The Qing dynasty is the last fedual dynasty in Chinese history. This dynasty established by Manzu. Chinese (Hanzu) emphasize on distinguishing "Yi (foreigner)" from "Hua (Chinese)" Therefore, like the Yuan dynasty, they rebelled against the Qing government, or they expressed their disappoint-ment through words or paintings. Once again, the art academy was demolished. Good artists were directly sent to the court. More paintings were sold, and the paintings became more similar to products rather than artworks. Merchants became artists' financial backers. Many more denominations continued to appear one by one. Chinese art became much more splendoured.

 

 

Content & Special Features

The standard of painting excelled in Qing. All the good characteristics of art in previous dynasties were kept or further developed: Artist integrated poem, calligraphy, painting, and printing; they emphasized on painting techniques, for example, use of ink, brushwork, and application of rules set by previous artists.

The art development of Qing can be separated into three periods: Early Qing, mid-Qing and late Qing. In early Qing, there was a saying that " calligraphy and paintings have the same origin" in the relationship of the two because many Chinese characters were hieroglyphic. Therefore, artists carefully chose the suitable type, size, etc. of calligraphy for the painting. Apart from that, the others could see the artist's overall mastery from the painting because artist usually inscribed poems and literature works on it. Artists paid more attention to all the four elements (poem, calligraphy¡K) when producing an artwork. In Qing, more common flowers, birds, etc. became the theme of painting. Figure paintings and portraits declined in Ming and Qing.

In mid-Qing, the economy grew and the society was very peaceful. Many good artists appeared. They will be mentioned in the "artist" section. In the court, more and more European evangelists and artists arrived and work as officials. Apparently, the style of court paintings was influenced by western art. At the same time, European artists learnt from Chinese art to enrich their pictures. Together with Chinese artists, they formed a new denomination in which Chinese and foreign combined together.In the society, professional painters (or civil painters) and literator painters influenced one another, but sometimes they still had conflicts.

In late Qing, there were a few outstanding artists that painted ladies well. The development of lady paintings was closely related to the growth of economy and the intimacy between some literators and prostitutes. These ladies in the paintings look delicate, showing morbid beauty.

 

Artists

Early Qing

There were many "leftover Ming painters". Hongyen, Kuncan, Zhu Da and Yuanji were called "The Four Monks"; In Nanjing, there was the "Jin Ling Ba Jia" with Gong Xian as the leader; In Anhui, there were Xiao Yuancong, Cha Shibiao, etc. Apart from the above, there was the "Qing Chu Liu Jia", which was also called the "legitimate denomination".

The Four Monks

They did not agree with the new government, therefore they became Buddhist monks. They were good at painting.

Hongyen (1610-1663)

His original name is Jiang Tao. His palce of origin is Anhui. Hongyen is his 'fa hao (monk's name)'. His hao is Jianjiang. His style of landscape painting was affected by Ni Zan. Many of his artworks are of Huangshan (yellow hill). The strokes are succint. They show the hidden vitality of the forest which cannot be seen in Ni Zan's paintings.

 

Kun Can (1612-1673)

His original surname is Liu. After he became a monk, his zi is Shixi. His place of origin is Hunan. He is good at landscape paintings. His style is different from that of Hong Yen. He learnt from many different artists, for example, Shen Zhou, Wen Zhengming, Dong Qichuang.

Zhu Da (1626-1705)

We can see from his surname that he is a descendent of Ming's imperial family (The Zhu family). When he was young, he enjoyed the wealth and honor in his family because his ancestor was a king. In 1644, Ming declined, and his life was totally changed. His family was no longer powerful. He had been a cheerful and talkative boy, but he became more and more distressed. He left home after more than ten years to be a monk, and practiced Buddhism in the mountains for twenty years. Bada Shanren is his fa hao. As he could not lead off his depression, he became insane.

He is good at flower and bird paintings and landscape paintings. The strokes are succinct. They express grief.

Yuanji (1642-1718)

His original name is Zhu Ruoji. Yuanji is his fa hao. His ancestor was also a king. After he bacame a monk, his zi is Shitao. One of his hao is "Bitter Gourd Monk". He travelled around to visit famous mountains and hills. As he got old, he saw that the Qing regime was strong. His nationalism of Ming vanished. He sold pictures in Yangzhou until he died.

