After traveling for half a life, Zhang Shaoxia picked up his paintbrush again after the end of the "Commercial War" and held an exhibition that transported people's thoughts back to 40 years ago. In this exhibition, not only does it reflect Zhang Shaoxia's current state of mind and situation, but it also allows people to see how art was spread in the resource scarce era of hand copying; It further demonstrates personal choices under the changing times.

'Diligence'

There are very few introductions about Zhang Shaoxia online, and he intentionally avoids media interviews. In his own words, 'businessmen have to keep a low profile'. Compared to recounting history, Zhang Shaoxia seems to prefer telling an experience with concrete results. But besides the facts witnessed, the story about Zhang Shaoxia comes more from the accounts of friends.

In 1979, Zhang Shaoxia enrolled in the Fine Arts Department of Nanjing University of the Arts as one of China's first batch of graduate students in the field of art history. He studied under the renowned foreign history expert, Mr. Liu Ruli. In 1982, Zhang Shaoxia stayed at the school to teach.

In 1985, Li Xiaoshan was studying for a master's degree at Nanjing University of the Arts, and at that time, Zhang Shaoxia was expected to become the youngest associate professor at Nanjing University of the Arts. That year, Li Xiaoshan wrote an article criticizing Chinese painting, which caused some stir in the art world. Zhang Shaoxia suggested that he seize the opportunity to write a book called "History of Modern Chinese Painting". In 1986, the book "History of Modern Chinese Painting" co authored by two individuals was published by Jiangsu Fine Arts Publishing House.

But before this, Zhang Shaoxia had already published several works, such as "Outline of European Arts and Crafts History", "Asian Arts and Crafts History", "African and American Arts and Crafts" published by Shaanxi People's Fine Arts Publishing House, and "History of Western Art Development" that had been included in the publishing plan by Beijing People's Fine Arts Publishing House but had not yet been released.

These works were all completed during Zhang Shaoxia's graduate studies. In the words of Chen Xiaoxin, a teacher at Nanjing University of the Arts at the time, Zhang Shaoxia was like a "writing machine", and his most prominent characteristic was "diligence".

Chen Xiaoxin is two years older than Zhang Shaoxia. They first had a teacher-student relationship, and then became colleagues, working together for 7 years. During this period, Chen Xiaoxin witnessed the creation and publication of multiple works by Zhang Shaoxia. He did not hesitate to praise and was not surprised by Zhang Shaoxia's future achievements and choices.

Zhang Shaoxia has a good writing style. He keeps writing, and among his peers, there is no one who works so hard. Even my teacher Mr. Liu Ruli and I feel inferior

In Zhang Shaoxia's autobiography, he also recalled his experience of running through libraries in Beijing, Shanghai, and Nanjing to copy materials, and lamented the days when he couldn't even afford paper due to insufficient funding. He developed the skill of writing small characters for this, filling thousands of sesame like small characters on A4 sized paper.

He wrote a total of six books called 'History of European Art', and before they could be published, every time he wrote one, students would rush to copy it. Along with his art history course, there were no empty seats. Among the students of that era, many were admitted to Nanjing University of the Arts through Zhang Shaoxia's handwritten books. They "dare not say they memorized all the six volumes, but they also knew the important chapters as if they were a treasure trove".

'Vision'

In addition to diligence, Zhang Shaoxia's foresight and insight are also praised.

Many older generations of Southern artists mention Zhang Shaoxia when recalling the period of discipline construction transformation at Nanjing University of the Arts. Liu Weidong, the junior brother of Zhang Shaoxia and now a professor in the Art History Department of Nanjing University of the Arts, also recalled: "In the 1980s, the Ministry of Education began the application process for the second batch of art doctoral programs. At that time, this work seemed unfamiliar and challenging to many schools, and the opinions of the school leadership seemed not completely unified. However, Shaoxia firmly believed that the school must participate in the application with his extraordinary academic vision. He even went to work at Mr. Liu Ruli's home, who was still hesitating, hoping that he could lead and shoulder the responsibility, and with his academic influence nationwide, strive to make the school's application successful.

Nowadays, Nanjing University of the Arts has undergone over a hundred years of development and has become a leader in discipline construction among art colleges in China, ranking among the top tier. Zhang Shaoxia's promotion and construction are indispensable.

