Chen Jinde
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Chen Jinde, Male, Han, from Zhongwei, Ningxia, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Architectural Painting (Ⅶ-96). The tradition is documented in Zhongwei, Ningxia. Within the regional tradition and school record of Architectural Painting in Zhongwei, Ningxia: Its unique geographic position and human environment have given its architectural painting a distinctly regional style in form, subject matter, and technique. Besides inheriting tradition, Zhongwei architectural painting draws heavily on regional traditional customs. In accordance with the different structures of building complexes, the exteriors of buildings are colored in the “ruyi xuanzi polychrome painting” manner, the corridors adopt the artistic layout of “Su-style mixed colors”, and the door lattices are fitted with “five-color” lifen painted panels, expressing the rich charm and connotation of classical poetry, calligraphy, and painting. In the selection of subjects, it skillfully chooses different painting themes according to the structural parts of the building and the nature of the cultural setting, focusing mostly on local folk legends, historical anecdotes, and tales of historical figures. Zhongwei lies at the head of the Front Bend of the Yellow River in northwest China and is the core area of the “Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall” (a fertile frontier oasis region). It links Shaanxi and Shanxi to the east, reaches Gansu and Xinjiang to the west, Inner Mongolia to the north, and Sichuan and Yunnan to the south; it was a frontier stronghold on the Silk Road, and in the Qing dynasty it became a passage for the westward migration of population from the Shanxi-Shaanxi region. In the Yuan dynasty, Buddhism began to flourish in Zhongwei, and the technique of architectural polychrome painting arose along with it. In the Ming dynasty, within Zhongwei city there arose the flourishing spectacle of “nine monasteries, eighteen temples, plus two convents and one ancestral hall”, each temple decorated with painted ornament, and the architectural painting technique entered its heyday.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Chen Jinde is anchored in the documented technical standards of Architectural Painting in Zhongwei, Ningxia. Within the documented technical tradition of Architectural Painting in Zhongwei, Ningxia: Zhongwei architectural painting is a traditional fine-art form circulating mainly in Zhongwei City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region; it is also distributed in cities and counties throughout Ningxia and in regions such as Gansu and Inner Mongolia. Zhongwei architectural painting exists mainly in dependence on ancient buildings such as monasteries and temples. Zhongwei architectural painting is rich in content and numerous in categories, divided into three major types — xuanzi polychrome painting, hexi polychrome painting, and Su-style polychrome painting. Its principal process steps are sealing and priming with base oil, patching with plaster for a ground coat, wrapping beams and brackets with cloth, drawing the layouts, lifen (relief-paste) painting, and graded color washing. In painting technique, emphasis is placed on highlighting Zhongwei's traditional “ruyi xuanzi” approach; motifs such as “oil-cake rings”, “dog-tail cloud curls”, “cat-hoof hollows”, “lotus petals”, “ruyi heads”, “drilled-flower kuilong dragons”, and “pine-knot ornaments” all belong to the distinctive regional crafts of Ningxia. Zhongwei architectural painting has a long history and distinctive characteristics; upholding the principle of combining tradition with science, it is inclusive in materials, process steps, and techniques while constantly bringing forth the new, embodying the artisan spirit of ceaseless refinement. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "": "Archival Record of the Process Steps": Zhongwei architectural painting is rich in content and numerous in categories, divided into three major types — xuanzi polychrome painting, hexi polychrome painting, and Su-style polychrome painting. Its principal process steps are sealing and priming with base oil, patching with plaster for a ground coat, wrapping beams and brackets with cloth, drawing the layouts, lifen (relief-paste) painting, and graded color washing.
Archival Record of the Process Steps
Zhongwei architectural painting is rich in content and numerous in categories, divided into three major types — xuanzi polychrome painting, hexi polychrome painting, and Su-style polychrome painting. Its principal process steps are sealing and priming with base oil, patching with plaster for a ground coat, wrapping beams and brackets with cloth, drawing the layouts, lifen (relief-paste) painting, and graded color washing.
Core Technique I
Zhongwei architectural painting is a traditional fine-art form circulating mainly in Zhongwei City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region;
Core Technique II
it is also distributed in cities and counties throughout Ningxia and in regions such as Gansu and Inner Mongolia.
Core Technique III
Zhongwei architectural painting exists mainly in dependence on ancient buildings such as monasteries and temples.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Chen Jinde was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Architectural Painting, with Zhongwei, Ningxia as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Architectural Painting in Zhongwei, Ningxia: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2021 (batch 5), with Zhongwei, Ningxia as its declared area, and Ningxia Yixuangujianzhugongcheng Co., Ltd. as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
Zhongwei lies at the head of the Front Bend of the Yellow River in northwest China and is the core area of the “Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall” (a fertile frontier oasis region). It links Shaanxi and Shanxi to the east, reaches Gansu and Xinjiang to the west, Inner Mongolia to the north, and Sichuan and Yunnan to the south; it was a frontier stronghold on the Silk Road, and in the Qing dynasty it became a passage for the westward migration of population from the Shanxi-Shaanxi region. In the Yuan dynasty, Buddhism began to flourish in Zhongwei, and the technique of architectural polychrome painting arose along with it.
05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage
National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Li Yunyi | Dali, Yunnan | 03-1302 | Other regional school |
| Li Shengbin | Shaanxi | 03-1303 | Other regional school |
| Hao Yanming | Xiangyuan, Shanxi | 05-2705 | Other regional school |
| Chen Jinde | Zhongwei, Ningxia | — | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。