Artists' creations reflect Party's glorious path, says head of China Media Group

Chinese artists have recorded the Communist Party of China's development through works of art for generations.

Their creations form a mirror of history, reflecting the glorious path that the Party has led the people along, and highlighting the beauty of faith and human nature, said Shen Haixiong, head of China Media Group.

He made the remarks during a symposium on the television program The Party's History in Art Classics in Beijing on Monday.

Produced by China Media Group, the 100-episode series debuted in January. It introduces 100 works of art, including Chinese paintings, oil paintings, prints, sculptures and comics. The program also explains the history, events and people behind the artworks.

Though each episode is only 15 minutes long, there are plenty of interviews, short films and animated sequences to bring the artworks to life and keep audiences glued to the screen.

At the symposium, Shen quoted President Xi Jinping as saying: "China has no shortage of epic practices, and the key is to have the ambition to create epics."

The media group has launched a series of high-quality programs in recent years inspired by Xi's words.

Party history experts and artists also shared their comments and thoughts on the TV program.

"The program tells Party history in an innovative way, using poetry, film, music and animation to accurately tell Party history with rich expressions," said Zhang Baijia, program adviser and former deputy director of the CPC Central Committee's Party History Research Center.

Fan Di'an, president of the China Artists Association and dean of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, said the program was like a brand-new space-time art gallery, allowing people to appreciate excellent literary and artistic works while promoting the learning of Party history.

"The program greatly encourages a vast number of artists to create the history of the Party and the history of great national rejuvenation," he said.

Wu Weishan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee and director of the National Art Museum of China, said the high-quality program shows classic works in a holistic way through a popular and authoritative platform, promotes the spiritual and artistic value of the artworks, and provides a good opportunity for the general public to learn Party history.

The program's production team also shared professional ideas at the symposium. They said they tried their best to contact the artworks' creators and give them a platform to speak about their creative experiences and life stories.

Viewership of the program has reached 338 million, and its ratings on China Central Television Channel are about 30 percent higher than usual.