Seek the Traces of the ‘Classic of Mountains and Seas’ 寻踪异兽, 品读山海

Please join us online for an enlightening talk on visual art from 13:00-14:00 (UK time); 20:00-21:00 (Beijing time) on Friday 9th May 2025 as we share the mythical creatures from the ancient classic Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shanhai Jing) and explore their connections between Chinese history and life today. The talk is hosted by the Online Confucius Institute at The Open University, and it will be delivered in Chinese and assisted by a simultaneous translation tool so you can read the English transcripts at the same time.

Please register here on Eventbrite to attend the talk.

请于 2025 年 5 月 9 日（星期五）13：00-14：00（英国时间），20：00-21：00（北京时间）在线参加我们举办的一场视觉艺术探索讲座，共同分享上古奇书《山海经》中的异兽形象与中国历史和现实间的渊源，品味“山海异兽未离去，古人智慧伴吾身”的处世哲学。本次讲座由英国开放大网络孔子学院主办。讲座将使用中文，配有同声传译中英文字幕，方便读者理解。

About the talk 关于讲座

Shanhai Jing is an ancient Chinese text rich in mystery and content. Its rich descriptions of mythical creatures and ancient stories provide a treasure trove of material for writers and artists.  In this talk, Professor Wang Chuan will briefly introduce his innovative project which integrates the mythical creatures from Shanhai Jing, classical Chinese paintings and modern digital arts. He will talk us through how he integrates the animation’s images of mythical creatures into ancient Chinese paintings and contemporary photographic works, and share with us his creative concepts through the analysis of a few pieces of his work. There will be interactive discussion after the talk.

《山海经》是中国古代一部极具神秘色彩且内容丰富的典籍，记录了大量对山川地理的描述、诸多上古神话故事、民族风俗以及各种超乎想象的珍禽异兽。它是中国神话故事的重要源头，为后世文学和艺术创作提供了取之不尽的素材和灵感。本次题为“寻踪异兽，品读山海”的讲座将通过山海异兽主题的艺术作品的展示，带我们去了解王川教授如何将传统国画与当代摄影艺术巧妙结合，以及他所传达的现实主义思想。讲座结束后将安排互动讨论。

About the speaker 关于主讲嘉宾

Professor Wang Chuan graduated from the Central Academy of Craft and Fine Arts and later earned a joint Master’s degree in Visual Arts (Photography) from the Central Academy of Fine Arts and Queensland College of Art. He began teaching at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 2000 and once served as the Deputy Dean of the School of Design. Professor Wang has long focused on artistic practices themed around “tradition in the present,” spanning painting, digital photography, and text in various forms, with an emphasis on cultural migration and historical transformation. He has received numerous national awards for artistic creation and research. In 2020, Professor Wang began working on a comprehensive art project inspired by the mythical creatures of the Classic of Shanhai Jing.

王川教授毕业于中央工艺美术学院，后获得中央美术学院与昆士兰艺术学院联合视觉艺术(摄影)硕士学位；2000年开始任教于中央美术学院，曾任设计学院副院长。王教授长期专注于以“传统在当下”为主题的艺术实践，涉及绘画、数字摄影和文本多种形态，聚焦文化迁徙和历史变迁，获得多项国家级艺术创作与研究奖项。 2020年王教授开始从事以山海异兽为主题的山海经综合艺术项目。

The talk will be online via Microsoft Teams. The link will be sent out to those who have registered to attend before the talk. A recording will be made available on the OCI events page after the talk.

本次讲座将通过微软团队（Microsoft Teams）在线进行。讲座开始前，链接将会发送给已报名参加的人员。讲座将会进行录制，经过编辑后的版本将在讲座结束后发布在本页面上。