Portrait of Scholars: Ming and Qing Landscape Paintings (Part 1)

Author: Liu Jianlong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-10-01
Features: The development of traditional Chinese landscape painting reached its peak during the Ming and Qing dynasties, where the predominant style was the literati painting that flourished in the Jiangnan literati group. Literati landscape not only replaced the status and influence of imperial court painters from the Song and Yuan dynasties but also established the aesthetic taste of individual styles and formats. To understand the artistic essence of Ming and Qing landscape painting, it is necessary to take a journey through its cultural and historical environment. "Jiangnan" refers broadly to the southern region of the Yangtze River. In Chinese history, the geographical concept of "Jiangnan" refers to the area centered around the Yangtze River estuary triangle, including today's Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, southern Shandong, and the eastern parts of Shandong, Henan, Anhui, and Jiangxi provinces. On this vast land, the interconnected waters of the Yangtze River, the Qiantang River, Taihu Lake, the Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea have nurtured and given rise to a splendid ancient civilization.