Draft:Liang Zhongming

Liang Zhongming (July 15, 1906–July 19, 1994) born Liang Xiewu and known professionally as Dongfang Liang signed himself as Master Baobilu and Zhang Weng. Liang was a professor in the art department of the Political Worker Cadres School (later restructured into the Art Department of the Political Warfare College), and was an artist who worked mainly in historical paintings, ink wash portraiture, and comics.

Early life and education
Liang Zhongming was born in Shanghai on July 15, 1906 and raised in Shunde, Guangdong. His elder twin brother was Liang Youming, and his second-oldest brother was Liang Dingming.

Liang’s eldest brother, Liang Dizhong, studied art in France through the Diligent Work-Frugal Study Movement, during which time he bought picture albums and copies of works and sent them to the family as models for copying. Through this, with guidance from his elder brother Liang Dingming, Liang Youming began to learn Western painting. In 1921 he graduated from the Shanghai Municipal Council’s Chinese School.

Career
In 1921, he and Liang Youming worked for the Shanghai Yihai Art Company painting stages and photo backdrops. For a time, he also taught painting with the Tianhua Art Association, a Western painting group in Shanghai.

In July 1927, Liang Dingming called for Liang Zhongming and Liang Youming to go to Guangdong to participate in the artistic propaganda for the army. From 1929, the two assisted Liang Dingming in the creation of war history paintings at the National Revolutionary Army Memorial Cemetery. From September 1937, Liang Zhongming served as a propagandist with the Political Training Department of the Military Commission and as president of Battle Pictorial, using cartoons to inspire morale among the military forces. From November 1941, he served as the editor-in-chief of Today’s China Pictorial, published by the Political Department of the Military Commission. He and his wife Sheng Shoubai had one daughter, Liang Xiuzhong, and two sons, Liang Minchuan and Liang Mintian.

In July 1951, the Political Worker Cadres School was established, where Liang taught watercolor painting and comic art until 1992. During his teaching career, he taught students who would go on to achieve renown in the art world, including watercolor painters Jin Zhefu, Luo Huiming, Deng Guoqing, Shu Zengzhi, and Sun Shaoying, and cartoonist Liu Xingqin.

In 1972, he was awarded the Ministry of Education’s Medal for Culture and Art. In 1988, Liang Zhongming donated his personally preserved plates and historical materials from the Sino-Japanese War to the National Army Historical Museum’s collection. He died in Taipei Veterans General Hospital on July 19, 1994.

Artistry
Liang Zhongming’s formation and evolution in terms of painting themes, techniques, and styles was manifested in a variety of media, including watercolors, ink wash (with cows and monkeys as common themes), and comic pencil sketches. His works included both historical recordings and more artistic pieces. In the early 1950s, he created a large number of current affairs and anti-communist cartoons, and his single-panel political and current affairs commentary cartoons were famous. With the support and recognition of the party regime, he provided anti-communist knowledge and information through cartoons to “strengthen the anti-communist will of the people.”

Historical Images
His historical painting creations include oil paintings and pencil sketches. During the Sino-Japanese War, Liang created more than 500 pencil sketches to depict the conditions faced soldiers in the field and to report military news. His early oil paintings drew on themes around army history, and he later accepted Gui Yongqing’s suggestion to focus on the history of the navy. His army history paintings include “Pledge of the Northern Expedition,” “Victory at Mianhu,” “Victory at Tingsi Bridge,” “The Battle Against the Japanese at Lugou Bridge,” and “The Japanese Surrender.” His surviving naval history oil paintings include “The Gunboat Zhongshan (SS Yongfeng Fights the Rebels),” “The Battle of September 2,” and “The Shelling of August 23.”

Comic Works on Current Affairs and Anti-Communism
In October 1949, he and Liang Youming began work as full-time chief writers for Taipei’s Central Daily, and published the first issue of Pictorial Times on October 15. Pictorial Times was merged with Central Daily on April 15, 1950, becoming a semi-weekly comics magazine until ceasing publication on September 29, 1952. His works “New Journey to the West” and “Biography of Huang Xing” were published in Comic Weekly. Under the pen name Dongfang Liang, he published “Lessons of the Xinhai Revolution” in the pages of Youth Warrior Daily in an effort to encourage people in the military and broader society to participate in cartoon creation.

Researchers have noted that Liang Zhongming’s anti-communist cartoons were characterized by an adjustment of the content in accordance with different publications and different readerships. In 1954, he published “Zhongming Comic Collection,” which collected 426 anti-communist cartoons from 1950 to 1954. From 1950 to 1956, Liang Zhongming created 1,880 cartoons, accounting for 94% of his total 2,002 cartoons. After 1957, his creation of comics and cartoons decreased significantly.

Ink Wash
Liang Zhongming was famous for his ink wash animal paintings, particularly those of cows and monkeys. After he came to Taiwan, he lived at the entrance of the Muzha Canal, and often observed the grazing of buffaloes by the nearby Xindian River. His painting of monkeys originated in 1937, when he spent two months at Sichuan’s Mount Emei. Seeing the local monkeys, he decided to sketch them as a record, then began depicting them in ink, unintentionally creating a new division of traditional ink wash painting. He once kept monkeys as pets at home in order to gain better understanding of the animals. In the spring of 1978, Liang Zhongming completed “A Hundred Monkeys” (180 x 720 cm), a giant color ink painting that became the best-known work from his decades of monkey paintings.

Publications

 * The Fifth National Games (edited and photographed with Chen Xiling and Pan Zhiqing), Shanghai: Wenhua Art Book Company, 1933.
 * Historical Paintings of Loyalty and Bravery in the War Against the Japanese, Nanjing: Zhengqi Publishing House, 1946.
 * The Biography of Chairman Chiang, Nanjing: Zhengqi Publishing House, 1947.
 * Zhongming Comic Collection, Taipei City: Far East Book Company, 1954.
 * Our Great Leader, Taipei City: New China Culture Publishing House, 1954.
 * A History of the Nationalist Revolution in Pictures, Taipei City: New China Culture Publishing House, 1960.
 * Liang Zhongming’s Pencil Drawings, Taipei City: Xinya Publishing House, 1969.
 * Zhongming Sketch Collection, Taipei City: Liming Cultural Enterprise, 1978.