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Flower-and-Bird Paintings

Flowers and birds were favorite subjects in paintings in ancient China, offering a kind of special
aesthetic interest. As an independent school of paintings, flower-and-bird works originated in the
Tang Dynasty (618-907) and matured at the end of the Tang and Five Dynasties period. Many
celebrated painters emerged at the time, with Huang Quan and Xu Xi as the representative
figures among them.

Huang was a court painter of the Five Dynasties and most of his works were of rare flowers
and birds in courts. The depicted birds in his paintings were full-fledged and flowers looked
luxurious under the bush. Sketch of Rare Bird Scroll -- a piece handed down from Huang --
vividly depicts many kinds of birds. Xu lived during the Five Dynasties, too, and was never
involved in politics. Xu did not seek fame or wealth -- he just concentrated on painting. Xu used
thick strokes and ink, drew branches and leaves plainly, and used a slight hint of color so it
would not impair the ink. His works were full of wild interest. Snow Covers Bamboo  was one of
Xu's works that was handed down in history. Huang and Xu represented completely different
styles of painting, and people of later generations named them "Luxurious Huang Quan" and
"Quiescent Xu Xi". Both artists later exerted a great influence on the creation of flower-and-bird
Apaintings.
A
pZhao Ji, Emperor Song Huizong of the Northern Song Dynasty, was fatuous on politics.
aAlthough the destruction of the Northern Song was attributed to him to a great extent, he, p
i nevertheless, made some contributions to the development of painting and art. The emperor a
nwas keen on paintings and collected many important works, then compiled the Xuanhe i
t Painting Guide -- a significant work on the history of painting in ancient China. Under his n
i advocacy, the imperial arts academy was well developed. Many skilled painters gathered there, t
ncreating many excellent works. Emperor Huizong was himself an outstanding painter, who was i
A
gproficient in landscape, figure, flower-and-bird and animal paintings. His flower-and-bird n
ppaintings were most famous for their delicate style and wash-painting characteristics. Lotus g
band Golden Pheasant and Winter Sunset and Wild Bird were his representative works.
a
yi b
n y
tHXu Wei, who lived in the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), was an intellectual lost in a world of
i politics. Since his entire life was filled with frustration and poverty, Xu Wei's inner indignation
u Z
awas displayed through his poems and paintings. He excelled in flower-and-bird paintings, using h
n
gconcise strokes. Xu Wei's plain style was quite successful and had a rich connection, stressing a
n
gthe artistic effects of wash painting. He often used the poems that accompanied his paintings to o
bexpress his inner feelings, thus perfecting the paintings. Xu Wei attained great attainments in
ycalligraphy, as well. His poems, handwriting and paintings were unified to make a whole.
Q J
u i
a
XThe literati in ancient China were fond of calyx canthus and bamboo paintings, which, to them,
nwere tasteful and unstrained. Such paintings symbolized literati unconventionality. Although
u
calyx canthus and bamboo were part of flower-and-bird paintings, after the Song and Yuan
Xdynasties, when the number of artists increased by the day, the subjects broke away from
i flower-and-bird painting to become a school of their own. During the Song and Yuan dynasties,
 Wen Tong, Yang Wujiu, Li Yan, Wang Mian and others were all painters famous for drawing
calyx canthus and bamboo. Because of the introduction of the Stories of Scholars , Wang
became familiar to every Chinese person. In fact, Wang's achievements in painting were not the
lotus, which was mentioned in the Stories of Scholars , but his calyx canthus and bamboo works.

"Not for the praise of good looks, but for spreading freshness: "From these two lines of a poem,
we can plainly see why the painter chose the calyx canthus as his subject -- to express feeling.
Zheng Banqiao declined the honor as local official but lived by selling paintings in Yangzhou. He
was good at painting orchids, bamboo, calyx canthus and stones. Both his handwriting and
painting had a unique style: "I drew orchid, bamboo and stone to console the working people but
not to seek pleasure," said Zheng, which also suggested that the calyx canthus and bamboo
under his brush contained an exceptional thought state.

Chinese painting
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A hanging scroll painted by Ma Lin in or before 1246. Ink and color on silk, 226.6x110.3 cm.

