Portrait of Li Yinquan

Inscription: On 16 June 1932, Beihong made this portrait of Li Yinquan at Hualong Bridge as a draft of a mourner in National Martyr.
Seal: “Beihong’s painting” (Square seal with relief characters) and “Compelled to continue” (Square seal with relief characters)

Portrait of Li Yinquan was a model for one of the figures in National Martyr, but only the portrait was made. This is one of the earliest known works in this series. The List of Xu’s Works records that, on 16 June 1943, “in order to encourage enthusiasm for the resistance against Japan and commemorate the martyrs who died in the Shanghai Incident, he made National Martyr.” The National Martyr that exists today is a battle scene, and there is no “mourner” modeled on Li Yinquan. When Xu Beihong originally envisioned National Martyr, perhaps he wanted a series. If he did not envision a series, his plans changed, and he did not use Portrait of Li Yinquan.
-Hua Tianxue

Li Yinquan was a senior statesman in the Republican government. He was the president of the Yunnan Military Academy, the governor of Shaanxi Province, and the Minister of Agriculture. He was originally from Tengchong County in Yunnan. From 1932 to 1945, Li Yinquan built four tombs for heroes who had died fighting the Japanese, sending them off as national martyrs. In 1932, Li Yinquan wrote an inscription entitled “The Bones of the Loyal Soldiers Buried in the Eastern Battlefield:” “The frosty cold enlivens the rocky road, where we are sending off national martyrs. The martyred bones of tens of thousands of soldiers fill the mountains with fragrance.” In Chongqing in 1943, Xu Beihong read this poem by Li Yinquan. He was deeply moved, so he supplemented National Martyr. Unfortunately, this painting is no longer extant. All that is left is Portrait of Li Yinquan.