“BOOKS BY WU HUNG”

The University of Chicago Center in Beijing

20th floor, Culture Plaza
No. 59A Zhong Guan Cun Street
Haidian District Beijing 100872

On October 18, 2026, the exhibition Books by Wu Hung will open at the Center. This exhibition systematically catalogs Professor Wu Hung’s academic publications produced over four decades of teaching and research in the Department of Art History at the University of Chicago. A selection of rare illustrations and manuscripts will be on display to showcase his contributions to the fields of Chinese art history, contemporary Chinese art criticism, and curatorial practice.

Coinciding with the release of four collected volumes — Ideas and Narratives: Chinese Art in Macro Perspective, Underground Spiritual Realms: Chinese Tomb Art, Images and Media: The Art of Chinese Painting, and The Externalization of Faith: Medieval Religious Art in China — we are honored to welcome six distinguished guests for this event. They include Professor Wu Hung, the renowned art historian, and Professor Li Qingquan, editor-in-chief of the collected volumes, alongside four leading scholars who contributed introductory essays for the four books: Professor Zheng Yan from the School of Arts, Peking University; Professor Li Meitian from the School of History, Renmin University of China; Professor Wei-Cheng Lin from the Department of Art History, University of Chicago; and Professor Huang Xiaofeng from the School of Humanities, Central Academy of Fine Arts.

Authoritative scholars spanning two generations, who have dedicated themselves to different subfields of Chinese art history, will gather to discuss how Chinese art history can be reinterpreted and rewritten through new materials, methodologies, and research questions.