Many people love the simple and vivid paintings by Feng Zikai (1898-1975) depicting common people in real life, but few are aware that the influential artist and pioneer of manhua (Chinese comics) was also an outstanding composer and music educator.

His contributions to modern China's music education were remembered at the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra's New Year concerts in Shanghai on Jan 6 and 7.

Sponsored by the Feng Zikai Research Association, the concerts at Shanghai Oriental Art Center presented Beethoven's Egmont and Schubert's Symphony No 8, alongside the usual festival favorites such as waltz and polka pieces by Johann Strauss II.

An exhibition of Feng's paintings about music was held in the lobby of the concert hall. Among them were pictures of a hermit playing the bamboo flute on a mountain, children singing while their teacher played the harmonium, and a soldier playing the bamboo flute against a broken wall. There were also sketches of a series of musicians such as Beethoven, Mozart and Tchaikovsky, rendered in Chinese ink on rice paper.

"We wanted to introduce Feng Zikai's work involving music, especially his efforts promoting Western classical music in China in the early 1900s," says Feng Yu, the grandson of Feng Zikai and head of the Feng Zikai Research Association.

One of the most beloved artists in modern China, Feng Zikai was a pioneer of comic paintings in China, an educator, calligrapher, essayist and translator. In August, Life Passes, Art Endures: Feng Zikai Art Exhibition took place at the Cheng Shifa Art Museum in Shanghai, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the passing of the artist. The number of visitors broke the museum's record during the month-long exhibition.

According to China's law concerning copyright, artists' works enter the public domain 50 years after their death. From this year on, publishers in China are able to print Feng Zikai's works without paying for the copyright, and a number of new publications are scheduled to come out later this year.

While this will inevitably bring financial loss to the heirs of the artist, Feng Yu says, "We fully support these new publications, and are glad that the wider public can enjoy his art." It also gives him greater incentive to introduce Feng Zikai and his work to the public.

A brand-new Feng Zikai Art Center in his hometown of Tongxiang in Zhejiang province will open to the public later this year, consisting of an art museum, a concert hall, and three theaters, with a total floor area of 70,000 square meters.