Etchings of the future

A major exhibition of Chinese engravings, set to open in Shenzhen, promises to show how today's artists were influenced by the art form that flourished last century. Lin Qi reports.

Many contemporary Chinese artists, including Xu Bing, Fang Lijun and Zhou Chunya, majored in engraving at college. The art form, which served as a revolutionary propaganda tool in the early 20th century, is still a source of inspiration for them, no matter what the artists now specialize in.

The first national engraving exhibition, to be opened at the Guanlan Engraving Art Museum in the country's southern city of Shenzhen in October, promises to show how the art has evolved and shaped the vision of today's artists.