for moral teachings
3. Past reverence and art style reinvention
Religions 1. The worship of heaven, earth and ancestors
2. Immortality and afterlife
3. The multiplicity and inclusion of religions
styles of their age. There are two major influential
classes. The first is the emperor and the nobles.
They would hire painters or craftsmen to create
artworks for their various purposes, political con-
siderations, or for public propaganda. The second
is the intellectual class who used artistic creations
as means to convey their thoughts and feelings.
In ancient China, most of the painters and crafts-
men were anonymous, including those who were
employed by the emperor and the nobles. The so-
cial status of the artists was not high, until some in-
tellectuals began to create artworks. The intellectual
class had a higher degree of freedom and higher in-
tention to express their ideals through art and iden-
tify themselves with their signatures. They also
liked to express their thoughts and reflections about
the society and life with poems or essays and put
them onto the art objects; this became a special fea-
ture of Chinese art. Since then, the style of Chinese
paintings became more introspective and philo-
sophical, as well as rich in metaphors, enabling
the audience to appreciate the authors’ conceptions.
The two classes of artworks resulted in the Chinese
courtly style and the recluse style that are discussed
in the following subsections.
Courtly Art Style and Propaganda
In the long history of China, many imperial families
appreciated art objects and were enthusiastic
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152
Syst. Res.
Related art styles and artistic forms
Realistic, decorative and magnificent art style
Heroic and historical paintings
Spiritual, philosophical and succinct styles
Landscape paintings with ink
Metaphorical and stereotypical styles
Paintings with plants motif
Narrative and illustrative styles
Sage figures, narrative paintings
Retro style
Imitation and recombination of masterpieces
Mystical, imaginary and legendary styles
Ritual vessels, jade objects
Mystical, imaginary and supernatural styles
Stone relief, mortuary objects and sculptures
Spiritual and religious styles
Wall paintings, religious sculpture, architecture
collectors. Emperors would recruit artists to
come to the palace as royal artists under the em-
peror’s control. The royal artists could create the
artworks individually or collectively in praise of
the emperor and offered their works to the em-
peror as gifts. This type of works became known
as the Chinese courtly style, which is ornate,
magnificent and decorative.
The royal artists had another mission, to create
art objects for propaganda. Royal artists would
draw paintings to illustrate the prosperity of the
cities to honour the reign of the emperor. The
meritorious achievements of the emperor were
important subject matter for the royal artists.
These artworks would be handed down to the
royal descendants to worship and memorize.
This type of artistic works tended to present the
emperors as heroic figures in a triumphant return
from battles or hunting. The image of eagles and
strong horses were widely used as emblems of
the emperor’s strength and courage. In addition,
because Confucianism emphasizes the appropri-
ateness of conduct in each social hierarchy, many
emperors regarded Confucianism as a guiding
principle of governing. The artists would create
artworks based on historical personages or
stories that advocate virtues and social values.
The emperor’s sponsorship and preferences
became the prevailing custom at that age.
Through their political influences, the preferences
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Jian-Jing Li
Syst. Res.
and tastes of the emperor and the nobles would
attract the ingratiation and imitation of artists at
that time and finally led to the emergence of a
unique style in each dynasty. For example,
Emperor Hui Tsong of the Song Dynasty (AD
960–1279) was an enthusiast in appraising and
drawing paintings. He established the first dedi-
cated royal painting institute in Chinese history
and recruited famous artists from all over the
country. His act created the elegant, succinct
and aesthetic fashion that became a major style
of Chinese paintings. Other examples, like the
prevalence of calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty
(AD 618–907) and the habit of Emperor Chien
Lung of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1644–1911) to
put seal stamps and comments on art collections
also had a strong influence on the Chinese artists
and collectors. During that time, the realistic style
introduced by the western missionaries was
preferred by Emperor Chien Lung. He recruited
the missionaries from the west to draw paintings
for the nobles. The most famous example was
the Italian missionary Giuseppe Castiglione. He
came to China in 1714 and created many horse
paintings for the emperor.
