Exhibition View of XIN ZI LI: Chen Mingqiang's 2026 Art Project

In recent years, Chen Mingqiang has attempted to create an art calendar every year, starting from the text of CAPITAL (Das Kapital). It integrates the traditional Chinese almanac, the text of CAPITAL, English vocabulary, and current events, and he uses AI technology to generate illustrations and content. Together, they constitute "XIN ZI LI", a long-term experimental project that he takes calendar as a medium to reflect on art, time, technology and capital.

Poster of XIN ZI LI: Chen Mingqiang's 2026 Art Project

Each page of "XIN ZI LI" consists of a Chinese-English calendar, daily auspicious and inauspicious activities, an English vocabulary exercise selected from a quote in CAPITAL, and corresponding illustrations generated by randomly combining words with news, internet jokes, and other materials. It's like a unique product that blends ancient and modern, Chinese and Western reality and virtuality, yet still retains practical functionality. As the "XIN ZI LI" project sounds to be down-to-earth, Chen Mingqiang simply summarizes the impulse and goal of this experiment as "reading classics, learning English, appreciating the world, and living a life."

Chen shared that the initial impulse of this project stemmed from learning English, a goal that had been ongoing for many years but which he had never truly accomplished. His initial idea was to create an English vocabulary picture book. He realized that for everyone, English seems to be a "pain point" in every stage of life, and on a broader level, learning English is a symbol of globalization and China's modernization. Chen Mingqiang's interest in reading "classics," particularly "Capital," stemmed from his curiosity and doubts about how society works. When he was trying to find answers in Marx's original works, the English version of CAPITAL came into his view.

Exhibition View of XIN ZI LI: Chen Mingqiang's 2026 Art Project

In 2018, Chen Mingqiang recounted that he was going through a period of confusion in his life. While working in the countryside of Wuyuan, Jiangxi, an A4 calendar on the wall of a villager's house suddenly struck him, making the artist feel the tangible reality of "being alive," transforming abstract time into a "simple yet real" record. This also inspired his work, "XIN ZI LI".

Following this, Chen Mingqiang began experimenting with using a calendar format to deconstruct classic texts into visual fragments of daily life, further connecting the calendar illustrations with the text of CAPITAL. Through the use of AI creation and the artist's conscious elimination of subjective esthetic biases during the selection process, he intended to allow various irrational and illogical "bugs" to emerge naturally, making the connection between words and images more intrinsic, ambiguous, and chaotic. The unique "slices of the times" on each page of the calendar thus generated more space for association and interpretation.

"Observing the World" reveals the artist's concern for social reality. He did not choose completely abstract or poetic themes in his works, but incorporated a large number of news events and online texts into his works. This was not out of the artist's interest in the images themselves, but to continue the realist lineage of the teaching tradition at CAFA that emphasizes observation of reality and humanistic concern.

Selected Pages from XIN ZI LI: Chen Mingqiang's 2026 Art Project

Chen Mingqiang, who has taught "Readymade Art" courses, chose to start with a "calendar," an object with everyday functions. As the artist says, its significance points to a symbiotic relationship between "objects" and capital. "I realized that even the most ordinary and cheapest products have a complex socio-cultural history behind them." "Calendars" are not only timekeeping tools. As seen in the old objects on display at the exhibition, which evoke a sense of familiarity: old almanacs, old wall calendars, desk calendars... They not only constitute footnotes to the evolution of fashion, culture, political discourse, and folk customs, recording the changes of the times, but also record how people in different eras are situated in history.

Old calendars collected by Chen Mingqiang

“365 days, 365 stories, 365 card draws—what we see is the fluctuation of this era. The only constant is the continuous 365 passages from the original text of CAPITAL. The artist infuses his multi-dimensional reflections on time, capital, and technology into "XIN ZI LI," a work that combines AI technology, the Chinese almanac, CAPITAL, and current events anecdotes. He hopes that people will become a medium for dialogue with time through the daily ritual of flipping through the pages, inspiring individuals to gain new feelings and insights when facing the uncertainties of each day. In the upcoming dialogue with CAFA ART INFO, Chen Mingqiang shared his considerations for choosing quotes  from CAPITAL, his research framework on the concept of "li" （暦）, the artistic effects he intended to achieve through the collision of mixed information on each page of "XIN ZI LI," and his practical experience of using AI tools.

Chen Mingqiang is an associate professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. His work focuses on topics such as ready-made art, the revitalization and inheritance of traditional crafts, the contemporary transformation of traditional artistic language, and the contemporary expression of objects. His works involve various art forms, including installation, video, ready-made products, sculpture, ceramics, and painting, presenting a diverse range of styles.

