Zhao Mengfu created a lot of works about horses in his life, such as Bathing Horses, Drinking Horses in Autumn Suburbs and Riding Horses. His horse painting style originated from Li in Song Dynasty, and created a new literati style on the basis of absorbing the advantages of predecessors. He advocated that "painting is expensive and has ancient meaning". Most of his horse paintings are the combination of horses and natural environment, with a strong flavor of life and the charm of literati's ancient style.
"Ancient Wood Scattering Horse Map" is the most personal work among Zhao Mengfu's existing works in Yuan Dynasty. Created on 1269, this paper-based ink painting is 29.8cm long and 7 1.7cm wide, and is now in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. This painting is represented by two ancient trees and two fine horses in ink and wash. Although it shows the combination of horses and ancient trees, it is full of literati's escape, light dust removal and emotional charm. The ancient trees bend and stretch, setting each other off into interest; It is difficult to draw a horse, but accurate and easy to describe. The painting method of "Ancient Wood Scattering Horse Map" is very different from the tradition of painting horses by famous artists before. It is neither a meticulous painting nor a pure white painting, but more like a small freehand brushwork in ink and wash, or a small freehand brushwork by literati.
This painting uses simple and plain thin lines and light ink to outline the shape, which is different from traditional meticulous painting. It expresses the mind in a casual way and embodies the author's new Chinese painting concept of painting with calligraphy and painting with intention. In rendering, it is also different from the traditional horse painting, which uses light ink dry pen to describe the fine structure and scratches instead of hook dyeing. This picture is drawn with simple strokes and light ink. It is elegant, smooth and powerful, filled with a quaint and distant atmosphere, and has strong literati characteristics.
As a new technique for drawing horses, The Ancient Wood Scattered Horse Map was deeply loved by scholars once it was published. The systematic evolution of China's horse painting art from the traditional style of Tang and Song Dynasties to the literati's freehand brushwork style began in the Yuan Dynasty, and it was Zhao Mengfu who triggered this change. His thoughts on Chinese painting, such as "painting is precious with ancient meaning", "nature is a teacher", "painting and calligraphy are the same" and "how to write everlasting regret songs by a painter without fake", have far-reaching influence.