Abstract: In the 1940s, ZHANG Daqian’s research on Dunhuang art was highly praised by the cultural community in China. It is necessary to probe into ZHANG’s earlier artistic activities for understanding the driving force behind his completion of this series of work related to research on Dunhuang art. Against the backdrop of the great clash between the Eastern and Western cultures at the beginning of the 20th century, traditional Chinese painting faced unprecedented challenges. However, ZHANG stuck to his belief in the inheritance and innovation of traditional Chinese painting. Therefore, he demonstrated to the world the intrinsic dynamics of modern Chinese painting through practices such as replicating, sketching from life, and participation in a variety of art societies.