Book Talk on Painting into Being: Underground Art during China’s Cultural Revolution
Author/Speaker: Aihe Wang, Former Wuming Artist; Honorary Associate Professor at the School of Chinese, University of Hong Kong
Moderator: Michael Puett, Victor and William Fung Foundation Director, Harvard University Asia Center; Walter C. Klein Professor of Chinese History and Anthropology, FAS; Harvard College Professor
To join the webinar, register here.
About the book: Amid the political turmoil of China’s Cultural Revolution, a small group of painters in Beijing defied state control, creating art in secrecy that challenged the ideological constraints of their time. Painting into Being is the first in-depth study of underground art during this period, focusing on the Wuming (No Name) Painting Group, active from 1972 to 1981, in conjunction with other clandestine cultural movements. Aihe Wang brings a singular perspective to this history as both a former Wuming artist and a Harvard-trained historian and anthropologist. Analyzing nearly one hundred oil paintings against sophisticated theoretical frameworks and intricate historical narratives, she examines how underground artists cultivated individual agency, forged collective solidarity, and subtly resisted authoritarianism. This book also illustrates how Wuming aesthetically engaged with both modern Western art and traditional Chinese art in creating a distinct form of Chinese modernism.
Interweaving history, theory, and lived experience, Painting into Being expands our understanding of modern Chinese history, global modernism, and the power of creative expression within repressive regimes.
Organized by the Harvard University Asia Center
Book talk registrants can purchase the book at a 30% discount for a limited time at https://www.hup.harvard.edu/. Please use code ASI30 at checkout to receive the discount—the offer is valid through mid-December 2026.
For questions, please contact Tenzin Ngodup (tngodup@fas.harvard.edu).