Loquats  and a Mountain Bird, by an anonymous painter of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279); small
album leaf paintings like this were popular amongst the gentry and scholar-officials of the Southern Song.
Painting from the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 CE), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Animalistic guardian spirits of midnight and morning wearing Chinese robes, Han dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE)
on ceramic tile

Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. Painting
in the traditional style is known today in Chinese as guóhuà (simplified Chinese: 国
画; traditional Chinese: 國畫) or (simplified Chinese: 中国画; traditional Chinese: 中國
畫), meaning "national" or "native painting", as opposed to Western styles of art which
became popular in China in the 20th century. Traditional painting involves essentially
the same techniques as calligraphy and is done with a brush dipped in black
ink or coloured pigments; oils are not used. As with calligraphy, the most popular
materials on which paintings are made are paper and silk. The finished work can be
mounted on scrolls, such as hanging scrolls or handscrolls. Traditional painting can also
be done on album sheets, walls, lacquerware, folding screens, and other media.
The two main techniques in Chinese painting are:

 Gongbi (工筆), meaning "meticulous", uses highly detailed brushstrokes that delimit

details very precisely. It is often highly coloured and usually depicts figural or
narrative subjects. It is often practised by artists working for the royal court or in
independent workshops.
 Ink and wash painting, in Chinese shuǐ-mò (水墨, "water and ink") also loosely
termed watercolour or brush painting, and also known as "literati painting", as it was
one of the "Four Arts" of the Chinese Scholar-official class.[1] In theory this was an art
practiced by gentlemen, a distinction that begins to be made in writings on art from
the Song dynasty, though in fact the careers of leading exponents could benefit
considerably.[2] This style is also referred to as "xieyi" (寫意) or freehand style.
Landscape painting was regarded as the highest form of Chinese painting, and
generally still is.[3] The time from the Five Dynasties period to the Northern Song period
(907–1127) is known as the "Great age of Chinese landscape". In the north, artists such
as Jing Hao, Li Cheng, Fan Kuan, and Guo Xi painted pictures of towering mountains,
using strong black lines, ink wash, and sharp, dotted brushstrokes to suggest rough
stone. In the south, Dong Yuan, Juran, and other artists painted the rolling hills and
rivers of their native countryside in peaceful scenes done with softer, rubbed brushwork.
These two kinds of scenes and techniques became the classical styles of Chinese
landscape painting.

How did the Chinese style of landscape painting reveal the spiritual beliefs of the
artist?

Emphasis was placed on the spiritual qualities of the painting and on the ability of

the artist to reveal the inner harmony of man and nature, as perceived according to
Taoist and Buddhist concepts. One of the most famous artists of the period was Zhang
Zeduan, painter of Along the River During the Qingming Festival.

What was the message in Chinese landscape painting?

By the late Tang dynasty, landscape painting had evolved into an independent genre

that embodied the universal longing of cultivated men to escape their quotidian world to
commune with nature. Such images might also convey specific social, philosophical, or
political convictions.

Landscape painting is traditionally at the top of the hierarchy of Chinese painting styles. ...
The Chinese term for "landscape" is made up of two characters meaning "mountains and
water." It is linked with the philosophy of Daoism, which emphasizes harmony with the natural
world.

What are the three basic formats of Chinese painting?

Forms of the painting

The principal forms of Chinese painting are the hanging scroll, album of paintings, fan
surface and long horizontal scroll. Hanging scrolls are both horizontal and vertical,
usually mounted and hung on the wall.
Li Cheng (painter)
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Li Cheng

A Solitary Temple Amid Clearing Peaks 晴峦萧寺. Ink and light color

on silk. 111.76 × 55.88 cm. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Born 919

Died 967

Nationality Chinese

Known for Painting
 Movement Northern Landscape style

In this  Chinese name, the  family name  is  Li.

Li Cheng (Chinese: 李成; pinyin: Lǐ Chéng; Wade–Giles: Li Ch'eng; 919–967), Courtesy
name Xiánxī (咸熙), was a Chinese painter of the Song dynasty. He was influenced by Jing
Hao, Juran.

Contents

 1Life

 2Art

 3See also

 4References

o 4.1Reading

 5External links

Life[edit]
He is from Qingzhou (now part of Weifang, Shandong) during the Five Dynasties and Ten
Kingdoms and early Song Dynasty. His ancestral lineage was with the Tang Dynasty imperial
family, the Li (李) family, which had fallen out of power in 907 with the collapse of the Tang
Empire.
Li Cheng learned painting style from Jing Hao and Guan Tong at first but turned to focus on
nature and developing his own style.[1] He was also good at poetry and articles; but he did not pay
much attention to that. He was not interested in working for the government. Many nobles
wanted Li Cheng to work for them, but Li Cheng never accepted. There was a prestigious person
named Sun who always wanted to get a painting from Li Cheng. So he tried to offer Li Cheng a
job in exchange for his painting. However, Li Cheng refused to do so. Sun then paid money to
someone who knew Li Cheng and helped him to steal a painting. After a while, Li Cheng saw his
work hanging on Sun's wall; he was very angry and never contacted with the one who stole his
painting.[2] During his later years, he traveled around and died in Huaiyang County.
Li Cheng, Fan Kuan, and Guan Tong together became known as the "three great rival artists". He
did many landscape paintings with diluted ink, known as "treating ink like gold", which gives the
appearance of being in a foggy dream. At that time, he was considered the best landscape painter
of all time. He was known to have carried on an artistic dialogue with Wu Daoxuan through their
respective paintings. Li Cheng primarily portrayed Shandong area landscapes in his paintings.
Artists of later generations, such as Guo Xi, modeled their teaching on his painting style and
methods.
His works include “Jigger", "Joy in Fishing", "Cold crow", and "Landscape". One extant
painting, "Reading Stele Nest Stone", was a collaboration with Wang Xiao.

