Artistic activity of Russian-Soviet artists in Harbin and Shanghai China during the period of the Republic of China (1912–1949)

This article mainly studies and analyzes the artistic activity of Soviet artists in Harbin and Shanghai during the period of the Republic of China. Due to their special geographical location, Harbin and Shanghai have always been centers of dissemination and artistic exchange of Soviet art and culture in China. The subject of the study is various types of art education and artistic activities that Soviet artists carried out in China during the period of the Republic of China. The object of the study is the influence that the spread of Soviet realistic painting in China had on the development of modern Chinese art in the XX century. The author pays special attention to the analysis of the profound impact that the appearance of various art studios created in China, acquaintance with the artistic work of Soviet artists, as well as training with the owl, have had on the development of modern Chinese art. Soviet art has been the basis for the development of modern Chinese art from the very beginning. The novelty of this study lies in the fact that the author addresses a little – explored topic – how the arrival of Soviet artists in China, which coincided with the "Movement of Foreign Painting" in the Republic of China, influenced the formation of Chinese art. Soviet artists strongly supported the innovative artistic creativity of Chinese artists and at the same time contributed to the dominance of Soviet realistic art in the artistic landscape during the formation of China. The main conclusions of the study are that the mass spread of Soviet art in China created new ground for traditional Chinese art, gave a continuation and a new life to traditional painting. To a certain extent, this influenced the artistic and aesthetic preferences of that time and even the general public, and also directly affected the development of Chinese art education in the XX century.