1936: Li Jinfa And Guangzhou Municipal Art School

Founded in 1922, the Guangzhou Municipal School of Art is the first municipal professional art school in Southern China. During it's seventeen years of history, a total of five presidents had been replaced, one of them is the last president Li Jinfa (1900-1976), who has long been controversial,and is little known today. He served as the president in 1936, until the war struck in 1937. In two years his expansion of school and personnel reform raised a lot of questions as teachers' leaving, the students' striking, and finally got the blame that "dereliction of duty, disintegrating the alma mater". As in 40s after falling abroad, Li Jinfa and his contributions to art education fade in the past. This article will intend to focus on this perplexing and fascinating history, trying to restore the last two years landscape of school under Li's administration, and to get a glimpse of ecology of art education in Southern China before the Anti Japanese War.