He is good at painting landscapes, bamboo and rock. His style is carefree and he emphasizes on expressing himself. He objected imitating others' artworks, as well as having denominations. He has many good and unique art theories and views. They can be seen in his books and postscripts on the paintings.

Qing Chu Liu Jia

Qing Chu Liu Jia is also called "Four Wangs, Wu, Yun". They are Wang Shimin, Wang Jian, Wang Hui, Wang Yuan Qi, Wu Li and Yun Shouping. The first five are famous for landscape paintings. Only Yuan Shouping is famous for flowers. Their style belongs to that of the literator painters (expresses one's feelings).

Qing Chu Liu Jia is also called "Four Wangs, Wu, Yun". They are Wang Shimin, Wang Jian, Wang Hui, Wang Yuan Qi, Wu Li and Yun Shouping. The first five are famous for landscape paintings. Only Yuan Shouping is famous for flowers. Their style belongs to that of the literator painters (expresses one's feelings).

Four Wangs

Wang Shimin (1592-1680) His zi is Xunzhi. He learnt from the Four Masters of the Yuan to paint. His paintings are implicit and elegant.

Wang Jian (1598-1677) His zi is Yuanzhao and his hao are Xiangbi and Ranxianganzhu. He and Wang Shimin are of the same clan in Taicang, Jiangsu. His grandfather was a famous literator and scholar in Ming. His family had collected many famous paintings. He learnt from them. After Ming declined, he became a yi min like Wang Shimin and kept this identity until he died. He learnt the most from Wang Meng to paint. He is good at the composition of paintings. Wang Shimin was his close friend. They often discussed about art together.

Wang Hui (1631-1717) His zi is Shigu. His place of origin is Changshou of Jiangsu. The five generations before him were all good artists. His first tutor in art specialized in learning Huang Gongwang's style, therefore he was greatly influenced by Huang's style in his early years. Then, he met Wang Jian and Wang Shimin. They gave him some opinions on his artworks, and his skills were greatly improved. The emperor once invited him to take part as the chief artist in a gigantic painting. He was able to absorb the advantages of previous artists to form his own style. In his own words, he "uses the ink of Yuan people to paint Song people's valleys and spurs and add in the verve of Tang people". He was more creative than the other three Wangs.

Wang Yuanqi (1642-1715) His zi is Maojing. Wang Shimin is his grandfather. He studied literature and learnt to paint when he was young. He was a trusted official of the emperor and he lived an easy life. His landscape paintings were deeply influenced by his grandfather. He has profound potency. He made use of the different values of ink perfectly that they integrate very well, also with other colours in light reddish landscapes. There are many layers of colours in a painting.

The Four Wangs painted pictures of high quality. However, they seldom observe the nature themselves. They sat in the study all day long to imitate good paintings and study the techniques, trying very hard to produce something similar. They aimed at producing pictures as close to famous ones as possible. Soon, their paintings turned formular.

Wu Li (1632-1718) His zi is Yushan. When he was still small, his father died and his family was poor. He learnt painting from Wang Shimin and Wang Jian, and he discussed about art with Wang Hui. In his early years, he sold paintings to support his mother's living. Unfortunately, his wife and mother died when he was 31. He was depressed. At first, he believed in Buddhism. Then, he heard of Roman Catholism, which came from Europe. He legitimately became a Catholic and the church's frere when he was 51. He wanted to go to Europe, but he only succeeded in going to Macau. Then, he returned to Jiangnan to preach for thirty years. His experience was very unique among Ming's and Qing's artists.

He has more variety in using the brush and ink. His characters are expressed in his paintings. Wang Yuanqi and Wang Hui praised his artworks. His style and viewpoints is different from the Four Wangs. He tried to understand the scenery before painting it. He also added in western elements.

Yun Shouping (1633-1690) His original name is Ge, but he liked to use Shouping, his zi instead. His zi was changed into Zhengshu. His place of origin is Changzhou, Jiangsu. He was separated with his father when they were fighting against the Qing army in a battle. A viceroy adopted him. Fortunately, he met his father in a temple in Hangzhou five years later. When he grew older, he learnt painting from Wang Shimin and Wang Jian, starting with landscape, and then flowers. He sold paintings and lived a simple life.

