On April 29, 2025, on the occasion of the 114th anniversary of Tsinghua University, the opening ceremony of the "Salute to Design - Chen Hanmin Design Literature Exhibition" jointly organized by the School of Fine Arts of Tsinghua University and the Guanshanyue Art Museum in Shenzhen was held in Hall 1 of the Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts Art Museum, presided over by Professor Chen Nan, Secretary of the Department of Visual Communication Design. As an important part of the school anniversary series of activities, the exhibition systematically sorts out and displays the design ideas, design practices, and educational concepts of Mr. Chen Hanmin, a pioneer of modern design education in China, through more than 200 physical works, archival documents, design manuscripts, research illustrations, etc.

Ma Sai, Dean of the School of Fine Arts at Tsinghua University, Qin Chuan, Secretary of the Party Committee, Chen Junyu, Director of the Guanshan Yue Art Museum in Shenzhen, Hang Jian, Humanities Chair Professor at Tsinghua University, Feng Mei, Wang Guolun, Hua Jianxin, and Zhang Geming, retired teacher representatives from the Department of Visual Communication at the School of Fine Arts, Peng Lu, Dean of the School of Fashion Art and Engineering at Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, Tao Haiying, Director of the Foreign Affairs Office and Director of the Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan Affairs Office at Beijing Institute of Printing, Liao Dazhi, Director of the Packaging Design Center, and members from the Party branches of the Department of Visual Communication Design, the Department of Art History and Theory, the Department of Industrial Design, the Department of Painting, the Department of Ceramic Art and Design, the Department of Sculpture, the Party branch of the Institute, and the Party branch of Landscape Science at Nearly a hundred guests attended the opening ceremony.

Professor Marseille, Dean of the School of Fine Arts at Tsinghua University, first delivered a speech, deeply recalling Mr. Chen Hanmin's important contributions to the construction of the design education discipline and talent cultivation in the college as a teacher, teaching supervisor, and leader of the graphic design major; And he emphasized that Mr. Chen has long been responsible for the design of national image and people's livelihood, designing national standards such as public information graphics, traffic signs, bank logos of the People's Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, and many influential works such as the 1997 Hong Kong handover. He is a banner of graphic design in New China.

Mr. Chen Junyu, the director of Guanshanyue Art Museum in Shenzhen, stated that "Salute to Design" is an academic series exhibition based on the positioning of "Contemporary Design Art Research" at Guanshanyue Art Museum, which has received long-term support from the Shenzhen Promotion and Cultural Development Fund. This series of exhibitions has held 7 case study exhibitions, among which five designers (Zhang Ding, Zhang Guangyu, Pang Xunquan, Lei Guiyuan, Chen Hanmin) are related to the School of Fine Arts at Tsinghua University (formerly the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts). The exhibition of Chen Hanmin's design literature was brought back to the academy from the Guanshanyue Art Museum for display. Through various forms such as lesson plans, physical objects, and videos, it vividly showcases Mr. Chen's "student-centered" academic spirit and further deepens the academic value of museum school cooperation.

Subsequently, the program "Qingfeng Beijing" produced by Beijing Television, titled "Chen Hanmin: Born Upward, Walking towards Beauty", was broadcasted. Through the joint construction of the Party branch, the program led guests into Mr. Chen Hanmin's design career, deeply experiencing the design ideas of "Chinese style, national emotion, and contemporary aesthetics", and learning from his exemplary deeds as an outstanding Communist Party member.

Professor He Jie, the academic advisor of the exhibition, believes that Mr. Chen Hanmin's four good principles of "easy to understand, easy to remember, easy to look at, and easy to use" are essentially the principles of dialogue between design and society. A truly good design must withstand the test of time and serve the needs of people. Mr. Chen's appearance of being concerned about the country and the people, personally taking action, and tirelessly teaching others, may seem to be due to his personality, but in reality, it stems from his belief and pursuit of the "Chinese design" cause. Under this spiritual support, Mr. Chen has never stopped thinking, researching, and practicing design education in China, and has been paying attention to and actively participating in the selection, guidance, and design education activities of important national design projects. His sharp thinking, professional expertise, and abundant energy are moving and convincing.

