Eight eccentrics in ancient times

Yangzhou has been famous for its economic prosperity since Sui and Tang Dynasties. Although it experienced the disaster of changing soldiers, it always recovered quickly after the war because of its superior geographical position, convenient transportation, fertile land and rich products. In the Qing Dynasty, although it was destroyed by the massacre on the 10th, it developed in the three generations of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong, and became a metropolis along the southeast coast of China and an important trade center in China. Dajia, a wealthy businessman, is rich in many places around, especially salt industry.

Economic prosperity has also promoted the prosperity of cultural and artistic undertakings. Scholars and celebrities from all over the world gathered in Yangzhou. At the initiative of local officials, poetry receptions are often held. Poetry creation enjoys a high reputation throughout the country. Some salt merchants, who are rich and arty in themselves, attract more receptions to celebrities from all over Yangzhou. Yangzhou has thus attracted many celebrities from all over the country, including many poets, writers and artists. Therefore, Yangzhou at that time was not only the economic center of the southeast, but also the center of culture and art.

In order to meet the needs of their luxurious life, wealthy businessmen have great demand for exquisite handicrafts, precious pearls and jade, fresh clothes, delicious food and other material and spiritual products, and are more keen on collecting calligraphy and painting. As far as the wind is concerned, middle-class families among ordinary people even seek rooms for hanging calligraphy and painting to show elegance. There is a folk proverb called "there is no calligraphy and painting at home, it is not an old home." The huge demand for calligraphy and painting attracted and produced a large number of painters. According to "Yangzhou Painting Boat", there are more than 100 well-known local painters and painters from all over the world, many of whom were famous at that time, and "Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics" is one of them.

The works of Yangzhou Painting School, represented by "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou", have distinct personalities in both material selection and composition. The formation of this artistic style is closely related to the innovation trend of painting circles at that time and the change of people's aesthetic taste. In the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, China's painting was trapped by conservative thoughts, with copying as the mainstream, and the painting world lacked vitality. This flagging wind has aroused the dissatisfaction of people of insight and talented painters, and Shi Tao, a great painter who advocates innovation, appeared in Yangzhou. Shi Tao's slogan of "pen and ink should keep pace with the times" and "can't get away from it" shook the painting world like footsteps in an empty valley. Shi Tao's theory and practice "opened a school of Yangzhou", and finally gave birth to a group of innovative painters such as "Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics".

1. Who are the famous "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou"?

There are different opinions about which painters "Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics" refer to. Some people say it's eight, others say it's more than eight; Some people say these eight, others say the other eight. According to various writings, there are as many as fifteen people. Because Li Yufen's Introduction to Ou Boluo's Painting and Calligraphy is the earliest and most complete record of the Eight Eccentrics, most people still take the Eight Eccentrics proposed by Li Yufen in the late Qing Dynasty as the standard. Namely: Wang, Zheng Xie, Gao Xiang, Jin Nong, Li Yi, Huang Shen, Li,. As for the painters mentioned by others, such as Hua Yan, Min Zhen, Gao, Li Mian, Chen Zhuan, Bian Shoumin, Yang Fa, etc. , can also be merged because of similar painting styles. Because the word "eight" can be regarded as a number or a divisor.

"Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics" has a wide range of knowledge and is good at poetry. Life was bumpy for most of my life, and I finally embarked on the road of selling paintings for a living. Although they sell paintings, they express their feelings with paintings, and they have higher pursuit in the art of painting and calligraphy, and are unwilling to flow into the ranks of ordinary painters. Their knowledge, experience, artistic accomplishment, profound skill and artistic pursuit of innovative ideas are different from ordinary painters. They reached the realm of new ideas, new compositions and new techniques, created a new generation of painting style, and made immortal contributions to the development of China.

China's painting has a long history, in which literati painting flourished from the Tang and Song Dynasties, gradually enriched and developed, and formed a complete theoretical system, leaving a large number of works, which is the pride of China's painting. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there have been many painting schools in China, each with its own characteristics. Yushan and Loudong, headed by the "Four Kings", have the greatest influence, while in Yangzhou, the painting style of "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou", headed by Jin Nong and Zheng Xie, has been formed. These painters inherit and carry forward the tradition of Chinese painting, but they have different views on inheriting the tradition and creating methods. Yu Shan, Lou Dong and other painting schools emphasize copying and learning from the ancients, take observing the ancient law as the principle, take strengthening the ancient law as their own responsibility, and pretend to be "authentic". Their creative method, as Wang Hui, an "authentic" painter, said, is "a great achievement to paint with the straight ink of Yuan people, to transport the mountains and valleys of Song people and to polish the charm of Tang people". They followed the ancients and followed suit, and their works were mostly imitations of ancient masters (of course, there were also antique creations), which formed a rigid situation and bound the painter's hands and feet. "Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics" also respects tradition, but it is different from "authentic". They inherited the creative methods of Shi Tao, Xu Wei and Zhu Da. , did not copy the ancient laws. For example, Zheng Banqiao worships Shi Tao and he learns from Shi Tao. He also "stayed half, learned half, and never learned all."

