The saying of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" has been around for a long time. However, the names of the eight people are unknown. According to Li Yufen's "A Bibliographic Examination of Calligraphy and Paintings in the Ou Bo Luo Chamber", the "Eight Eccentrics" are Luo Pin, Li Fang Ying, Li E, Jin Nong, Huang Shen, Zheng Xie (also known as Zheng Banqiao), Gao Xiang and Wang Shishen. In addition, Gao Fenghan, Hua Yan, Min Zhen, Bian Shoumin, etc. are listed as "Eight Monsters" in each book. The opinions are very inconsistent. Today, most people use the number "eight" from Li Yufen.
The Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou are just occupations. They cannot be said to be positive or negative figures. Sometimes they have a derogatory meaning. It took nearly a hundred years until Luo Pin, the youngest painter among the "Eight Eccentrics" died in the fourth year of Jiaqing. Their paintings were so numerous and widely circulated that they are immeasurable only according to the "Existing Paintings of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" compiled by modern people. According to the "Material", there are more than 8,000 pieces collected by more than 200 museums, art galleries and research institutions at home and abroad. As an outstanding group in the history of Chinese painting, they have become world-famous and brought Xu Wei's splash-ink technique to its peak during his lifetime. His reputation spread far and wide. Li Wei, Li Fangying, Gao Fenghan, and Li Mian were summoned by the three emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong respectively to try out paintings or be appointed to their posts. In the eighth year of Qianlong's reign, Hongli saw Zheng Banqiao's "Sakura Bamboo Shoots." "Picture", that is, the "Treasure of Qianlong's Imperial View" and the oval seal with Zhu Wen were recited. Yin, a corporal in the West Garden, is a guest in the East Pavilion. Wang Fu is at the door, and he is afraid that it will be too late to fall down. Meng Gong is shocked to sit down, and it can be seen when they meet face to face. "Where are the monsters? The ups and downs of their life experience are loading. Appreciating the calligraphy and painting of the Eight Monsters of Yangzhou. There are different opinions on where the "monsters" are in the "Eight Monsters of Yangzhou". Some people think that they are strange people, but in reality, this is not the case. The Eight Monsters themselves, After experiencing ups and downs, they have a sense of injustice and infinite anger, and they have deep sympathy for the poor class. With their keen insight and kind sympathy as intellectuals, they criticize and criticize ugly things and people, or write about them. In poetry, or in calligraphy and painting. Although this kind of thing is not uncommon in Chinese history, it is not common. It is natural for people to regard it as "weird", but their daily behavior does not exceed it. At that time, the scope of etiquette was not as indulgent as that of the literati of the Jin Dynasty - they pretended to be crazy, laughed and laughed all the time, communicated with officials and celebrities, participated in poetry and literary parties, and behaved like normal people. Therefore, it comes from their life behaviors. It is unreasonable to identify them as "weird". Now we can only study them in their works. The "Eight Weirds" do not want to follow the path that others have pioneered, but they want to create another way. "The words that reveal heaven and earth, the words that shock thunder and rain, the talk of scolding gods and ghosts, the paintings that are unprecedented in the past and the present". To establish our own school is to be different from the ancients, not to follow the current customs, and to be original in style. Their works It goes against people's appreciation habits. People find it novel and feel a little "weird".
As Zheng Xie himself said: "Don't be unique in your painting and calligraphy. You don't want to be praised by ordinary people." Everyone has their own attitude of being decadent and arrogant, and ordinary people laugh at me as a Banqiao weirdo. "At that time, people had mixed praise and criticism for them. The most important point was that they deviated from the "authentic", which explains the main reason why it was called "weird". The Yangzhou Eight Eccentric Painters broke through the shackles of "authentic" On the basis of inheriting the tradition, they focused on their own creation and development, and worked hard to create a new style of painting throughout their lives. The "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" mostly experienced ups and downs in life, and finally embarked on a successful career. They have found a way to make a living by selling paintings. Although they sell paintings, they are passionate about painting and have higher pursuits in the art of calligraphy and painting. Their knowledge, experience, artistic accomplishment, profound skills and The artistic pursuit of innovative ideas is different from that of ordinary painters, reaching the realm of new ideas, new compositions, and new techniques, creating a new style of painting, and making immortal contributions to the development of Chinese painting.
Unconventional techniques are loading into the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou. Chinese painting has a long history and a long history. Among them, literati painting flourished from the Tang and Song Dynasties, and gradually enriched and developed, forming a complete theoretical system, leaving a large number of This is the pride of Chinese painting. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, many painting schools have appeared in various parts of China, each with its own characteristics. The most influential ones are the Yushan and Loudong schools headed by the "Four Kings". , and in Yangzhou, the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" style of painting was formed, led by Jin Nong and Zheng Xie. These painters all inherited and promoted the Chinese painting tradition, but they had different views on inheriting the tradition and creative methods.
