2024 China Studies Scholars Conference at the Wilson Presidential International Scholars Center

(Huayu International News Agency, Xiao Qianwen, June 3, 2024, Wilson Center, Washington, D.C.) — At the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars’ 2024 Conference on China Studies, the U.S. Asian Cultural Academy sent four scholars to participate. Professor Guo Yugui—Assistant to the Academy’s President—was entrusted by Dr. R. Mallory Starr, Jr., President of UACA, and its Art Center to present two exquisite ink paintings by Chinese master artist Wu Limin to the Kissinger Institute for U.S.-China Relations. Robert Daly, Director of the Kissinger Institute, accepted the artworks on behalf of the institute, which will be permanently preserved as a symbol of friendship from a Chinese artist.

Wu Limin, a revered figure in Chinese ink painting, is a National First-Class Artist, academician of the Chinese Ink Painting Research Institute, and founder of the Taizhou School of Painting. From a young age, he developed a deep passion for music and studied under renowned masters such as Ruan Xingshan of the Xiling Seal Art Society, Professor Zhao Yannian of the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts, and ink painting virtuoso Qiu Yuren. Despite a life marked by hardship and adversity, Wu Limin’s resilient and optimistic spirit has driven decades of immersion in the interplay between natural landscapes, Eastern and Western music, and ink painting. He is celebrated for his poetry, musicality, extraordinary mastery of ink techniques, and exploration of hidden narratives, with works brimming with emotion and rhythmic vitality. The art world hails his style as "unconventional ink, wild mountains and free-flowing waters." While rooted in traditional Chinese painting, he has pioneered an innovative fusion of music and visual art, carving out a unique niche in China’s artistic landscape.

Wu Limin has held solo exhibitions at prestigious venues including the China Academy of Art Museum, the Art News Gallery, Peking University’s Centennial Memorial Hall, Zhejiang Library, and the U.S. Asian Cultural Academy Art Center. His 13-meter-long scroll Scenery of Nanxi River was exhibited at the Louvre in Paris during the 50th anniversary of Sino-French diplomatic relations. In commemoration of the 45th anniversary of U.S.-China ties, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum acquired two of his works: Shared Clouds and Rain Over Green Mountains and Distant Yet Close as Neighbors.

The two paintings acquired by the Kissinger Institute for U.S.-China Relations were specially commissioned by Wu Limin under the Asian Artists Documentation Project of the U.S. Asian Cultural Academy Art Center, commemorating the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations.

Born during the U.S.-China alliance against fascism in WWII, the 80-year-old Wu Limin has witnessed the relationship’s tumultuous evolution firsthand. His works embody a profound conviction: only through trust, friendship, and cooperation can the two nations secure mutual prosperity and global stability.

Note:

Robert Daly (English: Robert Daly), also known as Dai Bo in Chinese, is the director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and served as a cultural officer at the U.S. Embassy in China from 1986 to 1991. In August 2013, Daly was nominated by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars as the second director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, succeeding former U.S. Ambassador to China James Stapleton Roy, who has held the position since the institute was founded in 2008. Daly has given lectures at the Smithsonian Institution, the East-West Center, the Asia Society, and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, and has testified to Congress on U.S.-China relations. He has been an interpreter for American and Chinese politicians, including Jimmy Carter, Henry Kissinger, Jiang Zemin, and Li Yuanchao.

The Kissinger Institute on China and the United States is a nonprofit research organization whose primary mission is to promote understanding of Sino-U.S. relations and their impact on both countries and the world. It was established in 2008 as part of the Woodrow Wilson International Scholars Program. Its current director is Robert Daly.

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (Williams Center), also known as the Wilson International Center for Scholars, is a presidential memorial located in Washington, D.C., named in honor of Woodrow Wilson, the only American president with a doctorate degree. The United States Congress made it part of the Smithsonian Institution in 1968. It is also one of the top 15 think tanks in the world. The center's mission is to "become a key policy forum in the United States that transcends party lines, and to provide practical ideas to Congress, the government, and the policy community on global issues through independent research and open dialogue."

The center is part of the Smithsonian Institution, but has an independent board of directors, which is composed of U.S. federal government officials and non-official persons appointed by the President of the United States. The center's board of directors currently has 17 members, including the U.S. Secretary of State, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Secretary of Education, the President of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the President of the Smithsonian Institution, the Librarian of Congress, the Director of the National Archives and Records Administration, a U.S. federal government official, and nine non-official persons.

The center's director and staff, including scholars, publishers, librarians, administrators, and support staff, are accountable to the trustees for carrying out the center's mission. U.S. House Representative Jane Harman resigned in 2011 to become the current director. The Wilson Advisory Board, composed of citizens, advises the trustees and staff. Interns are usually undergraduate or graduate students who support the activities of visiting scholars and staff while learning to conduct top research.

Most of the center's staff is organized into specialized programs and projects covering a wide range of areas; these programs and projects organize conferences and seminars and support various research, communications, and publications related to their fields. The History and Public Policy Program, the Cold War International History Program, and the North Korea International Documents Program are directed by Christian F. Ostermann and deputy director by James Person. The center also publishes a magazine, The Wilson Quarterly, edited by Stephen Lagerfeld.

In 2011, the Wilson Center was ranked among the top 15 think tanks in the world; it was ranked 8th in the United States, 9th in international affairs, and 7th in development.