The China National Academy of Chinese Painting was launched in Beijing on Thursday.

 

 

Minister of Culture, Sun Jiazheng, addresses the opening ceremony.

 

The academy grew out of the Institute of Chinese Painting which was founded in 1981 with painting master Li Keran serving as the first president.

 

The national academy will be mainly engaged in producing and studying Chinese painting, calligraphy and seal cutting, according to academy sources.

 

Minister of Culture, Sun Jiazheng, addressed the opening ceremony and hailed the establishment of the academy as a positive move for the prosperity and development of the country's fine arts.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 15, 2006)