Shi Tao has an important influence on the formation of the artistic style of "Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics". He put forward "learning from nature" and "using my method", opposed "mudding", required painters to absorb creative materials in nature, and emphasized that works should have strong personality. He believes that "the ancients could not bear my face; The hearts of ancient people could not enter my stomach. I feel my heart spontaneously and show my eyebrows. " Shi Tao's painting thought laid a theoretical foundation for the emergence of "Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics" and applied it to practice. "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" found inspiration from nature, sought themes from life, and wrote books by itself, not willing to be like others, which was refreshing at that time. People often regard their rare things as weird, so they feel strange about the works of "Eight Eccentrics" that express their hearts and gallop freely, and call them weird. There are also some painters who are used to tradition. They think that the paintings of "Eight Eccentrics" are beyond the limits, so they belittle the Eight Eccentrics, saying that they are partial teachers and heretics, and that they are "unconventional and only popular in thyme". Admirers praised his works for their bold brushwork, getting rid of the shackles of the established method and the ancient method, breaking the rigid situation at that time, bringing new vitality to China's paintings and influencing and nurturing later artists such as Zhao, Wu Changshuo and Qi Baishi.

2. Where is the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou"?

There are different opinions about where the "Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou" is. Some people think they are strange, but in fact, they are not. Eight eccentrics have experienced ups and downs themselves. They are full of injustice and infinite anger, and show deep sympathy for the poor. They attack ugly things and people with the keen insight and kind sympathy of intellectuals, whether in poetry or painting and calligraphy. This kind of thing is not uncommon in the history of China, but it is not uncommon. People will naturally treat it as "strange". However, their daily behavior did not go beyond the scope of ethics at that time, nor did they indulge like Jin literati-playing dumb and laughing. They communicate with officials and celebrities, attend poetry receptions and behave like normal people. Therefore, it is unreasonable to assume that they are "weird" from their life behavior. Now we can only study them in their works.

Eight eccentrics don't want to take the road that others have started, but want to find another way. They want to create "articles that show the sky and the ground, words that shock thunderstorms, words that curse ghosts, and paintings that have never existed in the past" to stand on their own feet, that is, to be different from the ancients, not to follow the customs, and to have a unique style. Their works violate people's appreciation habits and make people feel novel, so they feel a little "strange". As Zheng Xie himself said, "Writing is unique, and calligraphy and painting are not appreciated by ordinary people. The Tang Dynasty had its own country, and the people laughed at me as a Banqiao monster. " At that time, people had different opinions on them, and the most important one was that they deviated from the "authentic", which also explained the main reason why they were called "weird". Yangzhou Eight Eccentric Painters broke through the shackles of "authenticity" and, on the basis of inheriting the tradition, concentrated on their own creation and development, trying to create a new painting style with their whole life.

"Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics" has a wide range of knowledge and is good at poetry. Life was bumpy for most of my life, and I finally embarked on the road of selling paintings for a living. Although they sell paintings, they express their feelings with paintings, and they have higher pursuit in the art of painting and calligraphy, and are unwilling to flow into the ranks of ordinary painters. Their knowledge, experience, artistic accomplishment, profound skill and artistic pursuit of innovative ideas are different from ordinary painters. They have reached the realm of new ideas, new compositions and new techniques, created a new generation of painting style and made immortal contributions to the development of China's painting.

China's painting has a long history, in which literati painting flourished from the Tang and Song Dynasties, gradually enriched and developed, and formed a complete theoretical system, leaving a large number of works, which is the pride of China's painting. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there have been many painting schools in China, each with its own characteristics. Yushan and Loudong, headed by the "Four Kings", have the greatest influence, while in Yangzhou, the painting style of "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou", headed by Jin Nong and Zheng Xie, has been formed. These painters inherit and carry forward the tradition of Chinese painting, but they have different views on inheriting the tradition and creating methods. Yu Shan, Lou Dong and other painting schools emphasize copying and learning from the ancients, take observing the ancient law as the principle, take strengthening the ancient law as their own responsibility, and pretend to be "authentic". Their creative method, as Wang Hui, an "authentic" painter, said, is "a great achievement to paint with the straight ink of Yuan people, to transport the mountains and valleys of Song people and to polish the charm of Tang people". They followed the ancients and followed suit, and their works were mostly imitations of ancient masters (of course, there were also antique creations), which formed a rigid situation and bound the painter's hands and feet.

"Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics" also respects tradition, but it is different from "authentic". They inherited the creative methods of Shi Tao, Xu Wei and Zhu Da. , did not copy the ancient laws. For example, Zheng Banqiao worships Shi Tao and he learns from Shi Tao. He also "stayed half, learned half, and never learned all." Shi Tao has an important influence on the formation of the artistic style of "Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics". He put forward "learning from nature" and "using my method", opposed "mudding", required painters to absorb creative materials in nature, and emphasized that works should have strong personality. He believes that "the ancients could not bear my face; The hearts of ancient people could not enter my stomach. I feel my heart spontaneously and show my eyebrows. " Shi Tao's painting thought laid a theoretical foundation for the emergence of "Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics" and applied it to practice. "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" found inspiration from nature, sought themes from life, and wrote books by itself, not willing to be like others, which was refreshing at that time. People often regard their rare things as weird, so they feel strange about the works of "Eight Eccentrics" that express their hearts and gallop freely, and call them weird. There are also some painters who are used to tradition. They think that the paintings of "Eight Eccentrics" are beyond the limits, so they belittle the Eight Eccentrics, saying that they are partial teachers and heretics, and that they are "unconventional and only popular in thyme". Admirers praised his works for their bold brushwork, getting rid of the shackles of the established method and the ancient method, breaking the rigid situation at that time, bringing new vitality to China's paintings and influencing and nurturing later artists such as Zhao, Wu Changshuo and Qi Baishi.

1. Zheng Xie [Zheng Banqiao]

Zheng Banqiao and his map of bamboo and stone.

Banqiao in Kangxi period of Qing Dynasty, sitting opposite the paper window and bamboo shadow, spread out his pen and ink to draw his favorite bamboo. "The autumn wind swept past the window last night." He saw the breeze passing through the bamboo leaves, and the bamboo was swaying. Banqiao takes "there is nothing to do in the chest" as the theory. He painted bamboo without the teacher's inheritance, but more from the sunlight and the moon shadow on the paper window powder wall, so he adopted a natural method directly. In response to Su Dongpo's statement that he had a well-thought-out plan, Banqiao stressed that he should have a well-thought-out plan. These two theories seem contradictory, but they are similar in essence. At the same time, they emphasize the high combination of conception and skill, but the method of Banqiao should be "like lightning and thunder, and all plants are angry." Banqiao's "Bamboo Stone Map" shows that bamboo stands tall and straight, rising from the ground. His leaves, each with a different expression, are dark and watery, with distinct shades, vividly showing the texture of bamboo. In composition, Banqiao handled the relationship between the position of bamboo and stone and the words used in poetry very harmoniously. The slender and quiet beauty of bamboo sets off another style of stone. This overgrown plant has become an ideal dreamland for Banqiao. Even Jin Nong, the head of the Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou, lamented the bamboo in Banqiao. Compared with their paintings, the bamboo he painted was not as elegant as Banqiao.

2. high

Its flower-and-bird part is created with fingers. Draw a fan with high fingers, and the shape of two birds is chic, and the poem "Peony Flowers" says: "It is also like rouge painting peony, and the sunrise is three poles when painting. It turns out that the flowers belong to Fusang, and people are not allowed to look at them. " This poem is very interesting. Surprisingly, the picture suddenly showed a gorgeous peony, which was beautiful. On the contrary, it has its beautiful scenery and gives up on itself, and it has a dying breath that it can't bear to see. The peony in full bloom in the tea garden exudes the decadent beauty of spring breeze. Gao (1672- 1734), whose real name is Wei San, is also known as Garden, Nancun, Shu and Taoist. The ancestors moved from Shandong to Tieling, Liaoning, and Li Hanjun hung the yellow flag and served as assistant minister of punishments. He is the teacher of Luo Pin, the Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou. Gao is good at painting with fingers, and his "finger painting" has become an important school in painting. In his later years, Gao's reputation for finger painting spread far and wide in North Korea, but he still painted the appearance of "a fingernail is disabled to suck blood, and a candle burns frequently every day". In the eighth year of Yongzheng (A.D. 1730), he was asked to paint in Ruyi Pavilion in Yuanmingyuan for three years, and he created exquisite silk meticulous paintings such as The Map of the Yangtze River. According to Gao Bing's finger painting theory, Gao Zeng painted a portrait of Lv Shun, the minister of war, as tall as a real person. When the painting was finished, Lushun's disciples were overjoyed and said, "Good skill! Enter the Tao! "

