Ashmolean Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Chao Chung-hsiang was born in Henan province. From 1935 to 1939 he studied painting at the National Art Academy in Hangzhou under Lin Fengmian, famous for his own studies in France and his association with the Fauves. Chao was also a pupil of Pan Tianshou, whose view of modern European painting as an instrument for the reinterpretation of traditional Chinese ink painting he shared. He moved to Taiwan in 1949 and in 1956 he travelled west, living in Spain for some time before settling in New York. From the 1960s, he worked between the States and Taiwan, developing his interest in abstraction and the use of ink.

Chao Chung-hsiang’s Black Splash series dates from the 1980s. He traces the lineage of splashed-ink works from Wang Mo of the Tang dynasty through Liang Kai of the Song, Bada Shanren and Shi Tao of the late Ming, to Qi Baishi and Pan Tianshou in the 20th century. He comments that the works allude to the noble character, virtues and thoughts of the artists, and that their format and appearance are secondary.