Jia Zhangke and Chinese painting

This essay begins by reflecting on earlier research and writing conducted by the author on the relationship between Song (Sung) Dynasty landscape paintings and Chinese films, including the Fifth Generation work of Chen Kaige. Rist argues that one can also find echoes of ancient Chinese landscape painting in the films of ‘Sixth Generation’ director Jia Zhangke, including Platform (2000), Still Life (2006) and Mountains May Depart (2015), while one can also find visual connections between Jia’s films and more contemporary art, including propaganda posters and the large mural painting of his friend, Liu Xiaodong. Rist asks the reader to also recognize that Jia was an art student before he studied film, when he became enamoured with ‘realism’. In recent years Jia has become extremely interested in ecological issues that can be aligned with his cinematic treatment of the landscape.