Visual and technical reinterpretation of Xie-yi artistic traditions in contemporary Chinese oil painting

The article explores the transformation of the philosophical and aesthetic principles of Chinese xieyi painting in contemporary artistic practices and addresses the problem of preserving cultural identity under the conditions of art internationalization. The object of the study is contemporary Chinese oil painting as a space of interaction between national and Western traditions. The subject is the processes of visual and technical reinterpretation of the xieyi style in the practice of modern Chinese painters. It is argued that authorial strategies combining traditional figurative thinking with Western techniques turn oil painting into a medium of cultural continuity and adaptation of the national visual code to new artistic and social contexts. Special attention is paid to the works of Zhu Dequn and Wu Guanzhong, in which the techniques of Chinese ink painting—such as the spiritualized brushstroke, poetic imagery, and compositional spontaneity—are integrated with the chromatic, textural, and spatial structures of Western oil painting. The methodological framework includes iconographic analysis, cultural interpretation of artistic concepts, and hermeneutic reading of the cultural spirit embodied in the works. The novelty of the study lies in identifying the mechanisms through which the fundamental values of the Chinese visual tradition are preserved while being adapted to new technical and cultural environments. This contributes to the broader understanding of cultural hybridity in global art history, revealing how the synthesis of aesthetic codes not only sustains national identity but also expands the interpretive potential of oil painting within transnational artistic dialogues and strengthens its relevance in contemporary cultural theory.

China, Chinese oil painting, xieyi, gongbi, cultural memory, cultural identity, hybridity, intercultural transformation, Zhu Dequn, Wu Guanzhong