Professor Feng Mei from the Department of Visual Communication Design, as the first student of the Decoration Art and Design Department of the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts (Class of 1956), emphasizes Mr. Chen's inheritance and promotion of the art and design of older generations such as Zhang Guangyu. She affirmed the relevance of the exhibition theme of 'Salute to Design'; It is pointed out that Mr. Chen's logo design contains profound ethnic characteristics, cleverly translating and reconstructing traditional artistic elements such as Chinese red, Chinese characters, and graphic symbols in a modern way. The creative concept of 'kung fu outside the world' originates from profound traditional cultural cultivation and exquisite refinement of life experience.

Professor Wang Guolun from the Department of Visual Communication Design expresses his deep admiration and nostalgia for Mr. Chen. He remembered Mr. Chen's design philosophy, which is to have a "Chinese heart, national sentiment, and international perspective" in design. He emphasized that Chinese designers should have backbone and opposed blind design integration. He believes that the college will be built better to comfort Mr. Chen.

Professor Wang Hongwei, a representative teacher of the Department of Visual Communication Design, recalled that Mr. Chen was respectable and had strict requirements for his works. After retirement, he still focused on the design industry. At the age of 90, Mr. Chen gave a two-and-a-half-hour logo design lecture in his studio, full of passion throughout the entire process. His design philosophy and attitude towards life have had a profound impact on his and his students' design practice and teaching philosophy.

Associate Professor Guo Qiuhui, curator and secretary of the Department of Art History and Theory, outlined the curatorial approach: the exhibition showcases over 200 design works and related literature by Mr. Chen Hanmin through seven sections, and compiles his design and educational philosophy quotes as an introduction, aiming to comprehensively present his achievements in art design and education, as well as his design ideas of "Chinese style, national emotions, and contemporary aesthetics".

Finally, Professor Qin Chuan, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Academy of Fine Arts at Tsinghua University, announced the opening of the exhibition and hoped that it would become a design education classroom that connects history and the future.

Panoramic display of seven major sections:

Deep decoding from works to ideas

This exhibition comprehensively presents Mr. Chen Hanmin's achievements and contributions in art design and education from seven parts: "design works," "design ideas," "design education," "art chronology," "portraits of colleagues," "design literature," and "reminiscence of Mr. Chen. More than 200 original designs and manuscripts of logos, badges, posters, packaging, etc. were showcased, including three sets of national standard symbol designs and a detailed explanation of the "One Standard, One Discussion" exhibition sign, presenting its design methodology of "concise and clear" and "multiple meanings in one form" as well as the "Four Good Principles". The design education section compiles the training syllabus of the Department of Interior Design (now the Department of Visual Communication Design) at the Academy of Fine Arts, Tsinghua University, as well as Chen Hanmin's design manuscripts, teaching manuscripts, and treatises, revealing the early construction of modern design education in China. The "Portrait of Colleagues in Hidden Poetry" created after retirement showcases the gentleman's earnest expectations for the younger generation through the elegance and charm of literati. In addition, the memorial service video and literature together outline a three-dimensional image of a "virtuous and artistic" teacher.

Eight years of deep cultivation in paying tribute to design:

Collaboration between museums and schools to write a new academic chapter

As a brand project launched by Guan Shanyue Art Museum since 2017, "Salute to Design" has successively promoted design masters such as Zhang Ding, Zhang Guangyu, Pang Xunquan, Zhou Lingzhao, Chen Zhifo, and Chen Hanmin, among whom five have deep connections with the School of Fine Arts at Tsinghua University (formerly the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts). In his speech, Director Chen Junyu specifically mentioned that the series of exhibitions continues to receive support from the Shenzhen Municipal Promotion and Cultural Development Fund, becoming an important carrier of the academic connotation of Shenzhen's "City of Design". The "Series of Academic Thoughts on Chinese Modern Art and Design" donated by the Academy of Fine Arts at Tsinghua University to the art museum has further promoted in-depth dialogue on design history research through the power of literature.

Entering the exhibition: touching the spiritual heritage of design masters

From April 29th to May 12th, teachers and students can visit Hall 1 of the Art Museum of Tsinghua University Academy of Fine Arts for free. Through multi-dimensional exhibits such as original works, manuscripts, and images, they can experience how Mr. Chen Hanmin organically integrates "nationalization", "universality", and "contemporaneity" into modern design, and illuminates generations of students with educational sparks. As the curator said, "The exhibition is not only a memory of the gentleman, but also a vivid design teaching site. This exhibition is not only a heartfelt tribute to Mr. Chen Hanmin's artistic career, but also a case study of the "deep description" of modern Chinese design history.