In the art collection aspect, the emperors were
the biggest collectors of artistic objects in Chinese
history. They would keep the treasures and valu-
able artworks from solicitation and tributes in the
royal gallery. Emperor Chien Lung of the Qing
Dynasty is an evident example. He actively
expanded the collections of the royal gallery and
accumulated an enormous amount of cultural her-
itage. The imperial collections of the Qing Dynasty
finally became the forerunner of the famous
National Palace Museum collection.
The Intellectuals and the Recluse Style
The intellectuals played an essential role in
Chinese art history and developed a completely
different art style. Proficiency in calligraphy,
literacy and art is the common ability of ancient
Chinese intellectuals. Many intellectuals would
devote most of their life to pass the official exam-
ination for an official career. Those who failed in
the official examination or were frustrated in po-
litical struggles might withdraw from the world
Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Chinese Art in Social Context: Unfolding the Interplay of Four Enemies
RESEARCH PAPER
and become recluses. Many frustrated intellec-
tuals decided to give up a career in politics, deny
the pursuit of vanity and wealth, and turned
their interests towards self-exploration and
spiritual relief. Instead of chasing secular fame
and benefits, the recluses turned their attention
to the creation of landscape artworks and poems.
They used many metaphors with the objects in
the natural environment to express their personal
feelings (National Palace Museum, 1984). Such
an art style emphasizes the expression of spiritu-
ality and peacefulness, by leaving ample spaces
in the paintings and using plain colours,
especially in the ink painting of landscapes. They
achieved the most spiritual artistic achievements
in Chinese art history and provided unique and
important features of Chinese art (Fu, 1987).
THE MORALITY ASPECT
Morality is regarded as the important force for
maintaining social order in Chinese culture.
Therefore, advocating an ideal stereotype of
personality to the intellectual class became an
important mission of the education system. In
this perspective, art became an important means
to spread the concepts and deliver the message
of moral teaching.
The Gentlemen as a Moral Stereotype
Chinese culture has a long tradition of endorsing an
ideal stereotype of personalities called gentlemen.
The concept of the idealized gentleman stimulated
the imaginations of an ideal wonderland in which
every citizen has the personality of a gentleman,
and everyone has shared values about nature and
life. The stereotypes and imagination were reflected
in the style of Chinese art. Many metaphors had
been used in classic Chinese literature and
paintings to imply the virtuous spiritual quality of
a gentleman. The artists used natural objects as met-
aphors to deliver their concepts and interpretation
of the moral connotations of a gentleman. For
example, the artists would use the figures of plum
flowers in the snow and the pine trees grown on
stone edges to indicate that a gentleman should be
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RESEARCH PAPER
persistent with high morality. They would also
symbolize the characteristics of humility, elegance
and integrity with bamboo and orchid.
Art as a Vehicle for Moral Teaching
Chinese art has long been used as a vehicle for
moral teaching. Artists advocate morality by
drawing figure paintings of ancient sages and
philosophers such as Confucius and Mencius
and illustrating stories about moral teaching to
remind people of their inculcations.
In general, education is the privilege of the
upper class males in the society of ancient China.
Many women and the people of lower classes
were illiterate. Consequently, pictures and
drawings became important tools for moral
teaching of the lower social classes. There were
many paintings, vignettes and relief sculptures
referring to historical stories that advocated
ethics and social norms. Some artists would draw
paintings or illustrations based on classic books
such as Filial Piety so that the illiterates could un-
derstand. A famous example is the Admonitions
Scroll of the Jin Dynasty (AD 317–420). The scroll
was painted on silk to teach the appropriate
conduct and values to ladies in the royal palace.
The works in this category generally conveyed
the ethical values and social norms in an accessi-
ble way that would maintain the social order and
serve as propaganda.
Past Reverence and Art Style Reinvention
There is a tendency in Chinese culture to revere
achievements and values of past gurus. The
aesthetics system also inherited this tendency.
