Jin Zhilin is an accomplished oil painter best known for reviving the role of traditional Chinese folk art in modern China. He once served as director of research for the Department of Folk Art at Beijing’s Central Academy of Fine Arts.

Jin was born in 1928 in Luannan county, Hebei province. In 1944, he was accepted into the Beijing Training School, where he studied Chinese landscape painting under Mr. Wu Jingting. In 1947, he entered the Arts department of the Peking National Arts College, where he studied western painting from masters such as Feng Fasi, Wu Zuoren, Xu Beihong; and traditional Chinese painting under masters Li Keran and Qi Baishi. He graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1951, and began teaching in the academy’s Painting and Oil Painting departments, as well as the Dong Xiwen Studio.

Jin pursued his decades-long interest in Chinese folk art after moving to Yan’an, in northern Shan’xi province, in 1973. There, Jin worked in the local mass arts office and the cultural relic administration office. More importantly, he and his students were trained in traditional paper-cut art by peasant women from the surrounding countryside. In 1980, Jin and his team organized a major show of this art and published an accompanying book honoring the folk artists of Yan’an.

In 1986, Jin returned to Beijing to take the post as Director of Research at the new Department of Folk Art, at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He still serves the Academy as a tutor for graduate students. He is also a member of the Chinese Artists Association.

Professor Jin’s master oil paintings, including the monumental historic painting Nan Niwan, the portrait Village Head, and landscapes such as Well Sinker, were collected and shown in the 20th Century Chinese Art Exhibition, the 20th Century China Oil Painting Exhibition, the 100 Years of Oil Portraiture in China Exhibition, and 50 Years of Chinese Arts. The first oil exhibition for Jin was held in 1961. Other solo oil shows include the Print of Life (held in Beijing, 1995 and Paris, 2000).

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