Painting schools such as Yushan and Loudong emphasize copying and learning from the ancients, taking compliance with ancient laws as their principle, taking the promotion of ancient laws as their own responsibility, and claiming to be "authentic". Their creative method, as the "authentic" painter Wang Hui said, is to "use the straight ink of the Yuan Dynasty, use the hills and valleys of the Song Dynasty, and use the Qi and rhyme of the Tang Dynasty to paint, which is a great success." They followed the footsteps of the ancients, and most of their works were imitations of the works of ancient masters (of course there were also creations in imitations of antiquity), forming a rigid situation that restricted the hands and feet of painters. The "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" writers also respect tradition, but they are different from the "authentic" ones. They inherited the creative methods of Shi Tao, Xu Wei, Zhu Da and others. They "learned their intention without looking at the signs" and did not adhere to the ancient method of copying. For example, Zheng Banqiao admired Shi Tao, and when he learned from Shi Tao, he also "left out half of it, and half of it did not mean that he had learned the whole thing." Shi Tao had an important influence on the formation of the artistic style of "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou". He proposed "learning from nature" and "using my own methods" and opposed "immuting the past". He asked painters to absorb creative materials from nature and emphasized that works must have a strong personality. He believes that "the men and eyebrows of the ancients cannot bear my appearance; the hearts and souls of the ancients cannot enter my belly and intestines. I use my heart and soul to reveal my men."
Shi Tao’s painting thoughts laid a theoretical foundation for the emergence of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" and their application in practice. The "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" found inspiration from nature and found themes from life. They were unique in their writing and did not want to be the same as others, which was refreshing at the time. People often regard things they rarely see as weird, so they feel novel about the works of "Eight Eccentrics" that express their own souls and gallop freely, and call them weird. There are also some painters who are accustomed to tradition and think that the paintings of the "Eight Monsters" are beyond the standards, so they belittle the Eight Monsters, saying that they are partial masters and heretics, saying that they "show newness for a while, and are only popular in a hundred miles." Appreciators praised their works for their unrestrained and free-flowing brushstrokes, which were not bound by established and ancient methods. They broke the rigid situation at that time, brought new vitality to Chinese painting, and influenced and nurtured later artists such as Zhao Zhiqian, Wu Changshuo, and Qi Baishi. Waiting for art masters. With high standards of conduct, they deeply abhorred the despicable, evil, slavish, flattery and other styles that were prevalent in the officialdom at that time.
Among the eight people, except Zheng Banqiao and Li Fangying who served as small county magistrates, the others all followed "Lu Lian" and "Jie Zhitui" as their role models throughout their lives and did not want to be officials until their death. Even Zheng Banqiao, who had been an official, was different from Chang Guan. When he took office in Shandong, he first dug hundreds of holes in the wall of the old government office and opened it to the street. He said that it was because "the former official was evil and tacky" and that he wanted to be an honest official. Most of the life interests of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" are integrated into poetry, calligraphy and painting, and they are never whitewashed. They used poetry and painting to reflect the suffering of the people, vent their inner anger and depression, and express their pursuit and yearning for beautiful ideals. This is the case with Zheng Banqiao's "Fighting Class", "Fugitive Journey" and "Escape from the Wilderness". The "Eight Eccentrics" like to draw plums, bamboos, stones and orchids the most. They expressed their aspirations with the pride of plum blossoms, the coldness of stone, the nobility of bamboo, and the fragrance of orchids. Among them, Luo Pin also likes to draw ghosts. The ghosts in his paintings are all kinds of. He explained that "there are ghosts everywhere with people." The characteristic of ghosts is that "when they meet rich people, they will snake along the walls, and when they meet poor people, they will crawl around." Treading one's feet, teasing hundreds of people." This is not a painting of ghosts. It is clearly through the ghost state that the human skin is torn off the bodies of those corrupt officials who tend to be in favor of others and oppress the poor, and return to their true colors. In an era when the feudal system was extremely cruel and literary inquisition was rampant, they dared to be different and unconventional. No wonder a governor at that time shook his head and said "weird, weird". When Deng Tuo was praising Zheng Banqiao, a famous painter from the Qing Dynasty, he once wrote, "Singing and singing about Yangzhou arouses strange names, and the shadows of orchids and bamboos accompany the sound of books." This can be regarded as a summary of their "weird" characteristics. The representative figure is loading the works of Jin Nong. Jin Nong (1687-1764), named Shoumen, nicknamed Dongxin, was born in Hangzhou and was known as the leader of the Eight Eccentrics.
