Marking history on canvas

The ongoing exhibition showcases some 300 oil paintings, watercolor works and sketches by Li Binghong, including the 1960 reproduction of the oil painting Nanchang Uprising; Landscape of Xishuangbanna and Hydropower Station.[Photo provided to China Daily]

A painting by the late Li Binghong, which marks the founding of the People's Liberation Army, is now available for public viewing at the National Art Museum. Lin Qi reports.

Li Binghong (1913-86) is not a household name, but his oil painting Nanchang Uprising marks a significant moment in China's history. His 1959 work depicts armed resistance under the leadership of the Communist Party of China that took place on Aug 1, 1927, in Nanchang, in the eastern Jiangxi province.

The painting shows Zhou Enlai, one of the Party members who organized the engagement, inciting insurgent soldiers to counter the Kuomintang's anti-Communist purge.

Zhou later became the first premier of New China.

The military action marks the birth of an independent army led by the Party, and the day is celebrated annually as establishment day by the People's Liberation Army.

Li painted the work after being commissioned by the National Museum of China in Beijing.