3. Jinnong

Jin Nong (1687- 1764), whose real name is Shoumen, whose real name is Dongxin, a native of Hangzhou, is called the head of the Eight Monsters. He is well-read and versatile. He began to paint after the age of 50 and was poor all his life. He is good at flowers and birds, landscapes and figures, especially at ink painting and plum blossom. His paintings are simple in shape, elegant in layout and novel in conception. His works include Mu Meitu and Moonlight Flower Map. He created a kind of official script, calling himself "lacquer script", which has another interest.

4. Li Shan

Li Shan (1686- 1762), a native of Xinghua, Jiangsu. Kangxi was promoted in fifty years, and in fifty-three years, painting was called a sacrifice of the imperial court. Because I don't want to be bound by orthodox painting style, I am excluded. After three years of Qianlong, he was elected as the magistrate of tengxian and returned to the provincial government. After two different titles and a demotion, he went to Yangzhou to sell paintings for a living. He has the closest relationship with Zheng Xie, so Zheng has the saying that "Yangzhou sells paintings and is old with Li". In his early years, he learned to paint landscapes with Wei, a fellow countryman, and inherited Huang all the way. When he worshipped the court, he learned to paint with Jiang Ting. Later, he asked the master of finger painting for advice and advocated freehand brushwork. In Yangzhou, he was inspired by Shi Tao's brushwork, so he splashed ink with broken pens, and his painting style changed greatly, forming his own unique style. In this style, pen and ink blended into a strange taste. He likes to draw long articles, and his writing style is uneven, which makes the pictures very rich, and his works have a great influence on flower-and-bird painting in the late Qing Dynasty.

5. Huang Shen

Huang Shen (after 1687- 1770) was born in Ninghua, Fujian. He is good at freehand brushwork figures, intercropping flowers and birds, landscapes and bold colors. There is a collection of poems in Jiaohu. As one of the Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou, he is an all-round painter. Huang Shen's freehand brushwork figures created a unique style of putting cursive script into painting. When Huai Su's cursive script arrived in Huang Shen, it became "bald, continuous and intermittent", with more bold brushwork and style. Such a wild brushwork, the brushwork is "swift as the wind", the weather is majestic, and the stippling is like a wind leaf. Huang Shen's figure paintings, mostly based on fairy tales, depict the lives of historical figures and ordinary people such as woodcutters, fishermen, vagrants and beggars in real life, bringing a new breath to figure paintings in Qing Dynasty. Huang Shen's photo album "Beauty Watching Flowers" depicts a beauty's obsession with flowers. The map of Xishan crane is based on Su Shi's Flying Crane Pavilion. On the right side of this picture, there is a white crane. The old man seems to be looking up at the cranes flying in the air. The boy is holding a flower basket, but he is very happy. "I dreamed of Yangzhou Road all my life, and the empty cranes returned" (Huang Shen's "Crane Training in Lin Bu"). Huang Shen lived in Yangzhou twice and spent 17 years in Yangzhou, which became his lifelong attachment. His figure paintings are the most distinctive, including "Four-Lun Diagram", "Group Begging Diagram" and "Fisherman Diagram".

6. Li

Li (1695- 1755), whose real name is Qingjiang, also known as "Yibaishan" and "Yiyuan", is a native of Nantong, Jiangsu. In the eighth year of Yongzheng, he became the magistrate of Lanshan (now Linyi) in Shandong Province. He was arrested and imprisoned for offending his boss. In the first year of Qianlong, he was released and the official was reinstated. Later, he was appointed as a magistrate in Qianshan and Hefei, Anhui Province, and was still convicted and dismissed from office because he did not please. To be an official, there is benevolent government and people's morality. After going to the official, he stayed in Nanjing to borrow the garden and often went to Yangzhou to sell paintings. He is good at drawing pines, bamboos, orchids, chrysanthemums, plums, miscellaneous flowers, insects and fish, and is also good at drawing figures and landscapes, especially plums. The works are free and unconstrained, full of ink and brush, careless and informal, which is intended to be between Ivy League, Bai Yang and Zhu Han. Plum paintings are famous for their thin and hard stems and new branches, and their sides are curved. With the method of occasionally printing plum blossoms, the famous plum blossom poems are inscribed, and the sentences are not depressing or bizarre. I also like to draw pine and bamboo in the strong wind. The work "Shi Neng" was edited by later generations, and there were only 26 poems, mostly scattered in paintings.