He has inherited and enchanced the "no bone method" of Xu Chongsi, a northern Song's artist. On the base of accurate features, he skillfully formed his elegant, lively and natural style. He created a beautiful world with the plants and rock he saw in his daily life. His style became so popular that "These days, no matter where, Zhengshu and Nantian (one of his hao) appear in every family". Wang Hui described his paintings as "life, fragrant, alive and colour". He has kept the temperament of literator paintings.

Jin ling Ba Jia

Jinling (present-day Nanjing, Jiangsu) was a very flourishing city. It was the centre of southeastern China's politics, culture and economy. Many yi min lived there, recalling the declined dynasty. Jin Ling Ba Jia expressed this kind of feeling through their paintings. These eight artists are Gong Xianå, Fan Qi, Zou Zhe, Wu Hong, Hu Zao, Gao Cen, Yie Xin and Xie Sun. They painted mainly landscapes around Nanjing. Among the eight of them, Gong Xian has the most outstanding style, most achievements and largest influence.

Gong Xian (1618-1689) His zi is Banqian (half a thousand). He had a strong nationalism. He was dissatisfied with the corrupt regime in late Ming and also the Manzu of Qing. He was a recluse on Qingliangshan (cool hill), selling and teaching painting.

He was fond of the landscape of Nanjing. He painted the beautiful scenery in his paintings. He seldom used colours. He stressed on the use of ink and water. He wrinkles and washes again and again at the same place. This is called the "accumulated ink method" . It is suitable for painting the humid Jiangnan forests to create the strong greenish effect. This is another new development of the Mi Shi Yun Shan. He also has a few paintings with simple lines, forming another style. They are called "Black Gong" and and "White Gong" respectively. On the whole, his art views are similar to that of Yuanji.

There is not much information of the other seven artists. As for Gao Cen, Jinling is his place of origin and his zi is Weisheng. He was good at writing poems apart from painting. His style was different from that of Gong Xian. He was better than Gong at outlining. Fan Qi (1616-after1694) is good at painting flowers, birds, grass and insects other than landscape. His zi is Huigong and his place of origin is also Jinling.

Mid Qing

After emperor Kangxi and Yongzheng's steady rule for about one hundred years, Yangzhou recovered from the serious damage in early Qing. It turned into a city of art and culture. While Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong were the emperor accordingly, there were more than one hundred famous artists in Yangzhou. Yangzhou Ba Guai (Yangzhou's eight peculiar people) was an important group of artists in Yangzhou. They further explored the world of expressive paintings of flowers and birds, bamboo and rocks. They emphasized on expressing their own characters and produced a deep influence on Chinese art. These eight peculiar artists are Li Shan, Wang Shishen, Jin Nong, Huang Shen, Li Fangying, Zheng Xie, Gao Xiang and Luo Pin.

Jin Nong (1687-1763) has the most hao among all artists( more than twenty). Some common one are Dongxin and Laoding. His zi is Shoumen. When he had grown up, he kept writing poems and literature works, and he studied Buddhism. He had high self-cultivation. When he was 35, he went from Hangzhou to Yangzhou and other places to make friends through literature. In 1736, he attended a public examination on literature in Beijing. He recited poems and ci with literators there and returned to Yangzhou in the same year. When he was old, he went back and forth from Yangzhou to Hangzhou. He died in a monastery in Hangzhou.

He was good at painting plum blossoms with archaistic style. >click the picture to see more.

Gao Xiang (1688-1753) His zi is Fenggang and his hao is Xitang. His place of origin is Ganquan (part of Hangzhou). His family was poor and he did not travel around like other artists. When he was young, he and Shitao were friends. After Shitao had died, he went to his tomb to offer sacrifices (wine) to him on his obits every year. We can see that they had a close friendship. Gao Xiang had much dealing with literators in Yangzhou. All of them had good integrity. He refused to have contact with secular people. Gao Xiang was good at painting landscape and flowers. Although Shitao was his close friend, his style was not affected . He painted according to his interests to express his feelings.

Li Shan (1688-1757) Zhongyang is his zi and his hao are Futang, Aodaoren, etc. His place of origin is Jiangsu. When he was 25, he was among the top three of the civil service examination and he went to see emperor Kangxi in Beijing, the capital. He was favored. Later, he became the regional official of different places until 1744, when he was fired. He comprehended the darkness of the court and moved to Yangzhou. There he entertained himself with poetry, literature, calligraphy and painting, and he sold pictures to make a living. He and Li Fangying, Zheng Xie etc. were closed friends.

