
Ministry of Culture and Tourism
"2025 National Art Collection and Donation Award Program"
No Smooth Path To The Summit-- The Exhibition of Works Donated by Li Xingjian
Exhibition Dates: March 28, 2026 – April 19, 2026
Venue: Gallery A (3F) & 4th Floor Galleries, CAFA Art Museum
Opening Ceremony: 10:00, April 1, 2026
Venue: Academic Lecture Hall, CAFA Art Museum
Organizer: CAFA Art Museum
Supporting Institutions: School of Chinese Painting, CAFA; School of Calligraphy, CAFA
"No Smooth Path To The Summit: The Exhibition of Works Donated by Li Xingjian" will open on March 28, 2026 at Gallery A on the 3rd floor and the galleries on the 4th floor of CAFA Art Museum. This donation project has been selected into the "2025 National Art Collection and Donation Award Program" of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The donated works include more than 260 traditional Chinese paintings and over 3,000 sketches by the artist, making it the largest collection project of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in recent decades. These thousands of works are not only the artist's most affectionate tribute to his alma mater, but also a vivid visual diary documenting the complete journey of a "CAFA person" from a young student to an outstanding teacher, and then to a distinguished artist and educator.
This exhibition features selected key paintings by Li Xingjian from his student years in the 1960s to his overseas residence in the early 21st century. With a broad time span and a large number of works, it comprehensively presents Mr. Li Xingjian's artistic vision. It is hoped that the audience may understand how an artist forms his methods through repeated practice, establishes his style through inheritance and innovation, and ultimately transforms his personal creative experience into academic achievements that can be researched, discussed, and inherited.

Sorghum Is Red ,Li Xingjian, 1963 Ink and color on paper, 48 × 47.5 cm,Collection of CAFA Art Museum

A Panoramic View of Kunming Lake at Longevity Hill,Li Xingjian, 1982,Ink and color on paper, 96 × 183 cm,Collection of CAFA Art Museum

How Many Towers Are Veiled in Mist and Rain,Li Xingjian, 1981Ink and color on paper, 98 × 60 cmCollection of CAFA Art Museum

The Solemn and Auspicious Leshan Giant Buddha,Li Xingjian, 2003,Ink and color on paper, 84 × 50.5 cmCollection of CAFA Art Museum

Both north and south of the cottage surrounded by spring water, Li Xingjian, 1984Ink and color on paper, 83 × 50.5 cmCollection of CAFA Art Museum

Caught in Rain at the Old Cave on Mount Emei,Li Xingjian, 1988Ink and color on paper, 68 × 68 cmCollection of CAFA Art Museum

A Lane Leading to the Sacré-Cœur Basilica on Montmartre,Li Xingjian, 1997Ink and color on paper, 68.5 × 102 cmCollection of CAFA Art Museum

By the Seine (Paris),Li Xingjian, 1988Ink on paper, 34 × 34.5 cmCollection of CAFA Art Museum

The Alley Outside My Window,Li Xingjian, 1988,Ink on paper, 52.5 × 42.4 cmCollection of CAFA Art Museum
As a prized pupil and capable assistant to Mr. Li Keran, Li Xingjian deeply comprehended and practiced the "School of Painstaking Pursuit" spirit advocated by his mentor. This spirit represents not merely diligence, but also an almost devout perseverance and reverence for art. In his brushwork, whether depicting towering mountains and rivers or ordinary urban streets, there emanates a steady, profound, and vibrant aura. His landscape paintings inherit the aesthetic characteristics of Li’s school of landscape—darkness, fullness, ruggedness, and roughness—while integrating his unique insights into nature, thus forming a personal style marked by verdant richness, grandeur, and profound artistic conception. The landscapes he creates are small in scene yet vast in conception, concise in imagery yet far-reaching in meaning. With layered peaks and luxuriant ink washes, they manifest the magnificence and majesty of nature through shifting light and shadow, enabling viewers to transcend worldly distractions, as if listening to a symphony of pine winds and spring murmurs in the mountains.

Green Shade and White Silk,Li Xingjian, 1977Ink and color on paper, 97 × 60 cmCollection of CAFA Art Museum

Sunset Over Mountain Springs,Li Xingjian, 1963Ink and color on paper, 69 × 49 cmCollection of CAFA Art Museum

Site of the Lushan Conference,Li Xingjian, 1977Ink and color on paper, 68 × 46 cm,Collection of CAFA Art Museum

JinggangshanLi Xingjian, 1977Ink and color on paper, 50 × 137 cmCollection of CAFA Art Museum
A key highlight of this exhibition is the specially curated thematic section "Seeking Forms Through Diligent Study", which presents a concentrated display of the sketch works accumulated by Mr. Li Xingjian over decades. As an ancient saying goes, "Search out all wondrous peaks to make drafts," and this found perfect embodiment in Li Xingjian. For him, sketching was not merely a means of collecting source materials, but also a practice to hone his vision, skill, and inner resolve. "Never conceited, never hasty; learning through perseverance, as a true scholar of diligence." From the fishing boats and ferries along the banks of Guilin, to the majestic, perilous gorges of the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River; from the streets and alleys of foreign lands to the vibrant scenes of construction sites, his footsteps spanned both north and south of the Yangtze River and reached all corners of the world.