CAFA ART INFO: You started rereading CAPITAL because you were learning English, and this led to new artistic creations. There are so many English original texts. Why did you choose CAPITAL and decide to transform it into the Chinese almanac style that is familiar to Chinese people?

Chen Mingqiang: From the beginning of my graduate studies, I was filled with confusion about the complex workings of society, even simplistically attributing it to the "original sin of capital." In my moments of bewilderment, I recalled familiar concepts from my high school political science textbooks, such as productive forces and relations of production, economic base and superstructure, necessity and contingency, market and money… all originating from Marxist theory. These were not only tools for explaining social phenomena, but also among the earliest philosophical theories I encountered.

CAPITAL by Karl MarxIllustrations of XIN ZI LI that Chen Mingqiang made with Photoshop in 2018.

When seeking answers in Marx's original writing, the English version of CAPITAL came into my view. In 2013, I considered creating contemporary illustrations for it, but I hesitated to pursue it further due to concerns that directly illustrating the original text might distort the classic. The turning point came in 2018 in the countryside of Wuyuan, Jiangxi Province. On the wall of a villager's house, I glimpsed a large-format calendar, leading me to decide to present it in a calendar form. Since then, I've begun experimenting with using calendars to convey my idea, breaking down the classic text into tangible everyday fragments, using illustrations to resonate with the relationship between collective memory, capitalist logic, and individual survival. Although the connection between the calendar illustrations and CAPITAL was still somewhat vague at that time, I still used Photoshop, utilizing online news and image resources, to create nearly two hundred illustrations. These illustrations now sound to be overly literal, even somewhat inappropriate.

The calendar that Chen Mingqiang noticed on April 23, 2018.Chen Mingqiang recorded his feeling with pictures in April 2018.Chen Mingqiang recorded his feeling with pictures in 2018.

CAFA ART INFO: What impressed you when you saw the calendar in a villager's home in Jiangxi? What prompted you to do this? What research have you conducted on this product that combines fashion trends, political discourse, folklore, and design?

Chen Mingqiang: This encounter sparked my interest in the "calendar" （暦）. As a teacher who has long taught the "Ready-made Art" course, I've long been aware of the symbiotic relationship between "objects" and capital. From the "Strange Objects" project training, which required creating unique objects, to the "Objects" course, which focused on the biographies and brief histories of objects, I've attempted to decipher cultural codes using "ready-made objects as research subjects." I've realized that even the most ordinary and inexpensive products have a complex socio-cultural history behind them. Especially in the "Objects" course, we start by studying a common industrial product, guided by a problem-solving mindset, to understand why this object was created, how the craftsmanship and materials evolved, the connection between form, business model, and socio-cultural factors, and potential market competition and challenges… My intention was to guide students to conduct in-depth background research and reflection on their own designs and creations through such a concrete cultural study of an object. In fact, I've benefited greatly from the students' research and creations in every course. This research method naturally became the framework for my research on "li"（暦）.

Pages of calendars from different years

When I consulted the traditional Chinese almanac, some content was appropriate, while others needed modification. For example, the traditional almanac listed "auspicious" and "inauspicious" days for each day, supported by a worldview rooted in agrarian civilization. However, in today's industrialized and even digitalized society, some content is no longer suitable. For instance, the almanac's prediction that "traveling" is inauspicious for today is outdated for the fast-paced urban lifestyle. Therefore, in "XIN ZI LI," I rearranged the "auspicious" and "inauspicious" sections to better connect them with contemporary life.

XIN ZI LI 2025XIN ZI LI 2026

"XIN ZI LI" is an ongoing art project. Its design is adjusted year by year. The 2025 edition pursues visual impact, with a large format and heavy materials that reduce practicality, while the 2026 edition has a smaller format and optimized reading experience, but the metal rings may deform during transportation due to load-bearing issues. I used to think that making a work of art was particularly difficult, but now I find that making a product that the public can buy is even more difficult. There are just too many factors that I need to take into consideration.

CAFA ART INFO: Throughout the 365 days and 365 pages of the conversion process, what expressive effect is to be achieved by mixing the original text, English words, folk cultural elements of the Chinese almanac, and sometimes slightly bizarre AI-generated images?

Chen Mingqiang: 365 days, 365 stories, 365 card draws—what we see is the fluctuation of this era. The only constant is the continuous flow of 365 excerpts from CAPITAL. Professor Song Xiujian encouraged me, saying that XIN ZI LI "is a beneficial exploration of the dissemination of Marxist theory in the digital age and the modern transformation and innovative development of traditional Chinese culture." Ultimately, I genuinely hope it can become part of the new popular literature and art, something the public will enjoy, like a calendar in a villager's home—displayed, flipped through, even if just silently accompanying them, it's still worthwhile. Curator Zhu He said that "XIN ZI LI" is about bidding farewell to the past day through physical interaction with each page, while simultaneously welcoming a new beginning. This sense of time ritual helps people regain a sense of control over time in a fast-paced society.

