Wang Xiaoli, who was exposed for plagiarism.
Wang Xiaoli, the president of the Qinghai Art Association and the youngest member of the Chinese Art Association, who is known as a beautiful painter, was blasted for allegedly plagiarizing the works of calligrapher Ma Hansong. Wang Xiaoli issued a letter of apology through the media on the 26th, saying she was deeply ashamed and guilty of plagiarism. The Qinghai Provincial Federation of Literature said it was investigating and would announce the results of the investigation in response to outside questions.
The Xinjing News reported that an online article titled “Exposure of beautiful painters, the chairman of the Qinghai Art Association, the youngest director of the Chinese Art Association suspected of plagiarism for several years?” The article published 14 sets of comparative drawings of the paintings, the content of which is highly consistent and almost as similar as “photocopies”, but Ma Hansong’s works are obviously older than Wang Xiaoli’s.
Comparison of Ma Hansong’s works (left) and Wang Xiaoli’s works (right). (Taken from China Youth Network)
In her apology letter, Wang Xiaoli said, “Mr. Ma Hansong is an artist I have always admired, and I especially like his style of work, and I have studied to copy his paintings to improve myself. Due to my vanity and fluke psychology, the plagiarized works flowed to the society, causing great harm to Mr. Ma Hansong, and also bringing bad influence to the China Art Association and the Qinghai art community, I regret it and cannot be blamed.” “I am well aware that my behavior is not a word of apology that can be understood by Mr. Ma Hansong and netizens.”
Wang Xiaoli said she flew to Tianjin immediately after she made a profound examination to the China Art Association and the Qinghai Federation of Literature, wanting to apologize to Ma Hansong in person and “begging Mr. Ma to give me a chance to repent”. But “it was always a long way off”, so I had to “return with regret”. Wang Xiaoli said, “This mistake is serious, the lesson is painful, I will remember in my heart, to correct the past mistakes, to take practical action to repay society. Once again, my sincere apologies to Mr. Ma Hansong and the netizens! I implore everyone’s forgiveness!”
Wang Xiaoli also said, “It should be noted that the plagiarized works have not participated in any exhibitions or awards. Also, the handwriting of some of the works cited on the Internet is not mine.”
Wang Xiaoli was born in Xining, Qinghai Province in September 1975 and graduated from the Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts with a degree in Chinese painting, and her works have won several awards at national exhibitions, the report noted. Ma Hansong was born in Tianjin in 1949 and graduated from the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts with a major in bookbinding. He has published 70 comic strip works since 1978 and won the Silver Award for Painting and the Outstanding Cover Award at the Fourth China Comic Strip Review.
Recent Comments