Li Cheng, Fan Kuan and their schools of landscape painting in the Northern Song Dynasty

Li Cheng Li Cheng (?-967), named Xianxi, his ancestor was a member of the Tang clan, and he took refuge in Yingqiu, Qingzhou (now Shandong) in the later Zhou Dynasty. He was born into a noble family and had literary talent. He was frustrated due to changes in the world and loved drinking and traveling. He is good at painting landscapes for his own entertainment. On the basis of inheriting the achievements of his predecessors, he pushed the expressive content and expressive techniques of landscape painting to further development. Records say that his landscape paintings not only show the changes in the image of mountains and rivers, but also emphasize the characteristics of seasonal climate. The most prominent one is the creation of the image of "cold forest". Not many of his paintings have been handed down from generation to generation, and many of the existing "Hanlin Pictures" are assumed to be his works, but in fact most of them were imitated by later generations. Only the "Reading Stone Tablets" hidden in Japan has been confirmed as authentic. The painting depicts a knight who stopped to look at an ancient monument during his journey. The knight and knight were painted by Wang Xiao, a painter of the same period, and the background was painted by Li Cheng. The wasteland is empty, the land is cold and barren, and old branches and dead leaves are scattered, creating a desolate scene. Works attributed to Li Cheng include "Maolin Yuanxiu Picture" and "Small Cold Forest Picture" collected by the Liaoning Provincial Museum, "Fishing Boat Picture in the Cold Forest" collected by the National Palace Museum in Taiwan, and "Qingluan Xiao Temple Picture" collected by the Nelson Museum of Art in the United States. wait. "Qiao Songping Yuan Tu" collected in Japan's Chenghuaitang Library, depicts lush forests and distant mountains, pavilions and pavilions. The composition has the characteristics of the early Northern Song Dynasty. It is an authentic work of Li Cheng, but some experts believe it is the work of Yan Wengui. "Picture of Xiaosi in Qingluan" is also a work of the Northern Song Dynasty. Although the author cannot be identified as Li Cheng, there is no doubt that the landscape of the early Northern Song Dynasty has important research value. Other works are mostly from the Song Dynasty and are of a later date. Mi Fu (1051-1107), named Yuanzhang, also known as Lumen Jushi, Xiangyang Manshi, and Haiyue Waishi. His ancestral home was Taiyuan. He later moved to Xiangyang, Hubei, and settled in Runzhou in his later years. He has known Yongqiu County, Lianshui Army, Dr. Dachang, and Zhiwuwei Army. He was a doctor of calligraphy and painting during Huizong's reign, and was promoted to be a member of the Ministry of Rites, Wailang, and was known as "Minangong". He later died in Huaiyang Military Administration Office. He was a man of great talent, crazy and unrestrained, and he imitated the people of the Tang Dynasty, so he was known as "Mi Dian". He is good at painting landscapes with ink and wash, and he is devoted to painting without paying any attention to detail. He created the "Mijiashan" painting method. He also likes to paint portraits of ancient sages. The only painting that can be seen today is a branch of coral painted on the back of his calligraphy work "Coral Tie" in the Palace Museum. The brushwork is as smooth as writing.

Mi Youren (1068-1165), named Yuanhui, was the eldest son of Mi Fu. From official position to minister of the Ministry of Industry, he became a bachelor of Fuwen Pavilion. Together with his father, he is called "Da and Xiaomi". The son inherited his father's legacy and created a new painting method of "Mijia Landscape", "a bit of smoke and cloud, made hastily, without losing innocence." There are many paintings handed down from generation to generation. The Palace Museum has two volumes of "Pictures of Wonders of Xiaoxiang" and "Pictures of Ink Play on Yunshan Mountains". The Shanghai Museum has a volume of "Pictures of Xiaoxiang White Clouds" and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the United States has a volume of "Pictures of Yunshan Mountains". The above paintings were entirely made with ink and wash, without any scratchy strokes. They used the blurring effect of the interpenetration of ink and water to express the misty Jiangnan landscape, known historically as "Mi Dian Cha" or "Luo Jie Cha". This innovative painting method expanded and enriched the form and expressive power of Chinese landscape painting, contained richness in simplicity, and made landscape painting more in line with the interest of literati painting. It had a great influence on later generations. Later literati painters repeatedly used " "Yunshan Ink Opera" is the theme of the creation.

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