Art[edit]
Chinese Figure Painting
       The human figure as a subject in Chinese painting appeared well before such later
popular ones as the landscape or birds-and-flowers. The purpose behind the painting of
figures in early times was mostly to serve religious or political aims. Archaeological
discoveries of paintings on silk and on tomb and cave walls so far offer a glimpse at the
development of figure painting from the Spring and Autumn (722-481 BC) to Warring
States (403-221 BC) periods, to the Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220), and into the Wei
and Jin era (265-420).

       After the Han dynasty, the breakdown of the Confucian system was reflected in
painting and painting theory: increasingly, Daoist and Buddhist themes and theoretical
reasons for painting were emphasized. The greatest painter in the Jin dynasty was Gu
Kaizhi ( 顧愷之 , ca.344-406), an amateur painter from a family of distinguished Eastern
Wei dynasty scholar-officials in Nanjing and an eccentric member of a Daoist sect. One
of the most famous of his works (which survives in a Tang dynasty copy in the British
Museum) illustrates a 3rd-century didactic text Nüshizhen (女史箴, “Admonitions of the
Court Instructress”), by Zhang Hua ( 張 華 , ca.232-300). The figures are slender and
fairylike, and the line is fine and flows rhythmically. The roots of this elegant southern
style, which then epitomized the highest Nanjing court standard, can be traced back to
Changsha in the late Zhou (1046–256 BC)–early Han period, and it was later adopted
as court style by the Northern Wei rulers (e.g., at Longmen) when they moved south to
Luoyang in 495. Gu Kaizhi also was noted as a portraitist, and, among Buddhist
subjects, his rendering of the sage Vimalakirti became a model for later painters.

Gu Kaizhi: Admonitions of the Court Instructress

       Into the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589), the south saw few major
painters in the 5th century, but the settled reign of Wudi ( 武帝 ) in the 6th produced a
number of notable figures, among them Zhang Sengyao (張僧繇, fl. ca.490-540), who
was commissioned by the pious emperor to decorate the walls of Buddhist temples in
Nanjing. All his work is lost, but his style, from early accounts and later copies, seems to
have combined realism with a new freedom in the use of the brush, employing dots and
dashing strokes very different from the fine precision of Gu Kaizhi.

       Painters in northern China were chiefly occupied in Buddhist fresco painting

(painting on a freshly plastered wall). While all the temples of the period have been
destroyed, a quantity of wall painting survives at Dunhuang ( 敦 煌 ) in northwestern
Gansu in the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas, Qianfodong (千佛洞), where there are
nearly 500 cave shrines and niches dating from the 5th century onward. Early
Dunhuang paintings chiefly depict incidents in the life of the Buddha, the Jatakas
(stories of his previous incarnations), and such simple themes as the perils from which
Avalokiteshvara (Chinese Guanyin) saves the faithful. In style they show a blend of
Central Asian and Chinese techniques that reflects the mixed population of northern
China at this time.
       The patronage of the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) courts attracted painters
from all over the empire. Yan Liben (閻立本, ca.601-673), who rose to high office as an
administrator, finally becoming a minister of state, was also a noted 7th-century figure
painter. His duties included painting historical scrolls, notable events past and present,
and portraits, including those of foreigners and strange creatures brought to court as
tribute, to the delight of his patron, Taizong (太宗). Yan Liben painted in a conservative
style with a delicate, scarcely modulated line. Part of a scroll depicting 13 emperors
from Han to Sui is attributed to him. Features of his style may possibly be preserved in
wall paintings in 7th- and early 8th-century tombs in northern China, notably that of
Princess Yongtai (永泰公主, 685-701) near Xi’an.