Li Shan is famous for his expressive flower, bamboo and rock paintings. In his early years of learning painting, he painted with a neater style. When his painting techniques became mature, he changed his style into an unrestrained, carefree and unique one like Xu Wei's.

Zheng Xie (1693-1766) is the most famous artist among Yangzhou Ba Guai. That is because his calligraphic works and paintings are outstanding and he has already had a high reputation at that time. His zi is Kerou, and his hao is Banqiao. His place of origin is Xinghua, Jiangsu. He was given traditional education in his educated family and he studied seriously, wanting to have a successful career as an official. When he became one of the top three in the civil service examination, he was already forty. He started his life as an official after four years. He had a stamp with the words "Kangxi Xiu Cai (scholar) Yongzheng Ju Ren (top three) Qianlong Jin Shi (one of the best scholars)", which he often used.

He had been a regional official for twelve years until he lost his job for offending a senior official. He did not have a great career in the government. He then lived in Yangzhou selling paintings, calligraphic and literature works.

Under the price chart he added a few words, "Whenever you want to give me presents or food, money is much preferable. Your gift might not be what I like, but if you give me money, I will be happy, and both calligraphic works and paintings will be good. Presents would cause tangles, and late payments would be considered as sinful as cheating. I am old and tired, so I cannot have any useless conversation with you (gentlemen) anyway." His speech is direct and humorous. What a candid and frank man who is proud of his talents! It also shows how literator artists like Zheng Xie treats life in the society of products.

Most buyers of his artworks were salt merchants. Once they have earned much money, they began to decorate their houses and gardens. They became the financial backers of artists like him, and helped in the development of art in Yangzhou. While Zheng Xie was in the capital and being an official, he had a close relationship with emperor Kangxi's twenty-first son. They had more than twenty years of friendship.

Zheng Xie did not paint pictures of a large variety. He was famous for his bamboo, rock, orchid and grass. The reason behind was that these objects' "characters" are similar to his. He painted all these to comfort those in toil and moil. That gave literator paintings a new connotation of thoughts. His ink bamboo were often used to transmit friendship, satirize the world and voice out the civilians' feelings. There were poems etc. written beside it. His writings, paintings and poems were all good. Every educated family was proud to have one of his artworks.

Li Fangying (l699-l755) His zi is Qiuzhong , and his hao is Qingjiang . His place of origin is Nantong of Jiangsu. He has studied since he was young and became a scholar when he was an adolescent. In l927, he became a county mayor. However, he had conflicts with a senior official in the rescue work after a disaster. He was accused falsely and innocently imprisoned. After he ended his life as an official, he sold pictures in Nanjing, Yangzhou and Nantong, living a life in harmony with the rest of the world.

He is one of the Yangzhou Ba Guai because his interest in art was similar to that of seven of them. He painted mainly bamboo, grass, plum blossoms, pine, rock, etc. They are elegant and they show his thoughts straightforwardly. Sometimes they look solitary.

Luo Pin (l733-l799) His zi is Dunfu . His hao is Liangfeng (Two Mountains), Huazhi Siseng (Flower Monk) etc. His place of origin is Yangzhou. His parents died when he was young. He learnt painting and studied, striving hard to survive in adversity. Later, he met Jin Nong and became his disciple. He started to have contact with other artists and literators. >click the picture to see more.

The themes of his paintings had a larger variety than his teacher. He painted good artworks of human figures, landscape, bamboos and rock, and flowers. He was also good at painting ghosts and the horrible world of ghosts. They were used to satirize the corrupt officials and the darkness of the world. They were praised by dignified celebrities.

His wife Fang Wanyi and his two sons were good at painting plum blossoms. They were called the "Luo family plum blossom denomination".

Hua Yan (l682-l756) was also an artist of good influence and achievement in Yangzhou, but he was not one of the Yangzhou Ba Guai. His zi is Qiuyue (Autumn large hill) and his hao is Xinluo Shanren . His place of origin is Shanghang of Fujian. He got in touch with the rich civil art when he was young. He has painted murals in the shrine of his hometown. When he has grown up, he left his hometown, first to Hangzhou, then to the capital. As he was middle-aged, he lived in Hangzhou and Yangzhou.

In his paintings, we can see the temperament of literators and the interest of civilians and merchants.

