Former Dean and Painter of the Nanjing Academy of Arts, Bao Bin (保彬), passed away at 09:48 on 2 January, 2023. He was 87. The Baidu Baike (China’s Wikipedia equivalent) entry for Bao has today been made greyscale in his honour.
Credited as the creator of the Nanjing emblem, during his lifetime, Bao received a special allowance from the State Council of the People’s Republic of China and had staged numerous exhibitions of his paintings in countries and regions far and wide.
Born March, 1936 in Baojiaxiang, in Nantong of Jiangsu, Bao was of Mongolian ethnicity. Admitted to the East China Art College in 1957, Bao transferred to the Fine Arts Department of the Nanjing Academy of Arts, from which he graduated in 1961. Remaining in the Academy to teach, Bao became that institution’s dean in 1983, reports the Yangtze Evening News.
As a prolific and respected painter, Bao’s works have been exhibited in Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and USA, as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan.
In Nanjing, the touch of Bao can be seen everywhere. The design of the lacquerware screen in Nanjing’s iconic Jinling Hotel is from the hand of Bao, comprising four Han Dynasty cypresses and 37 vibrant red crowned cranes.
Bao’s work is also to be found on another Nanjing icon, the famed Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge. It was his hand that brought us the relief works that adorn the Bridge’s guardrails.
But Bao will be best remembered for his work designing the city emblem for Nanjing, “Bixie” (辟邪).
According to Bao’s personal memories, Nanjing began to seek out a possible city emblem in November of 1986. With nothing satisfactory received, Bao, who was one of the judges for the initiative, came up with his own concept. His plan was for a tiger to occupy a dragon’s seat in order to win over the past.
With the ancient city wall below the mythical creature, crowned by a tiger and dragon, so Nanjing’s official emblem was born. While less common today, it is still commonplace on account of its distinctive and unique Nanjing characteristics.
Bao was also a member of the China Artists Association, while his personal biographies are included in the Directory of Contemporary Chinese Artists, the Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese Painters, the Dictionary of Chinese Arts and Crafts, and the Dictionary of International Celebrities (国际名人大辞典).
