The show Loneliness of Wild Ducks marks Lin Fengmian's contributions to modernizing Chinese painting and fine-arts education.[Photo provided to China Daily]

The decision was denounced by the elites in the capital's art circles who looked down upon Qi because of his background as a rural carpenter without formal art training. But Qi fought on.

In his autobiography, Qi wrote: "I'm from the countryside. I understand that it won't be easy to lecture at a Western-style school ... But to my surprise, headmaster Lin and several other teachers think highly of me ... Students admire me and listen attentively in my class ... So, I'd like to continue the job."

Besides the painting Roosters, the current exhibition also displays dozens of Lin's works encompassing such subjects as court ladies, landscapes, birds and flowers. These paintings done between the 1940s and '70s are mostly from the collection of the Shanghai Artists Association, the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy and the China Art Museum, also in Shanghai.

Lin lived in the metropolis for more than 20 years. He relocated to Hong Kong, where he lived the rest of his life, in 1977.

The exhibition is called Loneliness of Wild Ducks. Ducks and other birds recur in Lin's works, in which he often presents a feeling of solitude and sadness. The title also refers to his struggles to get his artistic ideas accepted by China's mainstream society.

Lin was born in Meixian, in Guangdong province. He first studied sculpture at Ovide Yenccesse's studio at the School of Fine Arts in Dijon, France, in 1921. He then transferred to the National School of Fine Arts in Paris to practice oil painting. He also traveled and painted in Germany for a year.