1. Western influence after the Opium War -- Background: developments in the Late-Ming and subsequent years -- China trade paintings -- Influence of western painters -- Shanghai School -- Dianshi Studio illustrated -- Painting societies -- The implications of the Shanghai School -- Tushanwan and its influence -- Early overseas students --

2. Fine arts revolution -- Cai Yuanpei's Thinking on Art -- The emergence of "fine arts" -- Chen Duxiu -- Unfolding ideas on fine arts --

3. The intellectual background and emergence of Chinese-style painting -- Background for the emergence of "Chinese-style painting" (Zhongguo-hua) -- Fine arts historiography and Japanese influence -- Traditionalists -- Chen Shizeng -- Problems -- The intellectual climate as background --

4. Guohua and New Guohua: art in the exchange of civilizations -- Huang Binhong -- Qi Baishi -- Zhang Daqian -- Other Traditionalist painters -- Traditionalist thought, politics, and related ideology -- New Guohua painting: The Lingnan School -- Gao Jianfu -- Chen Shuren -- Fang Rending --

5. Schools and societies -- Antecedents of Art Education -- Schools -- Associations --

6. Realism, controversies, and painters -- The 1929 National Art Exhibition -- Xu Beihong -- Painters -- Sculpture -- The issue of realism --

7. Modernist Art, intellectual trends, and encounters -- A poet's perspective -- Liu Haisu -- Yan Wenliang -- Modernist painters -- Painters studying in Japan -- Taiwanese painters studying in Japan -- Pang Xunqin and the Storm Society -- Storm Society members -- China Independent Art Association -- Ideological trends and artists -- Lin Fengmian -- The decline of Modernism --

8. Left-wing fine arts: Modernism's political orientation -- Groups: the Woodcut Study Society and the Left-wing League of Artists -- Lu Xun's work -- Woodcut groups --

9. The art and ideology of Yan'an -- The art of Yan'an -- Talks at the Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art --

10. Art in KMT-ruled areas -- Cartoons and cartoonists -- The Third Department and the New Woodcut organizations -- Disputes about national forms and the transition in wartime -- Painters and sculptors -- Painters in the Praxis of National Forms -- Other painters -- Art of the Civil War Period --

11. 1949-1958: art in the period of social recovery and construction -- The general situation -- New pictures for the New Year (New Nianhua) -- Contamination by politics -- The Fine Arts Movement for the worker-peasant-soldier masses -- Picture-story book illustrations (Lianhuanhua) -- Woodblock prints --

12. The influence of Soviet Socialist Realism and the transition to the "two-in-one combination" -- Issues and concepts -- The Soviet background -- Learning from the Soviet Union -- Maksimov's classes -- The transition to the Two-in-one combination -- Paintings on CPC history -- Sculpture --

13. The transformation of Guohua and painters in the traditional Chinese style -- Crisis and transformation -- The path of transformation -- Fu Baoshi -- Qian Songyan -- Guan Shanyue -- Li Keran -- Shi Lu -- Pan Tianshou --

14. Class struggle and the art of the Cultural Revolution Period -- The move towards "Cultural Revolution" Art: 1959-1965 -- The art of the Cultural Revolution Period: 1966-1976 --

15. The continuing advance of Modernism: 1950-1979 -- The Taiwan background -- The Fifth Moon Group -- Liu Kuo-sung (Liu Guosong) -- The Oriental Painting Society -- The situation of Modernism -- The art of Taiwan in the 1970s -- The background of Hong Kong -- Lui Show Kwan (Lü Shoukun) -- Wucius Wong (Wang Wuxie) -- Arts and artists -- Luis Chen (Chen Fushan) -- Sculptors --

16. Scar Art and the Life-stream -- The post-1976 political background and the beginning of Scar Art -- Sichuan Scar paintings and painters -- The Life-stream and Chen Danqing --

17. The revolution in form, The Stars Incident and Modernism -- The revolution in form -- "The Stars" Art Exhibition -- Modernist painting and concepts -- The discussion of Modernism --

18. The '85 ideological trend and the phenomenon of art groups -- The Progressive Chinese Youth Art Exhibition -- The debate about Chinese-style painting -- The '85 art phenomenon -- The '85 ideological trends in philosophy -- Groups --

19. Important groups and artists -- The Northern Art Group and its artists -- New Figurative Are and art groups of the Southwest -- Mao Xuhui -- Jiangsu Youth Art Week: Large-scale Modern Art Exhibition and the participating artists -- The '85 New Space and its artists -- Zhang Peili -- Xiamen Dada -- Huang Yongping -- Gu Wenda -- Wu Shanzhuan --

20. The origins of the "grand soul" and the birth of the "free" artist -- The question of "purified language" -- The condition of the Zeitgeist and the "grand soul" -- Xu Bing -- China/Avant-Garde: China Modern Art Exhibition -- The Vagabond Artists -- Yuanmingyuan Artists Village --

21. New art and artists -- Background -- Neo-academic Art and exhibitions -- The New Generation and the New Generation painters -- Liu Xiaodong -- Cynical Realism and painters -- Fang Lijun -- Political Pop and artists -- Wang Guangyi -- Gaudy Art -- Zhang Xiaogang --

22. The beginnings of the market and the shift to international standards -- Ideology and the market question -- The Guangzhou Biennale -- Post-89 Chinese New Art --

23. New Literati Painting and experimental ink and wash -- New Literati Painting -- Experimental ink and wash

24. Art within pluralist structures -- Conceptual art and its derivatives -- Video Art -- Conceptual photography -- Artistic questions of women and women artists -- The expansion of New Painting -- Zhou Chunya --

25. The Art of the New Century -- The Shanghai Biennale and the decline of the system -- "Perceptual subversion" -- 798 as a symbol -- Exhibitions and Contemporary Art -- Markets, capital, and change against the background of globalization.