On April 27, 2016, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the pioneer of Chinese Higher Education, Sheng Xuanhuai’s death, and the 110th anniversary of Li Shutong’s beginnings of systematic learning for oil paintings in Japan, an oil painting exhibition by physicist Chen Yixin from Shanghai Jiao Tong University was successfully opened in Zheng Dong Library of Tianjin University’s (TJU) Peiyang Park Campus. “A heart for truth, a will for goodness, and all life is for beauty.” An inscription from the renowned physicist Li Zhengdao was specifically written for the exhibition.
Peiyang University, the predecessor of Tianjin University, as well as Nan Yang College, the predecessor of Shanghai Jiao Tong University were both founded by Sheng Xuehuai. After creating the first Chinese university of modern higher education in 1895, known as Peiyang University, he set up Nan Yang College in 1896. The honorific title of “The Pioneer of Chinese Higher Education” was bestowed on Sheng Xuanhuai for his invaluable contribution to Chinese modern higher education. Coincidently, Li Shutong who was born in Tianjin, went to Japan just after graduating from Nan Yang College to learn about oil paintings. As a pioneer of Chinese new culture in Tianjin and Shanghai, he possessed an extensive aesthetic appreciation and humanistic qualities.
The exhibition of oil paintings by physicist Chen Yixin from Shanghai Jiao Tong University was no doubt a cultural integration between “Nan Yang” and “Peiyang”, integrating regions in space and time. Not only was it a memorial for predecessors like Sheng Xuanhuai and Li Shutong, but it also was a cultural feast connecting the history of the Nan Yang and Peiyang universities.
Professor Chen Yixin, the author of this exhibition of oil paintings, graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 1956 where he taught. He had been abroad to America for integrated optics research. After returning to China in 1981, he focused on reestablishing and heading the Department of Applied Physics, as well as setting up the solid-state electronics and integrated optics laboratory. He gained a prestigious reputation from around the world for his outstanding achievements and rewards in research. Professor Chen was deeply influenced by the art of oil painting since he was a child, thus he devoted a lot of time and passion to the research and practice of art while achieving substantial work pieces.
As this is the year of the 100th anniversary of Sheng Xuanhuai’s death, Professor Chen Yixin had specifically painted two exquisite portraits of Sheng Xuanhuai. One of them was given to Tianjin University as a gift, another to Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Professor Chen hoped that the two portraits would be a demonstration of kinship for hundreds of years between “Nan Yang” and “Peiyang”, Tianjin University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He also suggested that students, especially those majoring in science and engineering, to develop and enjoy the arts during every spare moment, for the arts could be an inspiration for academic research.
This exhibition was co-organized by the Art History Specialized Committee of the Tianjin History Academic Society, Aesthetic Education Specialized Committee of Tianjin Aesthetics Academic Society, Tianjin University Library, Tianjin Art Middle School, Beijiang Museum, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University Alumni Association.
