The Wulin Academy of Arts () is a

learned society A learned society ( ; also scholarly, intellectual, or academic society) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and sciences. Membership may be open to al ...

and independent

research institute A research institute, research centre, or research organization is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often implies natural ...

for Chinese arts and culture studies, located on the shores of the

West Lake The West Lake (; ) is a freshwater lake in Hangzhou, China. Situated to the west of Hangzhou's former Hangzhou City Walls, walled city, the lake has a surface area of , stretching from north to south and from east to west. In the lake are four ...

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

Province. The academy was named after Wulin, the ancient name of Hangzhou. It was founded in 1995 but, with antecedents dating back to the

Southern Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, endin ...

History

From the 1980s, a group of artists and scholars from

China Academy of Art The China Academy of Art (CAA; ) is a provincial public college of fine arts in Hangzhou. Zhejiang, China. It is affiliated with the Province of Zhejiang. The academy is part of the Double First-Class Construction The World First-Class Un ...

Zhejiang University Zhejiang University (ZJU) is a public university, public research university in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and D ...

Nankai University Nankai University is a public university in Tianjin, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. Nankai University was establ ...

and Xiling Seal Art Society had discussed the idea of forming an independent institution for Chinese arts and culture studies that echoes to the Imperial Art Academy () founded by Emperor Gaozong 800 years ago on the lakeside of Wulin (the ancient name of

), and also, reconnecting to the Wulin School that was founded in the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

by Lan Ying. In April 1989, Ms. Zhang Songying, the founder of the Wulin Academy of Arts, raised funds and went to Hangzhou to contract for the operation of Hangzhou Hushu Society of Arts, laying the foundation for the establishment of the Academy. In 1995, with the financial support of Hangzhou Hushu Society of Arts, The Dazhen National Institute was established at the antechamber of the Imperial Wenlan Library on the island of Solitary Hill () as the predecessor of Wulin Academy. In 1997, the archaeological excavation and restoration at the Imperial Library began and the Institute moved out, cooperated with the Government of

Gongshu District Gongshu District () urban district HangzhouZhejiang, China. It is located in the core urban area of Hangzhou. Administrative divisions Subdistricts: * Mishixiang Subdistrict (米市巷街道), Hushu Subdistrict (湖墅街道), Xiaohe Subdis ...

and merged into Hangzhou Hushu Society of Arts. In the same year, members of Dazhen Institute established the Hangzhou Meilan Society of Arts to operate independently of the government. The influence of the Meilan Society had grown for rebuilding the disintegrated tradition of Chinese art that had been greatly damaged by the havoc of the

New Culture Movement The New Culture Movement was a progressivism, progressive sociopolitical movement in China during the 1910s and 1920s. Participants criticized many aspects of traditional Chinese society, in favor of new formulations of Chinese culture inform ...

in the 1910s and ten years'

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

. In 2000, the government suspended Meilan Society's cultural operation license for 'political' reasons to suppress independent cultural studies and some of its members fled to Europe and America for extrication. On May 13, 2002, the former Dazhen National Institute, Hangzhou Hushu Society of Arts and Hangzhou Meilan Society of Arts formally merged and renamed to Wulin Academy of Arts. In 2006, the academy relocated to the shores of

where its first institute was established.

Research institutes

Wulin Academy of Arts covers three major academic divisions:

Activities

*Guqin Concert at Wulin Academy *Spring and Summer Activities *Wulin Academy and Zhejiang Provincial Sports Bureau jointly established the Art Institute of Zhejiang Provincial Sports Bureau

References

External links

Wulin Academy Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wulin Research institutes in China Chinese art Art societies 1995 establishments in China