Draft:The Chun-Meng Painting Society


The Chun-Meng Painting Society was an Eastern-style painting group founded in 1928 by Lin Yu-Shan, Chu Fu-Ting, and Lin Tong-Ling in Chiayi, with its activities held primarily in Chiayi, Tainan, and Kaohsiung. Lin Yu-Shan explained the motive behind the Chun-Meng Painting Society: “We gradually understand that participating in the Taiten once a year is not enough. We should paint more often, which is why we founded the painting society.”

    The Chun-Meng Painting Society staged its first exhibition at the Tainan Public Hall in April 1930. In addition to the members from Chiayi, painters Pan Chun-Yuan, Huang Ching-Shan, Chen Tsai-Tien, and Wu Zuo-Quan from Tainan joined the exhibition with concerted efforts. The society’s second exhibition was held at the Chiayi Public Hall in December 1930, and its third exhibition was held at the Luoshan Credit Cooperative in 1932. Afterwards, the society’s exhibition was no longer held in Tainan, which led to the withdrawal of Pan Chun-Yuan, Huang Ching-Shan, and Chen Tsai-Tien.

    The Chun-Meng Painting Society was renamed the Chun-Meng Painting Institute in the postwar era. The institute was active in Taipei with its major members including Lin Yu-Shan, Huang Ou-Po, Lu Yun-Sheng, and Li Chiou-He moving north to seek employment. The institute staged a total of seven exhibitions and did not cease operation until 1954. Although the institute no longer organized any joint exhibitions thenceforth, it still wielded continuing influence over the Taiwanese art scene through some of its members.