Yan Liben: Xiao Yi Acquiring Lanting

 Yan Liben: Thirteen Emperors

Princess Yongtai
       The royal tombs near Xi’an show the emergence of a more liberated tradition in
brushwork that came to the fore in mid- to late 8th-century painting, as it did in the
calligraphy of Zhang Xu (張旭, fl. 8th c.), Yan Zhenqing (顏真卿, 709-785), and other
master writers. The greatest brush master of Tang painting was the 8th-century artist
Wu Daozi ( 吳 道 子 , ca.680-759), who not only enjoyed a career at court but had
sufficient creative energy to execute, according to Tang records, some 300 wall
paintings in the temples of Luoyang and Chang’an (modern Xi’an). His brushwork, in
contrast to that of Yan Liben, was full of such sweeping power that crowds would gather
to watch him as he worked. He painted chiefly in ink, leaving the coloring to his
assistants, and he was famous for the three-dimensional, sculptural effect he achieved
with the ink line alone. Wu Daozi had a profound influence, particularly on figure
painting, in the Tang and Song dynasties. His style may be reflected in some of the 8th-
century caves at Dunhuang, although the meticulous handling of the great paradise
compositions in the caves increasingly came to approximate the high standards of
Chinese court artists and suggests the inspiration of earlier and more conservative
Buddhist painters. This more restrained style can also be seen in the Japanese temple
murals at Hōryū Temple near Nara, executed about 670–710 in the Chinese
“international” manner.

Wu Daozi: Eighty-seven Immortals

       Figure painters who depicted court life in a careful manner derived from Yan Liben
rather than from Wu Daozi included Zhang Xuan (張萱, 713-755) and Zhou Fang (周昉,
ca.730-800). The former’s Court Ladies Preparing Silk ( 搗 練 圖 ) survives in a Song
dynasty copy by Huizong ( 徽宗 ), while later versions of several compositions attributed
to Zhou Fang exist. Eighth-century royal tomb murals and Dunhuang Buddhist paintings
demonstrate the early appearance and widespread appeal of styles that these court
artists helped later to canonize, with individual figures (especially women) of
monumental, sculpturesque proportion arranged upon a blank background with classic
simplicity and balance.
 Zhang Xuan: Court Ladies Preparing Silk

Zhou Fang: Court Ladies with Flowered Headdresses

       In the middle to late Tang, more adventurous brush technique was developed by
such painters as Wang Qia (王洽, also known as Wang Mo 王墨) and Gu Kuang (顧況),
southern Chinese Daoists who “splashed ink”. The intention of these ink-splashers was
philosophical and religious as well as artistic: it was written at the time that their
spontaneous process was designed to imitate the divine process of creation. Their
semifinished products, in which the artistic process was fully revealed and the subject
matter had to be discerned by the viewer, suggested a Daoist philosophical skepticism.
These techniques marked the emergence of a trend toward eccentricity in brushwork
that had free rein in periods of political and social chaos. They were subsequently
employed by painters of the southern “Sudden” school of Chan (Zen) Buddhism, which
held that enlightenment was a spontaneous, irrational experience that could be
suggested in painting only by a comparable spontaneity in the brushwork. Chan painting
flourished particularly in Chengdu, the capital of the petty state of Shu, to which many
artists went as refugees from the chaotic north in the last years before the Tang dynasty
fell. Among them was Guanxiu (貫休), an eccentric who painted Buddhist saints with a
weird air and exaggerated features that had a strong appeal to members of the Chan
sect. The element of the deliberately grotesque in Guanxiu’s art was further developed
during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907-960) by Shi Ke ( 石恪), who
was active in Chengdu in the mid-10th century. In his paintings, chiefly of Buddhist and
Daoist subjects, he set out in the Chan manner to shock the viewer by distortion and
roughness of execution.
 Shi Ke: Second Patriarch in Contemplation

Shi Ke: Second Patriarch in Contemplation

       The southern court painters, notably Gu Hongzhong (顧閎中, ca.910-980) and Zhou
Wenju (周文矩, 10th c.), depicted the voluptuous, sensual court life under Li Houzhu. A
remarkable work attributed to Gu Hongzhong depicts the scandalous revelries of the
minister Han Xizai. Zhou Wenju was famous for his pictures of court ladies and musical
entertainments, executed with a fine line and soft, glowing color in the tradition of Zhang
Xuan and Zhou Fang.
Gu Hongzhong: Night Entertainments of Han Xizai

Zhou Wenju: Literary Garden

 Zhou Wenju: Playing Go under Double Screens
       In the Northern Song (960-1127), the last great exponent of the Tang figure-
painting tradition was Li Gonglin ( 李 公 麟 , 1049-1106). In early life Li was a famous
painter of horses until, so the story goes, a Daoist told him that if he continued much
longer in this vein he would become like a horse himself, whereupon he switched to
other themes. He was thoroughly eclectic, spending years copying the old masters, and
excelled in ink line (baimiao, 白描) painting, without color, shading, or wash. Li Gonglin
brought a scholar’s refinement of taste to a tradition theretofore dominated by Wu
Daozi’s dramatic style, and provided a model for figure painters that endured down to
Ming times.
       The last emperor of the Northern Song is Huizong ( 徽宗 ), who sought escape from
affairs of state through the pleasures of arts and letters. He urged painters in his
academy of painting to depict objects that were “true to color and form,” inviting an
extreme literalness of representation. Huizong was also a player of the traditional string
instrument, qin (琴), as exemplified by his famous painting “Listening to the Qin ( 聽琴
圖).”

