Zhang Shaoxia recalled the process of collaborating with Li Xiaoshan on "The History of Modern Chinese Painting". In 1985, Li Xiaoshan published "My Views on Contemporary Chinese Painting" in "Jiangsu Pictorial". He held the view that "Chinese painting has reached a dead end", which caused a great stir in the art world. At that time, Zhang Shaoxia was the youngest associate professor at the Nanjing University of the Arts and also Li Xiaoshan's teacher for the course of foreign art history. Through repeated exchanges of ideas and rigorous academic research, the two decided to write a book titled "The History of Modern Chinese Painting". In this book, the beginning of modern Chinese painting was set around the May 4th Movement, and the modern painting movement was regarded as a component of the era's movements. When collecting materials, Zhang Shaoxia and Li Xiaoshan visited many libraries and completed the accumulation of a large amount of original materials, demonstrating the rigorous academic style of scholars in that era. Once published, this book caused a sensation in the art world. Academic seminars were held in various places, and great importance was attached to it: "The publication of the first history of modern Chinese painting!" The influence of this academic work has endured over the years. At the China Critics Annual Conference in 2022, this book was praised as "a pioneering work in the writing of the history of contemporary Chinese art", and the two authors were given high academic evaluations.