The National Art Museum of China in Beijing is holding an exhibition of landscape paintings in its collection until March 23. Highlights include Sanmen Gorge by Wu Zuoren. (JIANG DONG / CHINA DAILY)

In landscape paintings, Chinese artists of the past presented a lifestyle in which one was embraced by nature, and through which one hoped to understand the rules of the universe.

This art philosophy transformed as the country modernized. Diverse styles and forms were undertaken by generations of 20th century artists to meet people's cultural demands in the social context of that time.

The display, running through March 23, brings together some 130 ink-color paintings done in the classical style, oil works, prints, watercolors and sculptures, featuring some of the greatest artists and reformers of modern China, such as Lin Fengmian, Huang Binhong and Fu Baoshi

To review the dramatic evolution of modern Chinese art, the National Art Museum of China in Beijing has mounted an exhibition, titled Magnificent Mountains and Rivers, showing selected landscape works by master artists that are in its collection.

The display, running through March 23, brings together some 130 ink-color paintings done in the classical style, oil works, prints, watercolors and sculptures, featuring some of the greatest artists and reformers of modern China, such as Lin Fengmian, Huang Binhong and Fu Baoshi.

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The exhibition, according to museum director Wu Weishan, doesn't explore the artistic term of shanshui (mountains and waters) in its normal way, but focuses on the rich cultural meanings of jiangshan (rivers and mountains).

"The term jiangshan, in Chinese culture, not only refers to all creatures as the representation of nature's creativity," Wu says, "it also means people and the civilization they have created by sourcing from nature."

The National Art Museum of China in Beijing is holding an exhibition of landscape paintings in its collection until March 23. Highlights include After the Rain by Pan Tianshou. (JIANG DONG / CHINA DAILY)

He says the paintings on show celebrate the momentum of nature and more importantly, human spirit and vitality.

"The exhibition is a journey to take viewers to the time of the featured painters to understand how they integrated individual feelings with the atmosphere of different stages in history in their distinctive depictions of landscapes," Wu adds.

Paintings that portray socialist construction after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 are also highlighted at the exhibition.

Monumental works have been shown at the National Art Museum of China from time to time.

The National Art Museum of China in Beijing is holding an exhibition of landscape paintings in its collection until March 23. Highlights include After the Rain by Pan Tianshou and Sanmen Gorge by Wu Zuoren. (JIANG DONG / CHINA DAILY)

Paintings created in this period－1950s and '60s－show the efforts of artists in building a new imagery system, incorporating into the landscape paintings new subjects of depiction that predecessor artists never did: miners, rigs, dams and power stations

These include Wuhan Fangxun Tu, a scroll painting by Li Xiongcai that documents people of Wuhan, Hubei province, busily engaged in flood-defense projects ahead of rainstorms, and Sanmen Gorge in which late oil painter Wu Zuoren presented a panoramic view of the Yellow River and the ongoing dam-building at the gorge in Henan province.

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Paintings created in this period－1950s and '60s－show the efforts of artists in building a new imagery system, incorporating into the landscape paintings new subjects of depiction that predecessor artists never did: miners, rigs, dams and power stations.

Another part of the exhibition has works that reflect a tendency toward diversification after the reform and opening-up started in the late 1970s. Their vision being broadened, artists' exploration of subjects, compositions, techniques and styles shows the influence of a variety of world art and art movements being introduced to the country.

Other paintings show a reflection on the impact of human activities on ecological systems and rethinking on the relationship between human society and nature.

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Addressing environmental concerns has become a new keynote for landscape painters these days.

Contact the writer at linqi@chinadaily.com.cn