He is knowledgeable and talented in water and figures, especially in plum blossoms. His paintings have ancient and simple shapes, elegant layouts, and innovative ideas. His works include "Dark Plum Blossom Picture", "Moon Flower Picture" and so on. He created a unique official script style, which he called "lacquer script", which is also interesting. Huang Shen (1687-after 1770), also known as Gongmao and nicknamed Yinglaiao, was born in Ninghua, Fujian. He came from a poor family when he was young, so he benefited from learning Huaisu calligraphy. He used cursive calligraphy to paint and created his own style. He was good at freehand brushwork with thick brush strokes and had the highest attainment in figure painting. Most of his works are about gods, Buddhas and Taoism, and there are also many works that reflect the lives of lower-class people in society. His works include "Drunk Sleep Picture", "Su Wu Shepherding Picture", etc. Li Wei (1686-1762), courtesy name Zongyang and nickname Futang, was born in Xinghua, Jiangsu.
He loved painting since childhood and became famous at the age of 16. He once served as the magistrate of Tengzhou County, Shandong Province. He was greatly influenced by Xu Wei and Shi Tao. His painting style is extensive and informal, with splashes of ink and elegant colors, and he uses "ink and wash to blend into strange things". His works include "Picture of Okra" and "Picture of Pine, Cypress and Orchid Stone". Li Fangying (1695-1755), courtesy name Qiuzhong and alias Qingjiang, was born in Nantong, Jiangsu Province. He served as county magistrate and prefect for about 20 years. He had a close friendship with Jin Nong and Zheng Xie. He was good at painting pine, bamboo, plum and orchid. In his later years, he specialized in painting plum blossoms. In a poem about the painting, he wrote: "This painting of plum blossoms is ordinary, and there is no curved strokes for people to see. The painter does not understand the customs, and there is no trace of horizontal lines in the brushstrokes." His works include "Picture of Swimming Fish", " "Xiaoxiang Wind Bamboo Picture" and so on. Gao Xiang (1688-1753), courtesy name Fenghan, also known as Xi Tang, was born in Yangzhou. Gao Xiang lived a poor life and had an arrogant personality. He admired Shi Tao throughout his life. He was good at painting landscapes, flowers and birds, and liked to paint sparse plum blossoms. His works include "Tandzhi Pavilion Picture" and so on.
Wang Shishen (1686--1759), courtesy name Jinren, nicknamed Chaolin, was from Xiuning, Anhui. When he was young, his family was poor, so he lived in Yangzhou and sold paintings to make a living. He lived in poverty and enjoyed Taoism, studied art intensively, and was good at painting plum blossoms. He, Jin Nong, Gao Xiang and Luo Pin were known as the four masters of plum painting at that time, and their works include "Ink Plum Blossom Picture" and so on. Loading Luo Pin's works Luo Pin (1733-1799), whose courtesy name was Xunfu and whose nickname was Liangfeng, was originally from She County, Anhui Province, and moved to Yangzhou. He is a disciple of Jin Nong. Among the "Eight Eccentrics", he is the youngest, but he has great knowledge and extraordinary writing skills. He stayed out of office all his life and made a living by selling paintings. He was in poverty all his life. His works include "Ghost Picture", "Drunken Zhongkui Picture", etc. Zheng Xie (1693-1765), courtesy name Kerou and Banqiao, was born in Xinghua, Jiangsu. He was a scholar of Kangxi, a scholar of Yongzheng, and a Jinshi of Qianlong. He once served as the magistrate of Fan County and Weixian County in Shandong Province. He offended his superiors by opening a warehouse to provide relief to the victims, so he resigned angrily and settled in Yangzhou to make a living selling paintings. He is particularly active in thought and quite original. He is highly accomplished in both poetry and painting, and is good at painting bamboo, orchid and stone. He also created a six-and-a-half-point calligraphy style that integrates Zhen, Cao, Li and Zhuan. It is known as the "stone-paved street". He is a painter with a strong people-oriented nature. When he was the magistrate of Weixian County, he painted a picture of bamboo for the governor, with the inscription: "I am lying in the office listening to the bamboos. I suspect it is the sound of suffering among the people. Some of the officials in Caozhou County, like me, , every branch and leaf is full of love. Bian Shoumin (1684-1752) was a famous flower-and-bird painter in the Qing Dynasty. His first name was Wei Qi, also known as Yigong, also known as Jianseng and Moxian, and was a scholar in Huai'an, Jiangsu. His artistic activities were during the reign of Yong (Zheng) and Qian (Long), and he was well known for his painting of reeds and flowers. His paintings of reeds with splashes of ink were vivid, simple and elegant, and they were full of flying sounds and food. The splash of ink is slightly tinged with ocher, and the brushstrokes are vigorous and full of character. He is also good at dry-rubbing sketches with light ink, which is even more wonderful because he painted the reed geese. "Weijian Bookstore". He is also good at poetry and Chinese calligraphy.