Posted by China Online Museum on Tuesday, May 15, 2012,
In :
Painting
Playful fish in flora-filled water became a popular subject for Chinese painters when the cultivation of rare fish came into vogue in twelfth century. Because fish (魚, yu) is homophonous with the word for abundance (余, yu), it has become a common symbol for wealth and prosperity. Paintings of fish are often used to illustrate the auspicious expression, “May there be abundance year after year (年年有余).”
Among the literati, the popularity of fish stems from the Daoist... Continue reading ...
Posted by China Online Museum on Friday, June 12, 2009,
In :
Painting
The phrase “Pan of the south and Li of the north (南潘北李)” was coined in recognition of two contemporary painters, Pan Tianshou (潘天寿) and Li Kuchan (李苦禅).
Pan Tianshou began his career teaching Chinese painting in 1923,
when he moved to Shanghai to accept an assignment. In that same year,
he met the 80-year-old master of the Shanghai School (海派), Wu Changshuo (吴昌硕), and the two painters became intimate friends. (Read more...)
Li Kuchan was born in Gaotang County ... Continue reading ...
Posted by China Online Museum on Friday, May 22, 2009,
In :
Painting
The Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty is a name used to collectively describe the four Chinese painters Huang Gongwang (黄公望), Wang Meng (王蒙), Ni Zan (倪瓒) and Wu Zhen (吴镇), who were active in the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368). They worked during the Yuan period and were revered during the Ming Dynasty and later periods as major exponents of the tradition of “literati painting” (文人画), which was concerned more with individual expression and learning than with outward repr... Continue reading ...