Li Gonglin: Classic of Filial Piety

 Zhao Ji: Listening to the Qin

Zhao Ji: Literary Gathering

       In the first two generations of the Southern Song (1127-1279), however, historical
figure painting regained its earlier dominance at court. Gaozong ( 高 宗 ) and Xiaozong
(孝宗), respectively the son and grandson of the imprisoned Huizong (徽宗), sought to
legitimize their necessary but technically unlawful assumption of power by supporting
works illustrating the ancient classics and traditional virtues. Such works, by artists
including Li Tang ( 李唐 , ca.1050-1130) and Ma Hezhi ( 马和之, 12th c.), often include
lengthy inscriptions purportedly executed by the emperors themselves. They represent
the finest survival today of the ancient court tradition of propagandistic historical
narrative painting in a Confucian political mode.

Li Tang: Gathering Wild Herbs

 Ma Hezhi: Illustrations to Xiaoya
       Toward the end of this period, Chan (Zen) Buddhist painting experienced a brief but
remarkable florescence, stimulated by scholars abandoning the decaying political
environment of the Southern Song court for the monastic life practiced in the hill
temples across the lake from Hangzhou. The court painter Liang Kai ( 梁 楷 , ca.1140-
1210) had been awarded the highest order, the Golden Girdle, between 1201 and 1204,
but he put it aside, quit the court, and became a Chan recluse. What is thought to be his
earlier work has the professional skill expected of a colleague of Ma Yuan ( 馬 遠 ,
ca.1160-1225), but his later paintings became freer and more spontaneous. Chinese
connoisseurs disapproved of the rough brushwork in Chan paintings. However, his
work, and that of other Chan artists such as Muqi (Muxi, 牧谿), was collected and widely
copied in Japan, forming the basis of the Japanese suiboku-ga (sumi-e) tradition.

Liang Kai: Immortal in Splashed Ink

 Liang Kai: Li Bai in Stroll

Anonymous: Chan Master Riding a Mule

       In the Yuan period (1271-1368), when the ruling Mongols curtailed the employment
of Chinese scholar-officials, the theme of the groom and horse – one associated with
the legendary figure of Bole ( 伯 樂 ), whose ability to judge horses had become a
metaphor for the recruitment of able government officials – became a symbolic plea for
the proper use of scholarly talent. Other figure paintings of this period often served as a
reference to the past, such as illustrating stories of the glorious Tang dynasty.
 Zhao Mengfu: Man and Horse

Zhao Cangyun: Liu Chen and Ruan Zhao Entering the Tiantai Mountains
       Like other invaders before them, the Mongols supported the Buddhists as a matter
of policy. They were particularly attracted to the esoteric and magical practices of the
Tibetan Lamaists, but they also, like the Liao ( 遼 ) and the Jin ( 金 ), patronized the
orthodox Buddhist sects and the Daoists. Magnificent wall paintings of about 1320 from
the Xinghua Temple (興化寺), a Buddhist temple near Jishan (稷山) in southern Shanxi,
are today in museums in Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Toronto, while still in situ in
Shanxi and recently restored are the frescoes, dated to between 1325 and 1358, in the
Yongle Gong (永樂宮), a temple dedicated to the Daoist deity Lü Dongbin (呂洞賓). The
Yuan also saw a large output of devotional painting, some of it done by genuine Chan
monks such as Yintuoluo (因陀羅), some by professional artists such as Yan Hui (顏輝),
who with his many followers painted both Buddhist and Daoist subjects in the traditional
Southern Song manner.

Wang Zhenpeng: Nursing the Budda

Yintuoluo: Hanshan and Shide

 Yongle Gong
       In the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), one of the foremost figure painters was Du Jin (杜
堇 , fl. ca.1465-1509), who was a native of Dantu (modern Zhenjiang) in Jiangsu but
spent most of his life in Beijing. He not only painted in the monochrome “baimiao (白描)”
manner of delicate lines but also followed the colorful and exquisite fine-line style of the
Southern Song Painting Academy figures. Du Jin’s works had a major impact on figure
painting of the middle to late Ming dynasty.
       Three early 16th-century professional Suzhou masters, Zhou Chen ( 周 臣 , ?-
1535), Tang Yin ( 唐 寅 ,1470-1523), and Qiu Ying ( 仇英 , ca.1494-1552), established a
somewhat different standard from that of the scholarly Wu group and the professional
Zhe group, never renouncing the professional’s technical skills yet mastering the literary
technique as well. They achieved a wide range, and sometimes a blend, of styles that
could hardly be dismissed by scholarly critics. Although better known for their
landscapes, their figure paintings also won great popular acclaim.