Some artists would highly value ancient master-
pieces, regarding the conceptions and techniques
revealed in the masterpieces as their goals. On
the other hand, since the mid-Ming Dynasty, the
artistic achievements in different art styles had
reached levels difficult for the descendants to
transcend. A new art style emerged by imitating
the art elements in previous masterpieces and
recombining them in new artwork.
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Syst. Res.
The original rationale of Chinese artists’
creation was to have a direct perception of nature
and to express it in their works. Artists of the new
style began with imitating masterpieces of callig-
raphy or paintings created by past master artists.
They regarded successful imitation as proof of
personal art skills being equivalent to those of
the art masters. After many imitation works, the
artists became capable of manipulating the
elements in different masterworks and combin-
ing these elements into the artists’ own creation.
The four Wangs (Shimin Wang 1952–1680, Jen
Wang 1598–1677, Hui Wang 1632–1717 and
Yuanqi Wang 1642–1715) in the early Qing
Dynasty are famous examples. Their artworks
were endorsed by the emperors and had a
significant impact on the art style over the next
300 years.
THE RELIGIOUS ASPECT
The religious world view of China stems from
two ancient beliefs. The first is the belief in the
unity of nature and human beings (Chien,
2001), and the other is the belief of the harmony
of the three elements: heaven, earth and human
beings (Legge, 1963). The two beliefs became
the core of the Chinese thinking and permeated
Confucianism and Taoism; after the introduction
of Buddhism into China in the first century, the
three religions became the major religious
systems in China.
The close relations between heaven and earth
and between human beings and nature became
the foundation of religious thinking in China
since the pre-historic age. The concept of the
heaven includes the belief in immortality and
afterlife; the concept of the earth involves the
belief in the spirituality of things on earth.
Human beings are part of the natural universe,
and an individual is embedded in a kinship
system. The Chinese religious world view thus
became part of the common belief in Chinese
culture. The aspects involved include ancestor
belief, immortality and the religious system; they
had an important influence on the aesthetics
system. Their interactions with the aesthetics
system are discussed in the succeeding texts.
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Jian-Jing Li
Syst. Res.
The Worship of Heaven, Earth and Ancestors
The Chinese emperors were regarded as the Sons
of Heaven, so the emperor became the delegate
of the people to worship heaven and the earth.
Ritual vessels and altars are important elements
in the worship rituals; therefore, the making
and handover of ritual vessels for the worship
ceremonies became an important subject of the
royal craftsmen. In ancient China, the emperor
had jade objects with specific shapes and patterns
made for the ritual, and altars built in dedicated
temples with rigorous specifications and layouts.
The architecture would have round elements to
indicate heaven and the square elements to indi-
cate the earth.
The kinship concept is the core of the Chinese
social structure, and the continuity of the family
through generations is the fundamental social
value. The social hierarchy was established with
the family as the lowest foundation, below the
patriarchal clans and the state respectively. The
kinship-based social status and hierarchy system
included the ethics, morality and norms in the
feudalist system of ancient China. Therefore,
ancestor worship and related rituals are regarded
as the extension and linkage of the individual to
the family and the ancestor system. The rituals
were highly respected from the emperor on
down to common civilians.
Ritual vessels played an important role in
ancestor worship. The ritual vessels were finely
created from bronze or jade and were sometimes
engraved with family marks or inscriptions to
record remarkable family events. Different
social class had their own rituals as well as the
specifications of the vessels. Family members
regarded the ritual vessels as a symbol of family
identity and social status. The shape, quality
and quantity of the ritual vessels implied the
social and political status of the family, and the
vessels were carefully kept as heirlooms and
handed down through generations. As a result,
emperors in various dynasties inherited and
possessed ancient ritual vessels as symbols of
their legitimacy. Therefore, the artistic style of
the ritual vessels would emphasize stability, long
lasting, and value to represent the continuity of
the clan and the state.
