, the second chairman The China National Art Workers' Association was established on 21 July 1949 in Beijing's
Zhongshan Park. The association's inaugural meeting elected
Xu Beihong as its first chairman, with
Jiang Feng and
Ye Qianyu as vice chairmen. After Xu's death in 1953, a special meeting was held on 4 October, which elected
Qi Baishi as the new chairman, and
Wu Zuoren and
Cai Ruohong 蔡若虹 as vice chairmen, in addition to Jiang and Ye.
Hua Junwu 华君武 was elected general secretary. The representatives also passed a resolution to change the organization's name to China Artists' Association. , the third chair and the first chairwoman The second general meeting was held 30 July 1960 in Beijing. The meeting elected
He Xiangning as chairwoman (Qi Baishi had died in 1957), with Cai Ruohong,
Liu Kaiqu 刘开渠, Ye Qianyu, Wu Zuoren,
Pan Tianshou and
Fu Baoshi as vice chairmen. Hua Junwu was re-elected general secretary. After the interruption of the
Cultural Revolution and the death of He Xiangning in 1972, the third general meeting was held on 3 November 1979 in Beijing. Jiang Feng was elected chairman, with
Wang Chaowen 王朝闻, Ye Qianyu, Hua Junwu, Liu Kaiqu,
Guan Shanyue 关山月,
Li Shaoyan 李少言,
Li Keran, Wu Zuoren,
Huang Xinbo 黄新波 and Cai Ruohong as vice chairmen. After Jiang Feng's death in 1983, the association's standing committee elected Wu Zuoren as chairman in March. , the fifth chairman On 6 May 1985, the fourth general meeting was held in
Jinan. Wu Zuoren was elected chairman, and Wang Chaowen, Ye Qianyu,
Gu Yuan 古元, Guan Shanyue, Liu Kaiqu, Hua Junwu, Li Shaoyan, Li Keran,
Zhou Sicong 周思聪,
Qin Zheng 秦征,
Huang Yongyu 黄永玉 and Cai Ruohong as vice chairmen. In October 1990,
Wang Qi () was added as executive vice-chair. The fifth general meeting was held on 11 September 1998 in Beijing.
Jin Shangyi 靳尚谊 was elected chairman, with
Liu Dawei 刘大为 (executive vice-chair),
Liu Wenxi,
Liu Boshu 刘勃舒,
Xiao Feng 肖峰,
Li Huanmin 李焕民,
Lin Yong 林墉,
Yang Lizhou 杨力舟,
Hazi Aimaiti 哈孜·艾买提,
Chang Shana 常沙娜,
Cheng Yunxian 程允贤 and
Zhan Jianjun 詹建俊 as vice chairs. The association held its sixth general meeting on 1 December 2003 in Beijing. Jin Shangyi was re-elected chairman, with Liu Dawei (executive),
Wang Mingzhi 王明旨,
Wang Mingming 王明明,
Wei Ershen 韦尔申,
Feng Yuan 冯远,
Nima Zeren 尼玛泽仁,
Xu Jiang 许江,
Wu Changjiang 吴长江, Yang Lizhou,
Yang Xiaoyang 杨晓阳, Lin Yong,
Zeng Chenggang 曾成钢 and
Pan Gongkai as vice-chairs.
Shi Dawei 施大畏 and
Luo Zhongli 罗中立 were added as vice-chairmen in July 2005. In December 2008, the seventh general meeting was held in Beijing. Liu Dawei was elected chairman, with Wang Mingming, Wei Ershen, Feng Yuan, Xu Jiang,
Xu Qinsong 许钦松, Yang Xiaoyang, Wu Changjiang,
He Jiaying 何家英,
Fan Di'an 范迪安, Luo Zhongli, Shi Dawei,
Huang Gesheng 黄格胜, Zeng Chenggang and Pan Gongkai as vice-chairs. Jin Shangyi was named honorary chairman. The eighth general meeting was held in November 2013 in Beijing. Liu Dawei was re-elected as chairman, with Wang Mingming, Wei Ershen, Feng Yuan, Xu Jiang, Xu Qinsong,
Li Xiang 李翔, Yang Xiaoyang, Wu Changjiang, He Jiaying, Fan Di'an, Shi Dawei, Huang Gesheng and Zeng Chenggang as vice-chairs;
Xu Li was re-elected as Secretary-General, and Tao Qin and Du Jun as Deputy Secretaries-General. Since its founding in 1949, the China Artists Association has admitted more than 14,000 members, including 6000 current members. ==List of chairpersons==