Growing Stage: 1911-1949

Watercolour entered its growing stage in China from 1911-49 and the most famous artists of this period were Zhang Chongren (1907-98), Pan Sitong (1904-81), and Situ Qiao (1902-58).

In the first few decades of the 20th century, watercolour gained a huge popularity among   Chinese people. In the 1920-30s, the so-called yuefenpai (calendar) paintings, created by local artists on the basis of both Western watercolour skills and Chinese gongbi or fine-brush painting , became a favourite collectable among millions of Chinese households.

The yuefenpai paintings usually featured then popular singers and movie stars or legendary beauties from Chinese literary classics.

Meanwhile, more and more Chinese youths were trained in the art of watercolour with the establishment of a couple of art education bodies, including Shanghai Art School (in 1912 by Liu Haisu), Peking Art School (in 1918 by Zhen Jin), the National Art College (in 1928 by Lin Fengmian), and the founding of watercolour societies in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Guangzhou from 1912-36.

During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45), many Chinese watercolour artists, such as Li Jianchen (1900-2002) and Li Keran (1907-89) expressed their rage on Japanese occupation of their native land and the atrocities committed by invading Japanese troops.

Watercolour works at this time were created with Western techniques but also a clear awareness of Chinese folk and ethnic art, pointed out Tao Shihu, an art historian and watercolourist from Shandong Province. For instance, master painters Situ Qiao travelled to Xinjiang, Ni Yide visited Miao and Zhuang ethnic groups in Guangxi and Guizhou in the 1930s to seek inspirations, Tao said.

 Rapid Growth: 1949-1978

From 1949-78, watercolour gained rapid growth in New China since the art genre was

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