In this essay the author lays a foundation for constructing a narrative model, which aims at rewriting the development of Chinese art in the first half of the 20#century.Building this model,the author primarily emphasizes the importance of context,which consists of external and internal aspects,with multiple payers within each aspect.With this model, the author examines the fundamental change to Chinese art in the early 20#century,and throughout the century as well,and proposes a reinterpretation as the main thesis:the interaction of Western influence and Chinese response has shaped the development of Chinese art in modern times.As the preliminary result of Chinese response since the early 20ᵗcentury,a great divergence occurred in modern Chinese art, splitting it into two mainstreams:Chinese-style art and Western-style art,with a sub-split in each.Running two mainstreams forward side by side is the uniqueness of the development of modern Chinese art,and the uniqueness reveals the Chinese anxiety of cultural and national identity,which is the drive behind the Chinese response to Western influence.