New China Artists ˙ Hu Yichuan
Compiled by: Cao Qinghui
Published by: China Youth Press
Publication date: First edition, first printing, May 2025
"New China Artists: Hu Yichuan", a project of the National Key Publications Publishing Plan during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period and a volume in the CAFAM Academic Series, was compiled into a manuscript in 2021 by Professor Cao Qinghui, building on the "Standing at the Frontline of Life: Hu Yichuan's Art and Documents Exhibition" which he curated in 2020 (click "Read More" at the end of the article to learn about the exhibition). In 2022, after reading the manuscript, an expert commented: "Reading the manuscript of Hu Yichuan has allowed me to enter a true world of Hu Yichuan. I am inspired by his legendary life and revolutionary spirit, moved by his creative passion and persistent pursuit, and touched by his feelings for the country and his love stories. Hu Yichuan spent his entire life interpreting the perseverance, sense of mission, sincerity, simplicity, selfless love, and great sentiments that define a revolutionary artist. I look forward to the early publication of this book." In 2025, New China Artists: Hu Yichuan was printed and published by China Youth Press after passing the record-filing for major book topics with the National Press and Publication Administration. This is another achievement in the editing and research of exhibition catalogs within the "14th Five-Year Plan" National Key Publications Publishing Plan project and the CAFAM Academic Series. It follows the publication of New China Artists: Hua Tianyou, which was led and compiled by Cao Qinghui in 2024, again leveraging exhibition curation results in collaboration with China Youth Press. Fan Di'an, President of the China Artists Association, stated in the preface: "From appreciating works to reading documents, this undoubtedly holds important academic significance for us to understand the spiritual qualities of Mr. Hu Yichuan and artists of his generation, as well as to recognize the cultural attributes of 20th-century Chinese art, especially many explorations and achievements of ideological significance."
The "New Chinese Artists" series of the CAFAM Academic Books, relying on the academic research and collected works of CAFA Art Museum, presents the artistic life journeys of several generations of renowned artists since the founding of the People's Republic of China. Through case studies, it sorts out this turbulent art history that emerged after the transformation of modern and contemporary traditional art.
Since the 1950s, CAFA Art Museum has been involved in writing the history of New China's fine arts through exhibitions. With the systematic development of the museum's academic construction in the new era, CAFA Art Museum has continuously promoted the compilation and publication of book series, which are based on its solid academic research. Such research includes both the basic sorting out of the museum's collections and exhibitions, as well as in-depth reflections on art history, art theory and museum studies.
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Introduction to Hu Yichuan
Author's Biography
Cao Qinghui is a professor in the Department of Art History, School of Humanities, Central Academy of Fine Arts. He is dedicated to the research on modern and contemporary Chinese art history, art education history, art material studies, and museum collection, as well as exhibition curation. He has participated in curating more than 20 works and document exhibitions focusing on the university's history, disciplines, and figures. His publications include A Leaf of Aesthetic Education， and Chinese Painting Entering Academies, etc. His published papers have been reprinted by Xinhua Digest and Plastic Arts.
《新中国美术家·胡一川》
《新中国美术家·胡一川》目录
不同于“站在人生的前线——胡一川艺术与文献展”的物料空间编辑工作，针对资料平面编辑工作的特定性，编著者曹庆晖从封面到体例、从作品到文献、从梳理到研究，均结合展览的主题与策划对《新中国美术家·胡一川》进行了有经有权的处理。
对于编辑体例，考虑到图录分章不宜过多以及文字编辑工作本身所要求的严谨规范，编著者一方面剪裁了不适于平面转化利用的第一展览板块“胡一川这个同志——大家所了解的胡一川”的视频采访内容，另一方面将展览其他4个呈现胡一川艺术人生内容的板块——“木刻与文献”“油画与文献”“美育与文献”“苦难与幸福”——并为一章，同时融入第一展览板块和展柜等其他辅助空间的照片和文献内容，总题为“艺术·人生”，从而形成以“主旨·策划”“艺术·人生”“专题·研究”和“后记”为基本章节的《新中国美术家·胡一川》编辑体例。
《新中国美术家·胡一川》内页
对于专题研究，其实并不止于“专题·研究”一章发表的从创作、展陈展开深入讨论的两篇文章，开篇呈现的展览主旨与策划写作无疑也是专题研究的一种。在《新中国美术家·胡一川》中，编著者很注意在章节大专题下对小专题的材料编辑和聚焦。因之，也就有了围绕木刻、油画创作和美育工作编辑、组织胡一川手稿材料的诸多列目和呈现，有了通过胡一川日记书信编辑而成的《到武汉去》《苦海深处》《千里之外》等文献汇编。将各类物料有机整合到某专题之下加以编辑，并在此基础上择题展开深入的专门讨论，是《新中国美术家·胡一川》在编著中自觉实施的编研方法。
《新中国美术家·胡一川》内页
对于书籍装帧，编著者希望既考虑胡一川绘画艺术辨识度但又不落常规，既突出“站在人生的前线”的主题但又不抽象，最终选定胡一川的一件水粉小画稿《出击之前》（25.7cm×21.3cm，1942年）为封面，并以胡一川1937年1月23日日记中的一句话——“你应该勇敢地跑到时代的前头当旗手，而不应该只握着时代的尾巴”——为封底，从书籍装帧而不是海报设计的需求呈现“站在人生前线”的主题。
《新中国美术家·胡一川》封面封底展开图
编后记
曹庆晖：为了人生进步和美好
——写在《胡一川》编后
阅读胡一川的作品和文稿，走进胡一川的世界，深深地为一位在救亡图存的时代里成长起来的有理想有责任的文艺战士，积极投身于民族解放和国家建设的前线， 振臂呼号、放声歌唱的奋勇作为所振奋；深深地为一位讲团结紧张严肃活泼、有觉悟也有苦恼的党员干部严以 律己、克己奉公的奉献精神所感慨；深深地为一位有血有肉、有情有义的男子汉和他忠孝、慈悲、恋爱、生死的故事与人生长情所感动。
站在人生的前线——是时代沧桑巨变的急切召唤和需求，是胡一川的切实响应和行动步履。在献身正义和争取自由的血火革命中，在追求光明和幸福的人生道路上，胡一川所代表的中国现代艺术先锋之一面——以画笔为刀枪，冲锋陷阵；以画笔为琴瑟，讴歌信仰——收获的艺术和精神财富，远比我们从教科书上看到的描述要精彩、浓郁、艰辛、坚定。同时从中也清楚地看到， 胡一川作为时代的一分子，从20世纪三四十年代的革命年代，到五六十年代的建设年代，到八九十年代的开放年代，在思想认识上也深深地钤印着时代的印痕。胡一川之所以是胡一川，就是他坚持自己的理解、认识和选择。
特别感谢广州美术学院胡一川研究所在展览策划和图书编著时在物料方面给予的大力支持。对于入展入编的会议记录稿、讲话发言稿、工作笔记、日记、书信、 回忆等原稿文字以及其他的发表文字，本书在研究所提供文字基础上，在尊重原稿原刊、不影响阅读和理解的原则下予以梳理和编校，尽可能顺其自然，力求让文字呈现较充分地反映胡一川所处时代的特点和风采。
编辑此书，与其说是和“站在人生的前线——胡一川艺术与文献展”相联系，对胡一川艺术人生的再记录，不如说是对蕴含其中的精神价值和经验智慧的深入挖掘与研究的再期待。与其说是为了学术研究，不如说是为了人生进步和美好。
是为记。
内 页
