A selection of volumes from The Complete Collection of Chinese Paintings Through the Ages. [Photo/WeChat account: zgxwfbzz]

The Complete Collection of Chinese Paintings Through the Ages — a national cultural project launched over two decades ago — continues to grow as a powerful platform for preserving and revitalizing traditional Chinese art.

The project digitally collects, preserves and showcases thousands of ancient Chinese paintings for research, education and cultural heritage. It stores them at its base in Zhejiang University — located in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province — and publishes volumes and treatises based on its collection.

Recently, the project released new volumes, including the Complete Collection of Pre-Qin, Han and Tang Paintings (Vol 3) and Chinese Civilization in Historical Paintings. The additions are said to deepen the integration of ancient visual culture into modern academic and public life.

Visitors take a close look at images of paintings from the collection at an exhibition in Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia. [Photo/WeChat account: zgxwfbzz]

Professor Chen Ye, chief expert and director of a research center at Zhejiang University that works on the collection, emphasized that the books are more than a documentation effort — they redefine how art history intersects with Chinese civilization.

The images of ancient paintings, once scattered across the world, have now been systematically compiled, offering insight into the visual language of Chinese philosophy, aesthetics and social values.

With over 20 years of research, the collection has become the most comprehensive image archive of Chinese painting.

It supports interdisciplinary scholarship and aims to establish a localized academic framework for Chinese art historiography, focusing on art images as a unique narrative form.

An exhibition on the collection is held in Cyprus. [Photo/WeChat account: zgxwfbzz]

Beyond research, the collection is expanding into education and public engagement. Courses like Chinese Civilization in Historical Paintings are now being taught at Zhejiang University and educational materials for younger students are in development.

Future plans include more exhibitions, AI applications for art analysis and the further transformation of research into accessible cultural products.

"Our goal," Chen said, "is to turn the collection into a sustainable cultural enterprise — one that continues to connect the past with the present, and Chinese traditions with the world."

A staff member introduces a British visitor to a Song Dynasty (960-1279) painting from the collection at an exhibition in Cambridge city in the United Kingdom. [Photo/WeChat account: zgxwfbzz]