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Chinese Art in Social Context: Unfolding the Interplay of Four Enemies
RESEARCH PAPER
Immortality and Afterlife Thinking
The religious view in China was closely related to
the views on life and death (Shih, 2006). Immor-
tality and the afterlife have been major issues in
the religious system. It has impacted the aesthetic
systems in two ways. The first is the concept of
the supernatural or celestial beings, and the other
is the application of art in mortuary objects. They
reflected the dual purposes in the social belief to
seek immortality and a wealthy livelihood.
The concept of supernatural or celestial beings
emerged in the Qin Dynasty (221–207 BC). The
main religion in that period was Taoism, which
posited that human could evolve into immortal
beings through religious practices. The wish for
immortality was reflected in many artworks.
Artists would draw the figures of fairies and
famous divine beings based on their imagination
(Li, 2012). For example, the Guardians of Five
Stars and Twenty-Eight Constellations of the
Tang Dynasty and Lao-tzu Riding an Ox of the
Ming Dynasty (AD 1368–1644) are famous works
of the imagined figures. In this segment, the
artists also used some metaphors as a plea for
blessing. For example, they frequently used the
bat as a symbol of luck and reishi mushrooms
(Ganoderma lucidum) or herbs as the symbol of
health and long life.
The second aspect of religion’s impact on the
aesthetic system is found in mortuary objects.
Most art objects of the ancient China were
discovered among mortuary objects. Their deco-
rations, motifs and locations in the tomb chamber
reflected political, social and aesthetic features of
ancient society. Chinese people believe in an
afterlife after death. Therefore, family members
would place many mortuary objects with the
dead on one hand for the dead to use in the
afterlife and on the other hand demonstrating
the wealth and social status of the family.
The mortuary objects would reflect the views
of the afterlife as well as the projection of current
lifestyle. The mortuary objects might include
finely decorated tools, ornaments, vessels and
sculptures of guardians for the entertainment or
life needs of the dead in the afterlife. The mauso-
leum chambers would be decorated with carv-
ings of mythical creatures and the stone relief of
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RESEARCH PAPER
fairies who could lead the dead to heaven.
The dead would be dressed in a jade suit as an
indication of immortality. The most famous
example is the mausoleum of the Qin Shi Huang
(259–210 BC), the first emperor of the Qin
Dynasty. Thousands of lifelike terra-cotta war-
riors and horses were placed in the mausoleum
at the dead emperor’s command.
The Impacts of the Early Religion System and
Buddhism
The Chinese religion system has integrated multi-
ple belief systems, and each belief system has a dif-
ferent focus in its world view. Taoism addressed
the relations between human beings and nature
and stimulated the prevalence of nature-related
motifs in artworks. Confucianism addressed the
relations between people and the social classes.
Therefore, it stimulated the moral teaching and
ethic-related art subjects. The two locally gener-
ated religions jointly influenced the religious
views and subsequently impacted Chinese art.
Buddhism introduced another attitude of life
to China. Buddhism became popular in China
during the Northern and Southern Dynasties
(AD 420–589); it was a time of long-term quarrels
between states. The suffering in life stimulated
the people to seek a way to free themselves from
the pains. Mediated by the visible aesthetic forms
of Buddhist artworks, the world views of
Buddhism towards detachment of current
suffering and a focus on purification through
reincarnated afterlives soon became widely ac-
cepted by society. Buddhism provided spiritual
freedom through the expectations of joy and
good fortune in the afterlives and became a
spiritual shelter for the people.
As a result, many Buddha figures were created
in terms of sculptures and wall paintings in some
pilgrimage sites and Buddhist art centres. After
hundreds of years, some pilgrimage sites were
running short of space, so the artists drew their
new paintings on the walls over the old ones,
creating a unique style of multi-layered wall
paintings. The frescoes and stone statues in the
caves of Dun-huang and Yun-gang are the most
famous examples.
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Syst. Res.
