A Century in Crisis

New Lower Price Between 1850 and today, China has undergone an unprecedented series of shocks and transformations. This dramatic period--which has seen urban industrialization, conquest by foreign powers, civil wars, changing governments and, more recently, a gradual opening to the international community--has also marked an explosion of artistic experimentation and innovation. Spanning 150 spectacular years of artistic production, "A Century in Crisis" offers the first systematic exploration of modern and contemporary Chinese art. Essays by leading scholars show the ways in which Chinese artists have grappled with modernity, tradition, self-definition and the adoption and rejection of Western convention. Sumptuous color plates showcase a dazzling array of achievements--including Shanghai School paintings, modern calligraphy, commercial art, 1920s and 1930s woodblock prints, modern guohua (traditional ink and color paintings), socialist realist paintings and other contemporary works.