Du Jin: Enjoying Antiquities

 Du Jin: Fu Sheng

Zhou Chen: Beggars and Street Characters

 Tang Yin: Tao Gu Presenting a Lyric

Tang Yin: Court Ladies in the Shu Palace

Qiu Ying: Spring Morning in the Han Palace

       In the succeeding generations, other painting masters similarly helped confuse the
distinction between amateur and professional standards, and, in the early 17th century,
a number of these artists also showed the first influence of the European technique that
had been brought to China through engravings and then oil paintings by Matteo Ricci
( 利 瑪 竇 , 1552-1610) and other Jesuit missionaries after 1600. The southern painter
Chen Hongshou (陳洪綬, 1599-1652) and the Beijing artist Cui Zizhong (崔子忠, 1574-
1644) initiated the first major revival of figure painting since Song times, possibly as a
result of their encounters with Western art. Perspective and shading effects appear
among other naturalistic features in the art of this generation, along with a newfound
interest in saturated colors and an attraction to formal distortion, which may have
derived in part from a fascination with the unfamiliar in Western art. Beyond the revived
interest in naturalism, which seems to have inspired in some artists a renewed attention
to Five Dynasties (907–960) and Song painting (as the last period in which Chinese
artists had displayed knowledge about such matters), there occurred an even more
fundamental questioning of contemporary standards. In the work of Chen and Cui,
which exhibits all the aforementioned qualities, an almost unprecedented interest in
grotesquerie and satire visually enlivens their work, yet it also reflects something of the
restless individualism and deep disillusionment that were part of the spirit of this period
of national decline.

Chen Hongshou: Pine and Longevity

 Cui Zizhong: Su Shi Losing His Girdle
       In the first half of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), figure painting in the imperial
Painting Academy was heavily influenced by western techniques brought by
missionaries, in particular Giuseppe Castiglione, also known as Lang Shining ( 郎世寧 ,
1688-1766). Castiglione’s style was based on the emphasis on color, perspective, and
light found in Italian Renaissance art. Many court painters, such as Ding Guanpeng (丁
觀 鵬 , fl.1726-1770), drew their inspiration from Western methods of chiaroscuro and
coloring as well as one-point perspective.

Lang Shining: Ma Chang Lays Low the Enemy

 Ding Guanpeng: Spring Market at Peace
       During the thirteen years of the Taiping Rebellion (1851-64), Shanghai had become
a place of refuge for painters and rich collectors from the Jiangnan region, while the city
was rapidly growing as a center of commerce. Shanghai’s newly rich patrons wanted art
that was vigorous, colorful, and easy to understand. At the same time, the late decades
of the nineteenth century saw a strong movement among the scholarly jinshi jia (金石家)
– “metal and stone-ists,” as we might call them – to revive the ancient styles of
calligraphy preserved in bronze and stone inscriptions. Together these two enthusiasms
– for vigorous, colorful paintings and for calligraphy based on ancient models – came
together in the work of the leading painters of the Shanghai School, or Haipai ( 海 派 ),
such as Zhao Zhiqian (趙之謙, 1829-84) and his follower Wu Changshuo (吳昌碩, 1844-
1927), in whose paintings the somewhat emphatic form, bold color, and powerful
calligraphy produce an exhilarating effect. Among Shanghai figure painters, Ren Yi ( 任
頤 , 1840-1895) brilliantly brought to life again the archaistic style of the Ming master
Chen Hongshou and a touch of realism that he had acquired through contact with the
Western-style commercial art of Shanghai.

Ren Bonian: Zhong Kui

 Ren Bonian: Scholar on a Rock
       In the modern era, one of the most original figure painters is Fu Baoshi ( 傅抱石,
1904-1965). Between 1933 and 1935 Fu Baoshi studied painting in Japan, where he
developed notions of a new national painting style based on a fusion of Western realism
and traditional brushwork. After his return to China, Fu Baoshi taught at the National
Central University in Nanjing. His landscape and figure paintings combine great delicacy
of touch in the brushwork with a lyrical feeling that is lacking in the work of many of the
Shanghai School.

