Li Cheng Painting Collection

Author: (Song) Li Cheng (painter)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-07-01
Features: Li Cheng (919-967), styled Xianxi. The ancestors of Li Cheng were members of the Tang imperial family and resided in Chang'an. His grandfather, Li Ding, was the governor of Suzhou in the late Tang Dynasty. Due to turmoil, he moved from Suzhou to Yingqiu in Shandong (now northern Linzi, Zibo City, Shandong) in the late Tang period. Li Cheng's father, Li Yu, was a local official in Qingzhou, Shandong. When Li Cheng was born, more than ten years had passed since the fall of the Tang Dynasty, and the Li family had gradually declined. Li Cheng was knowledgeable in classics and history from a young age, enjoyed writing poetry, playing the lute, and chess. He became famous for his landscape paintings. Li Cheng once created Yingqiu Landscape, depicting streams and mountains winding like ribbons, forests and houses casting shadows, and mist and clouds appearing and disappearing. The painting truly reflects the landscape of Yingqiu and Li Cheng's love for his hometown, which is why he is often called "Li Yingqiu" in history. Due to his expertise in classics and poetry, Li Cheng possessed diverse talents, and his landscape paintings were imbued with a unique spirit. He was highly regarded as a painter during his time, with many seeking his works. However, Li Cheng had higher aspirations and, unable to realize his ambitions, developed a habit of drinking excessively every day. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Wang Pu, a close friend of Li Cheng and a minister of military affairs, wanted to recommend him for a great cause. Unfortunately, Wang Pu's death deprived Li Cheng of this opportunity, and Li Cheng grew even more discouraged and frustrated. In the early years of the Song Dynasty, Wei Rong, the governor of Chen, Shu, and Huang provinces in Henan, admired Li Cheng's reputation and sincerely invited him and his family to move to Huaiyang in Henan. Li Cheng had a free-spirited nature, grand ambitions, and an open and heroic character. He channeled his emotions into painting while drinking and singing wildly to alleviate his sorrows. In the fifth year of the Qiande era (967 AD), he died of alcoholism in a guest house at the age of 49.