'Heart in the sea of commerce, soul art'

In 1987, Zhang Shaoxia bid farewell to Nanjing University of the Arts. The following year, at the age of 35, he went to Hainan Special Economic Zone and served as the first dean of the School of Arts at Hainan University. Three years later, he resigned from his job and went into business, completely embarking on another path.

Zhang Shaoxia did not explain the reason why he went into business in front of the media, but it was learned from his friends that Zhang Shaoxia's choice was brave and innovative at that time.

When recalling Zhang Shaoxia's various choices, Chen Xiaoxin once mentioned a detail: in the 1980s, everyone had a heavy burden, and in the era when salaries were less than 100 yuan, in order to support the family, one had to be careful and frugal at all times. Borrowing money is a very taboo thing.

But Chen Xiaoxin once borrowed money from Zhang Shaoxia, and he praised him for his kindness and generosity, which many people do not possess.

In addition, during the ideological purge, many people lost their jobs because of it. Zhang Shaoxia was good at seizing the opportunity, adjusting the direction, and opening up a new path, which is also a success.

Leaving campus and swimming in the sea of commerce, Zhang Shaoxia never forgot the instructions of his mentor Liu Ruli and Zhang Daoyi. In 1997, Zhang Shaoxia published the "World Painting Collection Series", consisting of 20 volumes, 3000 images, and hundreds of thousands of words. Listed as a key book during the 9th Five Year Plan period of the country, and won the only gold award for art books in the publishing system.

In 1998, the "World Art Encyclopedia" (CD-ROM) edited by Zhang Shaoxia and written by Zuo Zhuangwei was published by Shanghai Calligraphy and Painting Publishing House, collecting nearly 10000 Western paintings, sculptures, architecture, and arts and crafts works.

In 2018, Zhang Shaoxia once again picked up his paintbrush and devoted himself to depicting sketches and oil paintings of golf courses around the world. By the time of the exhibition, there were already over 500 works on display. Friends who are familiar with him are not surprised by this. Li Xiaoshan once said, "When he wrote books in his early years, I had already witnessed how diligent he was: working day and night, fighting continuously. According to his own words, when doing things, one must have the appearance of doing things, either not doing them or putting in 100% effort if one wants to do them.

'Returning to Painting'

Facing the golf course, Zhang Shaoxia dreams of "Playing all the courses I want to play but haven't played before. Drawing all the courses I want to draw but haven't drawn before. And the final picture is the colorful golf course in my dream, not just the green one".

Professor Zhu Qingsheng from the Department of History at Peking University and rotating president of the International Society of Art History, when discussing the role of human subjective initiative in the development of art in the era of images and media, also mentioned that "there is only one thing that cannot be replaced by machines, and that is the subtle differences and fundamental differences between people. Everyone is unique, and as long as a unique individual does not die, differences cannot be deprived, nor can they be completely replaced by mechanical algorithms.

The expression of differences is how each person views things, my perspective, and everything my life and body face, which also varies due to each person's differences. And what can express this difference is art. This kind of art is not an image captured by machines, but a picture drawn by human hands

So, when depicting the golf course, Zhang Shaoxia is not like an ordinary painter who has no emotions towards the course, nor is he like a resident painter on a golf course who needs to document and sketch. Zhang Shaoxia found roads, lawns, and skies to express differences on the golf course. Even when depicting the same time and place, the scenery in his works is not entirely the same.

When expressing himself, Zhang Shaoxia intentionally removed the functional role of the golf course and emphasized the use of painting language between resemblance and dissimilarity, using the power of simple scenery to infect people's hearts. Highlighting the composition and color of the image, using swift and powerful brushstrokes to stimulate the dynamic and vitality of the picture.

Wang Fuzhi once said, 'Just one idea is clear and concise, forming a chapter'. Zhang Shaoxia focuses on the golf course and systematically arranges the entire piece, bringing art back to art and allowing the visuals to exist for aesthetic purposes. But all scenery is emotion, as Chen Xiaoxin said: "The scenery of the stadium not only records his wonderful life, but also exposes his inner world. He is so carefree and at ease'.