Wu Daozi (680-759) was named Daoxuan by Xuanzong. He was the largest painter in China in the Tang Dynasty, and was honored as a "painting saint" by later generations (Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty in 847), and was honored as the founder of the mountain by folk painters. Painting history is called warrior sage. Yangzhai, Henan (now Yuzhou, Henan) was born in Tang Gaozong (about 685) and died in Tang Suzong (about 758). Little lonely, according to legend, he studied under Zhang Xu and He, but failed to do so, but switched to painting. He used to be an official of the Wei shogunate and a county commander of Yanzhou (now Yanzhou, Shandong Province). When Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty roamed Luoyang, he heard his name, served as a doctor in the inner corner, became friends with Ning, changed his name to Daoxuan, and painted in the imperial court. During the Kaiyuan period, Xuanzong knew his name and called him into the palace to teach the children of Neigong to learn painting because he taught doctors in Neigong. Later, he taught Wang Ning, the younger brother of Xuanzong, to learn painting, and was promoted to Wang Ningyou from the fifth grade. In Taoism, people even call it "Wu Daozhen Jun" and "Wu Zhenren". Su Dongpo said in the article "Painting after Wu Daozi": "Poetry is about (Du Fu), literature is about Han Tuizhi (Han Yu), book is about Yan (Yan Zhenqing), painting is about Wu Daozi, and the changes of ancient and modern times can make the world complete!" Generations of masters have been handed down from generation to generation.
He lost his parents when he was a child and lived in poverty. In order to make a living, he learned from folk painters and sculptors. Thanks to his hard work and outstanding talent, he was already famous at the age of 20. The emperor of the Tang Dynasty called him into the palace as a court painter and renamed him Daoxuan. As a royal painter, he can't paint without the emperor's order. In this way, on the one hand, it is a constraint and restriction for an artist with a strong sense of common people, on the other hand, he gets the most generous living conditions, no longer wanders around, and can display his artistic talent. Wu Daozi is generous and likes to draw when he is drunk. Legend has it that when he painted the round lamp on the Buddha's head in murals, he used a pen instead of a ruler. When painting in longxing temple, the audience was packed. He painted quickly, like a whirlwind, in one go. Chang 'an, the capital at that time, was the cultural center of China, where many famous literati and painters gathered. Wu Daozi often stays with these people to promote each other and improve their skills.
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In the history of ancient art in China, three artists were called "saints": one was Wang Xizhi of the Jin Dynasty (AD 265-420), who was called a book saint; One is Du Fu in the Tang Dynasty (AD 6 18-907), known as a poet saint; There is also a painting saint, Wu Daozi in the Tang Dynasty.
Wu Daozi's main activities in his life were in the years of Kaiyuan and Tianbao in the Tang Dynasty (7 13-755). Wu Daozi was born in Yangzhai (now Yuzhou City, Henan Province), and Wu Daozi is an all-round painter. People, ghosts and gods, landscapes, pavilions, flowers and trees, birds and animals can do anything. The Tianbao period of Kaiyuan is the heyday of Wu Daozi's painting creation. At this time, in addition to a large number of scroll paintings, he left more than 300 murals in Luoyang and Chang 'an temples alone. According to the Song Huizong Evonne personally presided over the compilation of the "Painting Spectrum of Xuanhe", hundreds of years later, during the Xuanhe period of the Song Dynasty (119-1125), there were 93 scroll paintings by Wu Daozi in the court. At present, there are still 39 1 paintings, inscriptions, paintings, poems, postscript, oral paintings and overseas relics related to Wu Daozi. The recognized representative works of Wu's paintings include The Picture of the Heavenly King Sending a Son, The Volume of Eighty-seven Immortals, The Statue of Confucius, The Statue of Bodhisattva, The Statue of Ghost Bo and so on. The existing original murals include Cloud Rain, Vimalakirti Statue and Xianning in the World. At present, there are "Bogart Buddha", "Guan Gong" and "Baizi Map" in Taiwan Province Province. There are also some original imitations, such as Wu Daozi Baye Tathagata Painting (Seven Paintings), Shaolin Guanyin, Daxiong Zhenxiang, etc. There are 50 German Daozi Mo Bao and 6 Japanese Valley Maps. Although Wu Daozi created many works in his life, there are few authentic works handed down from generation to generation.
The era of Wu Daozi's activities is the era of strong national strength, economic prosperity and rapid development of culture and art in the Tang Dynasty. Luoyang and Chang 'an, both capitals in the Tang Dynasty, were national cultural centers. Painters inherit Yan and Wei Chiyi, just like the bright stars. "History of Famous Paintings in Past Dynasties" said: "In the 230 years since the prosperous Tang Dynasty, there have been many strange people, with the same eyes and ears, and the largest number." For example, Wu Daozi, Wang Wei, Zhang Qi, Li Sixun, Cao Ba, Chen Hong, Yang Tingguang, Lu Lengjia, Xiangrong, Liang Lingzan, Natalie, Yang Huizhi, Wei Wushi and Huang Fu were all great painters at that time. As a result, many famous artists and thousands of folk painters competed for each other, and the prosperity of painting became a grand view.
Under the influence of this environment, Wu Daozi grew up rapidly with outstanding talent. The appearance of Wu Daozi is a glorious page in the history of figure painting in China. He absorbed folk and foreign painting styles and established a new national style, which was called "Wu Jiaxiang" by the world. As far as figure painting is concerned, "Wuzhuang" painting shines in the painting world with a new national style. The poet Du Fu called him a painter. Wu Daozi is also honored as the "painting sage of one hundred generations". Wu Daozi was regarded as the founder of the craftsmen's guild engaged in painting and sculpture in past dynasties. This shows his position in China's painting history. He has made more than 400 Buddhist murals in Chang 'an and Luoyang temples, with different situations; Put pen to paper, start from the arm, or start from the foot, without losing proportion. Write the Buddha statue with a round lamp. The beam or bow of the building column is quite sharp and does not need a round ruler. He used the brushwork of orchid leaves or water shield to express the folds of clothes, which made him feel high, and was called "the wind in the Five Dynasties". He performed paintings in public at Xingshan Temple in Chang 'an, and Chang 'an citizens, supporters and young people flocked to watch. When they saw Wu's "straight sweep, like a whirlwind", they were all amazed and shouted with a wave of their hands.