Bi Botao is one of the three components of the "Eight Friends of Zhushan", that is, from a cultural man to a porcelain painter. He lived in Boyang and studied painting under Zhang Yunshan. This was another choice in his life after the fall of the Qing Dynasty and his official career was hopeless. Under the influence of the painted porcelain from Jingdezhen, a frequent resident of Zhang Yunshan, Bi Botao completed a two-way transfer from Boyang to Jingdezhen, and from paper painting to porcelain painting. At the beginning of his stay in Jingdezhen, Bi Botao devoted himself to learning art. As his contacts continued to expand, he met Wang Qi, Wang Dafan, Wang Yeting, Wang Dacang and other celebrities in the Jingdezhen porcelain art circle, and was able to learn and explore the painting style of the Silla Mountain people, and in porcelain Great progress has been made in art and painting. Especially in the 20 years after joining the "Full Moon Society" in 1928, Bi Botao entered a prosperous period of artistic creation and successively created "Eight Hundred Thousand Autumn Pictures", "Squirrel and Persimmon Fruit Picture", "Chrysanthemum Bird Picture", "Heroic Independence" "Picture of Two Birds with Ancient Plum Blossoms", "Picture of Bird Music" and other porcelain plate paintings and paper paintings such as "Picture of Autumn Chrysanthemum Teapot", etc.
Bi Botao's representative work - the pastel porcelain plate painting "Bird Music", fully demonstrates his elegant, fresh and meaningful painting style. The composition of this porcelain plate painting is composed of two parts: the myna and the wicker. The willow leaves are elegant and the wicker is a work of art. The movement of the myna when combing its feathers is vividly displayed on the paper. The movements are accurately grasped and painted gracefully. What is particularly ingenious is that the starling in the picture has his back to the viewer, but his head is turned back to stare at himself. Against the background of the soft willow branches, it not only shows the power of gaze in the picture, but also reveals the author's wandering after the fall of the Qing Dynasty. At the crossroads of the times, the inner conflict and pain of not knowing where to go are also reflected in the charm of the Silla Sanin School of painting.
Bi Botao's poetry and calligraphy also show his skill. The title of "The Picture of Two Birds on Ancient Plum Blossoms" expresses the noble personality expressed in the title "The older the ancient plums become, the more they become energetic as they grow older. The frost is their own food and the snow is treasured. When it is so cold that it is clear to the bones, I realize that the bright moon is the predecessor"; the title of "The Picture of Autumn Chrysanthemum Teapot" The wit and wisdom displayed in the poem "The tea is ripe, the chrysanthemums are blooming, people are admiring the autumn, and the future is coming" are pleasing to the eye.
Bi Botao's artistic career spanned half a century from a down-and-out scholar to a porcelain painting artist. Although there are not many surviving works, they are exquisite. Among them, there are many matching works painted together with seven other painting friends. They are cherished by collectors at home and abroad and valued by various museums. Singaporean collectors deliberately collected his paintings of kingfishers and everlasting chrysanthemums. Because he was good at writing poems and his literary talents were among the "Eight Friends", he often discussed porcelain paintings and poems with the Eight Friends, and made outstanding contributions to improving the overall cultural taste of the "Eight Friends of Zhushan". His artistic achievements are also reflected in the cultivation of talents for the inheritance of Jingdezhen's porcelain paintings, so that there will be successors to the art of porcelain making in New China. Among the group of professional painters he trained, Bi Yuanming, a ceramic artist known as the outstanding ceramic artist in Jingdezhen ceramic painting circle, is an outstanding representative.