Innovation after the Ming and Qing Dynasties

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The Ming and Qing (1616-1911) dynasties witnessed further development in ink-and-wash painting, in opposition to the traditions of the Song and Yuan dynasties. Artists expressed richer personal experiences and interests through ink and wash. Whereas landscape painting of the Northern Song Dynasty stood out for expression of momentum, and Yuan landscape painting for its expression of peaceful, detached ambience; artists in the Ming and Qing dynasties either emphasized expression of individual personality through intriguing brushwork, such as with Badashanren (alias of Zhu Da,1626-1705) and Shi Tao(1630-1724), or focused on breaking through conventions to express the universe as they understood it, as in the”Eight Yangzhou Eccentric Painters,”the most representative being Zheng Banqiao(1693-1765).

A Lonely Bird,a scroll painting by Badashanren, is an inspiring work. From the lower left side of the picture is a withered, slightly gnarled branch stretching upward and rightward, on the end of which is perched a pocketsize bird, its thin claws tightly clutching the branch. The bird’s wings, half spread, and its eyes, small but calm, strikingly catch the viewer’s attention.A withered twig and a lonely, single-eyed and single-footed bird-what a lonely world! Yet, how well it reflects the independent spirit of the artist!

Another representative work of Badashanren is A Bird and Lotus, done at the age of 67. This painting features a rootless lotus stem that stretches upward and rightward on the tableau, with a half-blooming bud. There is no pond to be seen, nor any lotus leaves.A bird flies from afar, seeming undecided whether to perch or not, so its perching with one thin claw on the stamen appears unsteady, its wings flapping in doubt, its eyes in a trance. All appears illusory and unsettled, through which the artist conveys his ideal of remaining aloof from the secular world.

Zheng Banqiao was a prestigious mid-Qing-dynasty artist of high artistic accomplishment.He excelled in painting orchids, bamboo androcks. In his famous painting, Ink Bamboo, he created an elegant yet unrestrained composition, with a remarkably fresh atmosphere.

Ancient Chinese painters loved to paint plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum, renowned in Chinese culture as the”four gentlemen.”This is not because these plants are considered any better than the others, but they are believed to represent the characterof human beings. It is with this in mind that Zheng Banqiao approached his bird-and-flower paintings. He said,”The bamboo is emaciated yet spirited, aloof yet proud, always reaching up toward the sky.

Neverbending under the snow’s attack-this is an unyielding spirit valued by the virtuous who never give in to worldly conventions.So, when I paint bamboo,I paint not only its image but also its spirit.”Ink-and-wash painting in the 20th century, while inheriting the strong points of traditional Chinese painting, also incorporated many innovations.A representative master was Qi Baishi(1864-1957), who excelled both in the ancient and modern arts.Based on what he learned from the styleof Badashanren and Shi Tao, he expressed his own understanding and originality in his works, especially his paintings of shrimps. Often he drew only one or two shrimps in a painting, leaving the rest of the tableau empty. This seeminglysimple tableau, however, never fails to enchant viewers, as it always gives a feeling that everything in the painting is alive with an ethereal quality. One example is Qi’s Frogs Croaking out of the Stream. With only a couple of swimming tadpoles in the painting, the artist vividly presents an animated world of a three-mile stream-a world full of life and vitality.