       Some other artists studied in Europe and brought back some understanding of the
essential contemporary European traditions and movements. Lin Fengmian ( 林 風 眠 ,
1900-1991), who became director of the National Academy of Art in Hangzhou in 1928,
was inspired by the experiments in color and pattern of Henri Matisse and the Fauves.
Lin advocated a synthesis combining Western techniques and Chinese expressiveness
and left a lasting mark on the modern Chinese use of the brush. Another major artist, Xu
Beihong (徐悲鴻, 1895-1953), head of the National Central University’s art department
in Nanjing, eschewed European Modernist movements in favor of more conservative
Parisian academic styles. He developed his facility in drawing and oils, later learning to
imitate pencil and chalk with the Chinese brush. The monumental figure paintings he
created would serve as a basis for Socialist Realist painters after the communist
revolution of 1949.
Bamboo painting
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Works of bamboo painting, usually in ink, are a recognized motif or subgenre of East

Asian painting. In a work of bamboo painting in ink, a skilled artist and calligrapher will
paint a bamboo stalk or group of stalks with leaves. The contrast between the
foreground and background, and between the varying textures represented by the
stalks and the leaves, gave scope to the painter to demonstrate his or her mastery with
an inkpot and a brush.[1]
The bamboo painter often inscribes a poem that accompanies the painting and further
elucidates the motif. The poem is often an integral part of the work as a whole. A viewer
of the work can compare the calligraphy of the poem with the calligraphy of the painting,
as both are typically inscribed with the same brush and reflect a similar mood and state
of awareness.
A standard primer on classical East Asian bamboo painting is Hu Zhengyan's "Ten
Bamboo Studio Manual of Painting and Calligraphy" (1633). Because of the volume of
bamboo works painted over time, the production of a work of ink bamboo became one
of the standard subjects to which an East Asian student could be set in a
competitive examination.[1]

Bamboo in snow from the 'Ten Bamboo Studio Manual of Painting and Calligraphy', 1633.

Appreciation[edit]
From the days of their common origin, Chinese painting and Chinese writing have been
allied arts. They use the same equipment and share aims, techniques, and standards.
Ever since the beginning, bamboo has been written and also been painted in the same
manner, in other words, a work depicting bamboo is both a painting and a piece of
calligraphy. There are so-called “bamboo painters” who all their lives paint only bamboo.
The bamboo is strong, upright, and dependable. He may bend with the wind, the storm
and the rain, but he never breaks. He is a true gentleman of courage and endurance (Ju
1989).
The first principle of bamboo composition is, the four parts of the plant should be
considered in the following order: stem, knot, branches and leaves. If the basic rule is
not followed, time and effort will be wasted and the picture will never be completed.”
This is the beginning of the early Book of Bamboo, a part of the Mustard Seed Garden
manual of painting which was prepared and published by Chinese master in the year
1701 A.D. No bamboo painting is a photographic copy of some bamboo at some
particular place, seen from a particular angle; instead it is a suggestion of the true
essence of the bamboo, an expression of the qualities of a true Chinese gentleman,
whom the bamboo symbolizes (Ju 1989).

Example of ink bamboo painting by Wen Tong, c. 1060.

The bamboo plant came under close observation by many East Asians because of its
persistence and vegetative productivity. The plant was especially appreciated by men
and women educated in the tradition of Confucius. It came to be seen as an exemplar
of moral force, and appreciating the bamboo was seen as an act of self-cultivation. It
was said of the ink bamboo painter Wen Tong that "there are whole bamboos in his
heart" (胸有成竹).
Bamboo is not exclusive to the Four Noble Kind group. It also belongs to a distinct
group where it openly fraternizes with pine trees and plum blossoms. Collectively, they
are called the Three Friends of Winter because bamboo and pine do not wither on
winter days and the plum blossoms starts blooming during the cold season.
Bamboo also exhibits a certain visual appeal on educated people because
its silhouette cast by either the sun or moon on the paper windows of a Chinese house
produced a poetic effect. Its straight stalk was the symbol of the sage, in that adversity
could always bend it but it could never break it. The inner region of the bamboo stalk
symbolizes the void that must be established in one's mind before thinking of useful
ideas. To put it in simpler terms, one should always have clarity of mind when dealing
with things to avoid chaos and to achieve desired results.
On the technical area, one needed to be an expert with the brush in order to execute
perfectly cylindrical, smooth and hard internodes, and thin, translucid, nervous leaves
placed in various perspectives. One should also have a keen talent in identifying where
to place dark tones and light tones in the painting.
These characteristics are enough to validate that bamboo is a complete subject
because it portrays lasting values one needed to get on with life and it commands a
truly talented painter to create varying tones that never repeat.

Bamboo and Stone (竹石圖) by Guan Daosheng

 

Ink Bamboo (墨竹圖) by Wang Fu

 

Ink Bamboo (墨竹圖) by Gu An

 

Twin Bamboo (雙竹圖) by Ke Jiusi

 
 

Bamboo in Wind (風竹圖) by Xia Chang

What kind of art does China have?

Of all the Chinese arts and crafts, the most representative are Bronze Vessels, Folk
Toys, Embroidery, Calligraphy, Music, Opera, Painting, Cloisonne, Jade, Kites,
Lacquer Ware, Paper-Cuttings, Porcelain, Pottery, Seals, and Silk.

