Li Xiushi was born in Jinzhou, Liaoning province in 1936. He graduated from the Jinzhou Teacher’s Training School in 1954, then entered the Oil Painting Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing in 1956. Following graduation in 1961, he worked as a professional painter in the Heilongjiang Artists’ Association, 
establishing its Oil Painting Research Club in 1981. In 1988 Li Xiushi went to work for the China Worker’s Publishing House and in 1989, established the Research Institute of Chinese Fine Arts. His paintings have been exhibited internationally and are in the collections of the China Art Gallery and the Museum of Chinese History, Beijing. He currently resides in Beijing.
Winding Through A Thousand Autumns, 1984
Oil on Board
77 1/2" x 74" (197cm x 188cm)About this work
Li Xiushi says that in the 1960s, Chinese artists were required to paint many portraits, but he was criticized because he preferred landscapes. He was also criticized for not paying more attention to political matters. Li Xiushi says that “Winding Through A Thousand Autumns” is, for the most part, a reaction to this. It is a picture of a beacon tower on the Great Wall but when the viewer looks carefully, in the stone you see the faces of 23 leaders and artists involved in the Chinese Revolution and some from the Democratic Party including; Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, Shu Yeshan, Shong Qinning, Liao Zhongkai, Feng Yuxiang, Lu Xun, Qi Baishi, Guo Moruo, Xiao Hong, and Zhang Zhixin. They represent the history of China and her struggles.
