The Unfinished History of Art: Revisiting Old Questions and Exploring New Perspectives

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 University of Chicago Beijing Center hosted The Unfinished History of Art: Revisiting Old Questions and Exploring New Perspectives, a symposium and exhibition celebrating the publication of a four-volume collection of essays by renowned art historian Wu Hung. The event brought together six distinguished scholars of Chinese art history and archaeology for an afternoon of discussion on how new discoveries, methodologies, and interdisciplinary approaches continue to reshape the study and interpretation of Chinese art.

The event welcomed more than 200 attendees, who participated in the symposium and viewed the accompanying exhibition. The livestream also attracted more than 9,500 viewers, extending the conversation beyond the Beijing Center to a wider audience interested in art history, archaeology, and cultural heritage.

The opening ceremony was hosted by Director Ge, and Paola Iovene, Faculty Director of the University of Chicago Beijing Center, delivered the opening remarks. The symposium featured Wu Hung, Professor at the University of Chicago and a leading scholar of Chinese art history; Li Qingquan, Distinguished Professor at Shandong University; Zheng Yan, Professor at Peking University; Li Meitian, Professor at Renmin University of China; Lin Wei-zheng, Professor of Art History at the University of Chicago; and Huang Xiaofeng, Professor and Dean of the School of Humanities at the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

The four-volume collection comprises Concepts and Narratives: The Macro-History of Chinese Art, The Realm Beneath: Chinese Tomb Art, Images and Media: Chinese Painting, and The Externalization of Belief: Medieval Religious Art. Together, the volumes bring Wu Hung’s extensive scholarship into conversation with contemporary research questions across several major areas of Chinese art history. Each volume includes an introduction by a scholar specializing in the relevant field, creating an opportunity to revisit established interpretations and reconsider the questions that continue to shape the discipline.

Rather than presenting art history as a settled body of knowledge, the symposium emphasized its evolving and unfinished nature. Wu Hung’s scholarship has explored a wide range of subjects, from images carved in tombs and religious imagery in temple murals to the materials, formats, and viewing practices of Chinese painting. His work has also challenged conventional disciplinary boundaries and encouraged scholars to reconsider how Chinese art is defined, studied, and narrated.

Through their discussion of the four volumes, the participating scholars examined how new archaeological materials, interpretive frameworks, and cross-disciplinary perspectives can open up new ways of understanding familiar works of art and historical objects. Their exchange highlighted the importance of revisiting established assumptions and recognizing that historical evidence can generate new questions as research methods and scholarly perspectives evolve.

The exhibition offered attendees an opportunity to engage more closely with the publication and its intellectual foundations, complementing the symposium’s discussions with a visual introduction to the four-volume collection.

By bringing together scholars from leading institutions in China and the United States, The Unfinished History of Art created a space for sustained dialogue across generations and research traditions. The strong in-person attendance and online viewership reflected broad interest in the continuing study of Chinese art and cultural history.

The event reaffirmed the University of Chicago Beijing Center’s role as a platform for intellectual exchange, fostering conversations that connect historical inquiry with contemporary scholarship. As the symposium’s title suggests, the history of art remains an open field of inquiry—one continually renewed by new evidence, new methods, and the questions scholars are willing to ask.