A Section of Kuixia GorgeLi Xingjian, 1977Pen on paper, 26.5 × 19.2 cmCollection of CAFA Art Museum

Pond SceneLi Xingjian, 1962Pen on paper, 15 × 21 cmCollection of CAFA Art Museum

Pedestrians on the BridgeLi Xingjian, 1977,Pen on paper, 19.2 × 26.5 cmCollection of CAFA Art Museum

The Joyful Old FarmerLi Xingjian, 1972,Pencil on paper, 26 × 19 cm,Collection of CAFA Art Museum

Driller Wang Guisen, Meticulous in His Work,Li Xingjian, 1970sPencil on paper, 25.7 × 31.5 cmCollection of CAFA Art Museum

The Towering Drilling RigLi Xingjian, 1970s,Pencil on paper, 31.6 × 25.8 cmCollection of CAFA Art Museum

Bullring (Madrid)Li Xingjian, 1988,Pen on paper, 16.7 × 15.8 cm,Collection of CAFA Art Museum

Château d'Estaing (Western Europe),Li Xingjian, 1988Pen on paper, 13 × 21 cm,Collection of CAFA Art Museum

Ah! SpainLi Xingjian, 1988,Pen on paper, 14.7 × 10.5 cm,Collection of CAFA Art Museum

Green Mountains at Sunset (Germany),Li Xingjian, 1988,Pen on paper, 18.1 × 17 cm,Collection of CAFA Art Museum
This exhibition is not only a comprehensive review and retrospective of Mr. Li Xingjian’s artistic achievements, but also a high tribute from the CAFA Art Museum to the selfless dedication of this distinguished alumnus. His artistic journey proves that only by rooting oneself in life, delving deep into tradition, and daring to innovate can one continuously climb to greater heights in art. Through the precious paintings on display, we will have the privilege of entering the simple yet grand artistic world of Mr. Li Xingjian.
We look forward to welcoming you on March 28!
Artist Profile

Li Xingjian
Born in Wuhan, Hubei Province in 1937, Li Xingjian is a renowned contemporary Chinese landscape painter and art educator. He was admitted to the Affiliated High School of Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in 1954, and entered the Department of Chinese Painting at the Central Academy of Fine Arts for further studies in 1958. Studying under Li Keran, he specialized in ink landscape painting. After graduating in 1963, he stayed and taught at the academy. He formerly served as a Professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Director of the Landscape Painting Studio of the Department of Chinese Painting, and a postgraduate supervisor. He is a member of the Chinese Artists Association and a Standing Director of the Li Keran Art Foundation.
His creations are grounded in sketching, with a simple and natural painting style. While inheriting Li Keran’s majestic and profound style, he integrates a fresh and bright contemporary spirit, forming a unique artistic language. His representative works include Autumn Red Season, Spring Rain over the River City, The Great River Flows East, River Boats Depart at Dawn, among others. He participated in the creation of the monumental Chinese painting Splendid China for the 1st Anniversary Celebration of Hong Kong’s Return to China in 1998.
He has held numerous solo exhibitions in China and around the world. Many of his works are collected by major art museums and museums at home and abroad, including the National Art Museum of China, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (USA), and the Fukuyama Museum of Art (Japan). Five individual painting collections have been published successively, including Collection of Li Xingjian’s Landscape Paintings and Li Xingjian Painting Collection.

Ministry of Culture and Tourism
"2025 National Art Collection and Donation Award Program"
No Smooth Path To The Summit: The Exhibition of Works Donated by Li Xingjian
Exhibition Dates: March 28, 2026 – April 19, 2026
Venue: Gallery A (3F) & 4th Floor Galleries, CAFA Art Museum
Organizer:
CAFA Art Museum
Supporters:
School of Chinese Painting, Central Academy of Fine Arts
School of Calligraphy, Central Academy of Fine Arts
Academic Chair: Yu Yang
Exhibition Directors: Jin Jun, Qiu Ting, Xu Hai, Han Wenchao
Exhibition Coordinators: Gao Gao, Hai Jun
Academic Support: Huang Huasan, Liu Rong, Yu Yue
Curators: Li Yaochen, Li Jie
Design Director: Ji Yujie
Special Thanks: Wang Tongren, Jiang Baolin, Wang Yong, Cui Xiaodong, Wang Wei, Gao Yi, Wang Geng
Editor-in-Chief / He Yisha
Editor / Du Yinzhu