Exhibition View of XIN ZI LI: Chen Mingqiang's 2026 Art Project

CAFA ART INFO: Are the contents of these images relevant to our lives today? The images seem to contain a lot of information and emotions from daily life.

Chen Mingqiang: The basic working logic of "XIN ZI LI" is to first arrange the original text of CAPITAL sequentially into 365 days, then select an English word from each sentence, use ChatGPT to transform that word into Chinese and English example sentences from social news and online jokes, and finally use Stable Diffusion to generate images. Behind every image you see lies real material; it's not a blatant copy of news, but a translated "slice of life." For example, an absurd scene generated by AI on a certain day might come from an unbelievable social news story; a page's "dos and don'ts" might be a satire of the fast pace of urban life. Compared to the illustrations I drew in 2013 and 2018, I wanted my emotions to be invisible in the illustrations. From the original words in CAPITAL to the example sentences, and finally to the generated images, there were at least two "transformations." The purpose of this is also to leave more room for discussion between the virtual and the real. The key discussion in "XIN ZI LI" naturally revolves around capital; "XIN ZI LI" is like an urban metaphorical "storytelling session." Hopefully, as Zhu He said, "XIN ZI LI" transcends everyday items and becomes a "new calendar" archive that records the survival of individuals in an era where capital and technology intertwine.

Exhibition View of XIN ZI LI: Chen Mingqiang's 2026 Art Project

CAFA ART INFO: Using AI as a creative tool is also a core element of this project. How did you utilize AI in it? What are your thoughts on the challenges that AI technology might bring to art creation?

Chen Mingqiang: Speaking of people's anxiety about AI, I think it's like when the steam engine first started producing steam, workers feared losing their jobs to machines, or like the invention of photography, which led many painters to seek alternative livelihoods. Anxiety aside, we must acknowledge that this is the productive force and development trend of our time. I am also well aware that the AI technology I use in my project is still at a beginner level compared to research institutions and large companies; I don't understand the underlying code and can't keep up with the cutting edge of technology. Within limited resources, I ponder how to use these tools to my advantage, rather than being led by them. Professor Song Xiujian believes that "XIN ZI LI" allows people to experience the meaning of time, the logic of capital, and the power of technology through the pages of a calendar, to be wary of the potential impact of the expansion of capital and the generalization of technology on the construction of human subjectivity and spirituality, and to draw wisdom and courage to forge ahead in this great era. This assessment perfectly aligns with the original intention of my work—to allow classics, everyday life, and technology to engage in dialogue within the same medium.

XIN ZI LI AI Edition: Zizhi Tongjian, digital prints, 31cm × 21cm, 8 pieces, 2025

CAFA ART INFO: It is understood that "XIN ZI LI" currently cites Chapter 3, Book 1, Part 1 of CAPITAL. Will this project produce other types of variations?

Chen Mingqiang: Currently, there is indeed another creative variant directly related to "XIN ZI LI". In early 2025, when I discussed "XIN ZI LI" with Professor Yue Jieqiong, she was planning an overseas art exhibition related to Chinese characters called "One Hundred and One Wishes." Professor Yue has a very active mind and suggested that I consider creating new works based on Chinese characters, building upon "XIN ZI LI". I quickly thought of Zizhi Tongjian (Warring States and Qin Volume 1 to 8) and created a sample work, "XIN ZI LI" AI Edition: Zizhi Tongjian. Its creative logic is the same as "XIN ZI LI", only the base text changed from CAPITAL to Zizhi Tongjian, and the focus shifted from "learning English" to "learning Chinese characters." Learning Chinese characters, reading Chinese classics, and considering its target audience overseas, spreading Chinese culture abroad, is something that excites me greatly. Although the technology and basic working logic are in place, given my current creative energy, financial situation, and the availability of dissemination channels, I am not yet ready to create a "XIN ZI LI" work based on Zizhi Tongjian. The "XIN ZI LI" calendar themed around CAPITAL has already put me under immense pressure these past two years, let alone having to travel overseas to promote and disseminate the "XIN ZI LI" calendar themed around Zizhi Tongjian. Just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine. I think this project will probably have to wait until all the conditions are more favorable before moving forward.

Image Courtesy of the Artist, Text edited by CAFA ART INFO.