CCTV9英语新闻：Xu Beihong's masterpieces on display at Boao Forum for Asia（在线收听）

The Boao Forum for Asia opens today, and government leaders, businessmen and academics are gathering in China's Hainan Province to discuss the most pressing issues in the region and the world at large. But participants at the conference are getting more than just a dose of economics and politics. They're in for a rare treat as masterpieces from early-20th-century Chinese painter Xu Beihong are on display.

Xu Beihong’s eldest grandson traveled all the way from Beijing to the coastal town of Boao, in Hainan province, to share his grandfather's art. Worth over 100 million yuan, these paintings were borrowed from private collectors who’d like to share their collections with a wider audience. Born in the late 19th century, Xu Beihong was regarded as one of the first Chinese artists to blend western oil painting techniques with Chinese traditional brush painting. Xu Xiaoyang says his grandfather was a pioneer and artistic revolutionary. 

"In his era, which was the beginning of the 20th century, plagiarism was overtaking innovation in Chinese paintings. My grandfather went to Europe to learn techniques such as sketch, perspective and structure. He wanted to reform Chinese traditional painting," said Xu Xiaoyang, president of Xu Beihong Art Salon, Xu Beihong's grandson.

Xu Beihong was best known for his Chinese ink paintings of horses. His unique talent can be seen in the precision of bones, muscles, joints and physical proportions in his works. These are usually hard to be realized in brush painting.

"The theme at this year’s Boao Forum is globalization. To my understanding, globalization is a process of blending, of communication – that’s what Mr. Xu Beihong was doing his entire life. He bridged the gap between Chinese and Western art, used everything good and discarded everything that wasn't," said Zheng Xiaojing, curator of Xu Beihong Art Salon.

Zheng said these paintings will be exhibited in Japan and Europe over the next couple of years