Ancient Chinese Painter Dictionary

Author: Wu Moumu
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-09-01
Features: This book includes painters from the Eastern Jin Dynasty's Gu Kaizhi to the late Qing Dynasty's Wu Changshuo. Some painters born in the Qing Dynasty but active in the late Qing or early Republican era are also included. Painters recorded in art history but without surviving works, or those with works that are temporarily untraceable, are also summarized and included in this book. It is part of the "Dictionary Series of Chinese Calligraphers, Painters, and Seal Carvers" organized and published by Zhejiang People's Publishing House. This book integrates collection, appreciation, and reference, serving as a practical tool.
The first part includes 842 painters with surviving works, ranging from Gu Kaizhi in the Eastern Jin Dynasty to Wu Changshuo in the late Qing Dynasty. Painters born in the Qing Dynasty but active in the late Qing or early Republican era are also included, though those who died after Wu Changshuo are excluded. Painters recorded in art history but without surviving works, or those with works that are temporarily untraceable, are summarized and included in the second part. For painters with numerous surviving works, only selected pieces are included due to space constraints.
The first part is arranged by dynasty, followed by the stroke order of surnames within the same dynasty. The second part is arranged by stroke order of surnames. The years in parentheses after a painter's name indicate their birth and death years. For painters whose birth or death years are unknown, a question mark "?" is used, or terms like "about" or "after XX" are added. Painters with the same name and surname are listed separately with notes. Some daughters of painters who were also skilled in the arts are mentioned in the entries.
In the past, some dictionaries often contained errors in the characters and titles of certain painters. This book corrects these errors based on the painters' seals and inscriptions. Some works included in this book may lack clarity due to their age, or their formats (scrolls, hanging scrolls, etc.) may vary due to layout requirements. Not all selected works are necessarily the painters' representative pieces. Additionally, some works are subject to differing academic opinions regarding their era, authorship, or authenticity. This book does not provide definitive conclusions on these matters but leaves them for further exploration and research by experts.