What is Chinese art called?

Ink and wash painting, in Chinese Shui-mo or (水墨) also loosely termed watercolour
or brush painting, and also known as "literati painting", as it was one of the
"Four Arts" of the Chinese Scholar-official class.

Why is art important in China?

The Ancient Chinese considered writing an important form of art. ... During the Tang
Dynasty poetry became so important that writing poetry was part of the examinations
to become a civil servant and work for the government. Painting - Painting was often
inspired by poetry and combined with calligraphy.

What is the China famous for?

China has been the world's fastest growing economy for the last 30 years (10% or more
per year). It is now the world's second largest economy, its 2016 GDP being 11.4 trillion
USD. China is known as the factory of the world. It is the world's largest producer of
concrete, steel, fertilizer, clothing and toys.

Why is China so popular?

It is the most populated country in the world, with charming and captivating citizens. It is
also one of the leading political and cultural forces that helped shape our
world. China also has a rich and beautiful history, with people more concentrated on
learning and inventing, rather than conquering.
Painting[edit]

Part of Eight Views of Xiaoxiang, an imaginary tour through Xiao-xiang by Li Shi (李氏); 12th-century; scroll, ink
on paper; 30 × 400 cm; Tokyo National Museum

Main article: Chinese painting

Traditional Chinese painting involves essentially the same techniques as Chinese calligraphy and is
done with a brush dipped in black or colored ink; oils are not used. As with calligraphy, the most
popular materials on which paintings are made of paper and silk. The finished work can be mounted
on scrolls, such as hanging scrolls or handscrolls. Traditional painting can also be done on album
sheets, walls, lacquerware, folding screens, and other media.
The two main techniques in Chinese painting are:

 Gong-bi (工筆), meaning "meticulous", uses highly detailed brushstrokes that delimits details
very precisely. It is often highly coloured and usually depicts figural or narrative subjects. It is
often practised by artists working for the royal court or in independent workshops. Bird-and-
flower paintings were often in this style.
 Ink and wash painting, in Chinese Shui-mo or (水墨[1]) also loosely termed watercolour or brush
painting, and also known as "literati painting", as it was one of the "Four Arts" of the
Chinese Scholar-official class.[2] In theory this was an art practised by gentlemen, a distinction
that begins to be made in writings on art from the Song dynasty, though in fact the careers of
leading exponents could benefit considerably.[3] This style is also referred to as "xie yi" (寫意) or
freehand style.
Artists from the Han (202 BC) to the Tang (618–906) dynasties mainly painted the human figure.
Much of what is known of early Chinese figure painting comes from burial sites, where paintings
were preserved on silk banners, lacquered objects, and tomb walls. Many early tomb paintings were
meant to protect the dead or help their souls get to paradise. Others illustrated the teachings of the
Chinese philosopher Confucius, or showed scenes of daily life. Most Chinese portraits showed a
formal full-length frontal view, and were used in the family in ancestor veneration. Imperial portraits
were more flexible, but were generally not seen outside the court, and portraiture formed no part of
Imperial propaganda, as in other cultures.
Many critics consider landscape to be the highest form of Chinese painting. The time from the Five
Dynasties period to the Northern Song period (907–1127) is known as the "Great age of Chinese
landscape". In the north, artists such as Jing Hao, Li Cheng, Fan Kuan, and Guo Xi painted pictures
of towering mountains, using strong black lines, ink wash, and sharp, dotted brushstrokes to suggest
rough rocks. In the south, Dong Yuan, Juran, and other artists painted the rolling hills and rivers of
their native countryside in peaceful scenes done with softer, rubbed brushwork. These two kinds of
scenes and techniques became the classical styles of Chinese landscape painting.
Without a doubt Japan's most recognizable landmark, majestic Mount Fuji (Fuji-
san) is also the country's highest mountain peak. Towering 3,776 meters over an
otherwise largely flat landscape to the south and east, this majestic and fabled
mountain is tall enough to be seen from Tokyo, more than 100 kilometers away.

Mount Fuji has for centuries been celebrated in art and literature and is now
considered so important an icon that UNESCO recognized its world cultural
significance in 2013. Part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, Mount Fuji is
climbed by more than a million people each summer as an act of pilgrimage,
which culminates in watching the sunrise from its summit.

While some still choose to begin their climb from the base, the majority of
climbers now start from above the halfway mark, at the 5th Station, resulting in a
more manageable six-or-so-hour ascent. Those who do attempt the complete
climb are advised to depart in the afternoon, breaking up the climb with an
overnight stop at one of the "Mountain Huts" designed for this very purpose. An
early start the next day gets you to the top for the sunrise.

Of course, for many, simply viewing the mountain from the distance, or from the
comfort of a speeding train, is enough to say "been there, done that."