The Art of Science

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Thanks to a short documentary on rare plant conservation produced and broadcast in 2009 by State broadcaster China Central Television（CCTV）， Li Aili， the only formally employed scientific illustrator at the Institute of Botany with the Chinese Academy of Sciences （IBCAS）， became a public figure almost overnight.

In the short documentary， Li presented her illustration of the world’s rarest conifer （and her personal favorite plant） the Baishanzu fir（Abies beshanzuensis）， a species indigenous to eastern China’s Zhejiang Province and classified as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources （IUCN） Red List.

“The program did a lot to raise public awareness of biology and environmental protection， while at the same time popularizing to a certain extent our often-ignored profession of scientific illustration，” said Li， who has been working as a full-time scientific illustrator for over 15 years， in an interview with NewsChina in mid-December. Despite the success of the video， little has improved for Li and her colleagues in the field who are， in China， an endangered species themselves.

Convergence

Scientific illustrators are artists in the service of science， who use scientifically informed observation， combined with sharp technical and aesthetic skills， to accurately portray their subjects.

“Even with advanced visual technology， we cannot ignore the critical role of scientific illustrations in compiling great works of science，” said Wang Qiang， a PhD student at IBCAS. “[Illustrators can highlight] shapes， anatomy， details， and concepts [with a level of detail] unattainable even with the highest resolution photography.” From clarifying multiple focal depths and overlapping layers to emphasize unobservable details of plants， to the artistic reconstruction of partial specimens and extinct life forms， the remit of scientific illustrators goes far beyond the ac- curate rendering of plant life.

“Scientific illustrations are critical for differentiating species and whenever a new species is described， a standardized botanical scientific illustration for the species is required，”said plant taxonomist Professor Wang Wencai， an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

When NewsChina spoke to 25-year-old Zhu Yunxi， a contract scientific illustrator with IBCAS， he was engrossed in sketching a tiny plant specimen in his small office， striving to portray its delicate contours and intricate structure with an exceptional level of detail.

Zhu， came to this office as in March 2011， and for over two years， his primary task has been the illustration of the epic work of bo- tanical classification Flora of Pan-Himalayas（see “Plant Pursuit，” NewsChina， December 2012， Vol. 53） an endeavor he expects to spend the next decade completing. After graduating from a vocational college majoring in landscape architecture， Zhu’s personal interests in both botany and art drove him to opt for a year of study at the Guangxi Institute of Botany in 2008， in order to become a botanical illustrator. Zhu told NewsChina that scientific illustration is an ideal outlet for those interested in both art and science.

Dwindling Opportunities

Throughout human history， there has always been a desire to capture and preserve the natural world in all its beauty. In China， the earliest works that could be defined as scientific illustrations were made in the 1060s by Su Song， a pre-eminent herbalist during the Song Dynasty （960-1279）. Historical records of highly precise drawings by Europeans exist from as early as the Age of Discovery （15th-17th century） when artists accompanied early explorers to record their discoveries. However， it was not until the mid-19th century， with the introduction of plant taxonomy into China， that Chinese scientists began to publish their own illustrations alongside their research.

In 1943， Feng Chengru， the first Chinese scientific illustrator in modern history， established the Jiangnan Art School in Jiangsu Province， and cultivated the first cohort of Chinese scientific illustrators.

However， these important figures remain a rare breed. According to illustrator Sun Yingbao from IBCAS， there are only around a dozen professional fulltime scientific illustrators working for research institutes across China at present. Of these， Zhu Yunxi is of the youngest cohort， the so-called “fourth generation.”

One of China’s most prestigious scientific illustrators， 89-year-old Feng Jinyong， also a student of Feng Chengru， recently told the media that scientific illustrators would soon disappear from China， since “the older generation， those with professional training and an educational background in scientific il- lustration， have either retired or passed away， and only a few young people remain active in this field.”

Zeng Xiaolian， 74， a retired scientific illustrator from the Kunming Institute of Botany who spent his entire professional career in the profession， gained his nationwide reputation not through being a skilled scientific illustrator， but for his paintings of Chinese birds and plants， and his decorative postage stamp designs.