At about the same time with Yangzhou Ba Guai, Li Yin , Xiao Chen , Yuan Jiang , Yuan Yao , etc. painted landscapes and jie hua in a delicate style. Some research says that Yangzhou Ba Guai's artworks were more welcomed by Anhui merchants, whereas delicate jie hua were more welcomed and financially assisted by Northern China and Shanxi merchants.

We do not have much information about them. The place of origin of all of them is Yangzhou of Jiangsu. Li Yin's zi and hao are Baiye and Dongke respectively; Xiao Chen's zi is Lingxi ; Yuan Jiang's zi is Wentao and his son Yuan Yao's "zi" is Zhaodao . Li Yin's painting has a style similar to Song's. Yuan Jiang's paintings are very delicate, with a rather dense composition. Comparatively, Yuan Yao's are not as dense.

Apart from the above, Shen Quan was famous for his flower, bird and painting in Jiangnan. They are elegant and colorful. They are painted with special meanings behind for celebrating birthdays etc., for example, the pronunciation of "deer" is the same as "official pay"; "bee" and "monkey" together has the same pronunciation as "appointed marquis". He has been to Japan with his disciples to teach art. His style became very popular in Japan. The Japanese called him "Bo Lai Hug Jia Di Yi(The best foreign artist) .

There was also a Jingjiang denomination in Zhenjiang (Jingjiang). Two of the most important artists are Zhang Yin and Gu Heqing . They painted realistic landscapes like Jin Ling Ba Jia . Zhang was good at pine trees and Gu was good at willow.

Hai denomination

Xu Gu (l824-l896) His original name was Zhu Huaiyen. His place of origin is Anhui. When he was young, he had been a soldier. After fighting with "The Heavenly Kingdom of Peace", he had many thoughts and feelings. He became a monk, he painted to make a living. His artworks include human figures and portraits, fruits, flowers, birds and landscape. He went back and forth between Yangzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai to paint. His paintings are vivid and unique.

"The Four Ren" are Ren Xiong , Ren Xun , Ren Yu and Ren Yi . We will introduce Ren Xiong and Ren Yi in the following.

Ren Xiong's zi is Weichang . His place of origin is present-day Zhejiang. He was born into a poor family. His parents were farmers. His father died when he was young. When he grew older, he learnt figure paintings and portraits from a tutor of a village school. But soon, he could not tolerate the rigid style of learning. He left to wander about. In l846, he went to Hangzhou and met Zhou Xian . He lived in one of Zhou's cottage for three years, and he kept imitating the antique paintings in his home. His skills excelled a lot. Later, he spent his time in Xiaoshan, Hangzhou and Shanghai selling pictures.

He painted a large variety of pictures. The human figures, landscape and flowers and birds are all very brilliant.

Ren Yi's original name and zi are Run and Xiaolou respectively. He later changed his zi into Bonian . His place of origin is present-day Shaoxing, Zhejiang. His father was a portrait artist with a bit of fame.

He has had strong penetration of others' appearances and characteristics. It is said that once his father had a visitor, but he was out (Ren Yi was about ten at that time). So the visitor left after a while. When his father came home, he asked about the visitor's name. Little Ren Yi did not know. So he immediately drew the visitor's face on a piece of paper. His father nodded and said, "Oh, I see. It's him."

Ren Yi had been a bannerman of the army of the "Heavenly Kingdom of Peace" in his 30's. Then, he went to Shanghai, Suzhou, etc. and learnt painting from Ren Xun, Ren Xiong's younger brother. He lived in Shanghai to sell pictures.

Ren Yi had excellent skills in painting figures, portraits, flowers and birds. The figure paintings based on stories were from history and civil traditions. They are vivid and the strokes are practiced. The colourful flower and bird paintings are painted after careful study. The themes of his artworks are easy to understand. They look interesting. He sold the best number of pictures among the Hai denomination's artists.

Zhao Zhiqian (l829-l884) was another expert on flowers. He studied hard and he learnt calligraphy when he was small. After he became a scholar when he was twenty-one, he continued to study and sell calligraphic works and paintings to make a living in Hangzhou and Shanghai. In l859, he was among the top three in civil service examination and he worked as a regional official until he died. His paintings are bold and unique. He painted with much strength and the verve of the art of metal and stone inscription can be seen in his artworks.