DISCUSSION
This study aimed to explore the social-shaping
nature of Chinese art through a systemic perspec-
tive. Based on Churchman’s ‘unfolding’ concept,
this study examined the interplay of politics,
morality, religion and aesthetics in the social
context of Chinese art. The results show that the
interactions of the four enemies have had a deep
influence on Chinese art and generated artistic
styles and forms that should be interpreted in their
temporal and social contexts to acquire the whole
meaning of the works. The implications of this
study are discussed in the succeeding texts.
Unfolding the Aesthetic Values Through the
Interplay of the Four Enemies
In the ancient oriental society, politics and
religion in general were closely related and influ-
enced other aspects of society. The political rulers
used religion and morality to enhance their
authority; therefore, the aesthetic values would
often involve the concerns and purposes of
values outside the aesthetic system. Although
the social context differed in different oriental
countries such as Japan, Korea and India, the
approach to unfold the aesthetic values by
considering the interplay of the four enemies could
be potentially fruitful as well in other locales.
Furthermore, although the influences of social
aspects were discussed in separate sections in
this paper, their influences on the aesthetic sys-
tem were not independent but jointly influenced
one another. Take the religious aspect for
example. Confucianism is one of the major reli-
gions in Chinese history. Because it emphasizes
ethics and social order, generally, it was favoured
by the emperors as propaganda. Some intellec-
tuals who were tired of the Confucian social norms
and dogmas might turn to seek the spiritual
freedom offered by Taoism. The philosophical
world views of Taoism generated an aesthetic im-
pact on the intellectuals and led to the recluses
and hermit art style. Therefore, one should take
multiple values and aspects of the social context
into account when evaluating Chinese artworks.
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Jian-Jing Li
Syst. Res.
Sweeping-in of Potential Considerations in the
Social Context
The aesthetic system is embedded in the social con-
text, but the social context evolved over time. There-
fore, it could be necessary to constantly reconsider
the boundaries of the aesthetic system and sweep-
in potentially related aspects into consideration.
The society of China has changed greatly; new
social factors have emerged to influence the
Chinese aesthetic system. This study identified
two distinctive changes of the Chinese aesthetic
system: the system’s boundary redefinition and
the external impacts from the west, which are
discussed in the succeeding texts.
The economic factor began to change the scope
of the art market in more modern times. Because
of the development of urbanization and commer-
cialization, the aesthetic system was influenced
correspondingly. The increasing wealth in the
private sector and the rising trade between China
and the west extended the boundaries of the
traditional Chinese aesthetic system to serve the
demands of the emerging local and the western
market; the art styles evolved accordingly to
satisfy the market needs.
On one hand, the high popularity of Chinese por-
celain in Europe created a new market for Chinese
art. The trade porcelain with western landscapes
and figures produced by Chinese craftsmen was
so popular in Europe at that time that China be-
came synonymous with porcelain and continued
until now. The growing demand induced the adop-
tion of more western colours and materials.
On the other hand, the art market driven by
the new demands from the local rich people
attracted many artists. Many professional artists
appeared in the private sector and made their liv-
ing by producing and selling market-oriented
artworks. When the Chinese feudalism system
was terminated after the Qing Dynasty, the de-
mands from the private sector gradually became
the main segment of the art market.
Additionally, western culture has had a revolu-
tionary impact on the Chinese aesthetic system in
recent centuries. Since the late Qing Dynasty,
Chinese artists were strongly concerned the west-
ern art styles and eagerly learned western tech-
niques. There were many dialogues and debates
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Chinese Art in Social Context: Unfolding the Interplay of Four Enemies
RESEARCH PAPER
inside the Chinese art circle. Many young artists
decided to devote their efforts to western art
styles and created a new kind of aesthetic value.
More western materials and colours were used
in the creation of artworks, and the western
education system gradually became the main-
stream of the art education in China, which has
continued up to now. As a consequence, the
contemporary aesthetic value in China has com-
bined the different values of western cultures
and the traditional Chinese aesthetic values in
the aesthetic system.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author wants to thank three anonymous
reviewers for their helpful comments to improve
this manuscript.
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