[DC] A headmaster posed nude for his students when the model failed to turn up at an art class in China.

The incident has created a stir at Zhongshan School of Arts and Science in Nanjing.

On Monday, headmaster Yang Linchuan, 43, walked into a classroom and told the students that their male nude model could not turn up for the session.

And just as the students were talking and expressing of their disappointment, the headmaster asked if anyone in the class could take up the model's place.

None of the students volunteered. Yang then took off his clothes and posed for the 20-odd students, including about eight females.

Yang is a famous musician and artist. His oil painting is among the masterpieces being displayed at the United Nations pavilion in Shanghai Expo 2010.

A student posted the news and Yang's nude photographs on the Internet on Thursday. Just within four hours, the article attracted more than 5,500 visitors.

Some netizens have praised Yang's body, saying that it was as fit as an athlete's.

"It's an art," commented one viewer.

"He looks a bit nervous and shy but appears to have adapted to it," said a student.

"When he (the nude headmaster) stood next to me, my face turned red," another student wrote.

In an interview with Henan Shangbao, Yang said the students' money and time would have been wasted if he cancelled the class.

"I had to do it since no one volunteered," he said, adding it was the first time that he had posed as a nude model.

Yang said it was nothing to be ashamed of, adding that he would do it again if necessary.  - Henan Shangbao