7. Wang

Wang (1686- 1759), whose real name is Chilin, alias Waishi, is an old man in late spring, originally from Shexian County, Anhui Province, who lives in Yangzhou and sells paintings for a living. Flowers and plants, pen at will, colorful. He is especially good at painting plums and often goes to Meihualing outside Yangzhou to enjoy and write plums. Plum blossoms are famous for their dense branches, elegant and beautiful, Jin Nong said; The beauty of painting plum lies in the fact that Guangling has two friends, Wang Chao's forest painting is numerous, and Gao Xitang's painting is sparse. But judging from his paintings of plums, not all of them are flourishing, but they tend to be thinner. No matter how simple or complicated, you have time to wrap up the fragrance and enjoy the snow and mountains. At the age of 54, he was blind in his left eye, but he could still draw plum blossoms. When he showed his beauty, he engraved: he was born blind in his left eye, but he still kept one eye for plum blossoms. Sixty-seven years old, blind, but still able to write weeds, but also pay attention to the mind. Turning a blind eye is not turning a blind eye to one's own heart. Good poem, author of Selected Poems in the Nest Forest.

8. Luo Pin

Luo Pin (1733- 1799) was a famous painter in Qing dynasty. The word is big, and it is called Erfeng, also known as Yiyun, Huadian, Jinniu Mountain Man, Zhou Yufu and Shilian Old Man. His ancestral home was Shexian, Anhui, and later he was from Ganquan, Jiangsu (now Yangzhou). The present country calls itself "Zhu Cao Shilin". I am a disciple of Jin Nong, not an official, so I am good at traveling. Painting figures, Buddha statues, landscapes, flowers and fruits, plums, orchids, bamboos, etc. , omnipotent. The writing style is fantastic, aloof and unique. It is one of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou". He is also good at drawing funny pictures of ghosts and describing all kinds of ugly ghosts, which are extremely wonderful to satirize the ugliness of society at that time. He is also good at seal cutting, and he is the author of Biography of Guangyin People. After Jin Nong's death, he collected manuscripts and contributed engravings, so that Jin Nong's works could be passed down to later generations. His wife, Fang Wanyi, named Bai Lian, is also good at painting Meilan bamboo stones and poems. Both Zi and Yun Yong are good at painting plums, so they are called "Luo Pai". Representative works include: Weather Outside Things (Picture Book), Two Peaks Covered with Flowers, Autumn Height in Dangui, Sunrise in the Shade, Singing in Gu Qing, Painting Bamboo with Sound, etc. Author of Xiang Ye Caotang Collection.

Yangzhou Eight Eccentric Painters broke through the shackles of "authenticity" and, on the basis of inheriting the tradition, concentrated on their own creation and development, trying to create a new painting style with their whole life. Undoubtedly, they have made great contributions to the development of Chinese painting, and their creative ideas and numerous works are valuable legacies for us to learn and inherit.

After the "Four Monk Painters", an innovative painting school-"Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics" rose. In fact, there were more than eight important painters active in Yangzhou painting at that time, about 16 or 7, and "eight" was not an exact number. According to the earliest records: Jin Nong, Huang Shen, Zheng Xie, Li (fish list), Li, Wang, Gao Xiang,. So it is called strange because they are eccentric, eccentric and strange when painting, and most of them are strong-willed, aloof and arrogant, and their behavior is wild, so they are called "eight eccentrics".

"Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics" have similar life experiences and thoughts and feelings. Most of them came from the intellectual class, some refused to be officials all their lives, some passed the imperial examination and became small officials, but they were dismissed or resigned one after another, and finally made a living by selling paintings. Their lives are relatively poor, and they are well aware of the corruption in the officialdom, forming a character of contempt for powerful people and debauchery, and expressing their inner resentment with the help of calligraphy and painting.

Most of their art is based on flowers and birds, with freehand brushwork as the main expression. They attach importance to individuality and strive for innovation in their creation, which breaks through the traditional aesthetic norms to varying degrees and has certain anti-traditional significance. Their works have a strong subjective color, which is refreshing. But at that time, they were not fully understood, and even regarded as "leftists" and "criticized". In fact, it is they who have created a new situation in painting and broadened the road for the development of flower-and-bird painting.