Huang Banruo, or Wong Po-Yeh in Cantonese, was a leading artist in Guangzhou and Hong Kong in the first half of the 20th century. His career started in 1923, when he joined the traditionalist camp of Zhao Haogong, Pan He and others in the Guihai Painting Cooperative. A key member of the largest art group in southern China, Huang engaged Gao Jianfu's students in a series of debates in the press. The latter was considered as the vanguard of modernism in Chinese art, while Huang stood on the side of tradition. A traditionalist but never a conservative, Huang devoted his life to the reformation of traditional Chinese painting. He moved to Hong Kong permanently in 1949, then became active in organizing exhibitions, teaching students and ...