Shi Tao (about 1642-1718) was originally named Zhu Ruoji. He was the tenth grandson of Zhu Zanyi, King of Jingjiang in Ming Dynasty, and was born in Guilin. His father, Heng Jia, claimed to be the supervisor of the country in the second year of Shunzhi in Qing Dynasty (1645), and was defeated and captured by the governor of Guangxi in the Ming Dynasty. If he was taken away from Quanzhou by eunuchs, he later entered Xiangshan Temple as a monk, whose legal name was Yuan Ji and the word Shi Tao. Study hard at poetry, books and paintings in the temple. The commonly used names in the back paintings are: Da Di Zi, Momordica Charantia Monk (the old man), Qing Xiang Lao (Chen, the legacy), Qing Xiang Zhi's servant, Xiang Yuan Lao, Zero Ding Lao, Blind Zun Zi, Gao Zi, Xiao Bing Ke and so on. In the title and seal, the word "Qingxiang" (the name of Quanzhou county in the Five Dynasties from Jin to Yuan) is often used before Shi Tao, Da Di Zi, Blind Zun Zi and Gao Zi to show his attachment to Quanzhou, which grew up in Sri Lanka. ?
a little longer, Shi Tao left Quanzhou and traveled all over Hunan, Hubei, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other places of interest. He lived in Jingting Mountain and Huangshan Mountain in Xuancheng, Anhui Province for about 1 years, made friends with painters, and then went to Nanjing (Jiangning). Although he was released, he did not break away from the secular concept of fame and fortune and wanted to be reused by the Qing court. During the two southern tours in the 23rd year of Kangxi (1684) and 28th year of Kangxi (1689), the sage of Qing Dynasty received the driver twice in Nanjing and Yangzhou, and presented poems and paintings, calling himself a "minister monk". Later, he went north to the capital, made friends with the assistant generals Bordu, the ministers of the Ministry of Commerce Wang and other dignitaries, and painted for them. However, in the end, because he was a descendant of the Ming dynasty and a monk, he had no hope of making progress, but returned to Nanjing to abolish the "minister monk Yuan Jiyin". He lived in Nanjing for about 8 years, and finally settled in Yangzhou, where he worked as a painter and made a living by selling paintings. He summarized and sorted out his experience and theory in painting practice for many years, which made his works more mature and colorful in his later years. ?
Shi Tao was one of the four painting monks in the early Qing Dynasty (the others were Hong Ren, Kun Can and Badashan). With his profound cultural accomplishment and unique life experience, he deliberately highlighted "innovation" in painting practice and theory. He inherited the tradition of predecessors, but opposed "I am a slave of a certain family" and "eating the leftovers of a certain family", and advocated "I am what I am" and "the law stands on its own". Painting should observe and look for materials from the realistic landscapes and scenery, but it is by no means a simple copy. Instead, it should have its own thoughts, understandings and feelings, "search for all the strange peaks and draft" (known as "the spirit of Huangshan Mountain"), so that "mountains and rivers are born out of it", "painting is influenced by ink, pen is influenced by wrist, wrist is influenced by heart" and express its feelings through painting. He also advocated that "pen and ink should keep pace with the times" and "create the present" on the basis of learning from the past. He is good at painting landscapes, orchids, bamboos, flowers, fruits and figures, with a wide range of subjects and diverse styles, especially for running wild and unrestrained. Inherited and developed the literati tradition of "painting with books", and integrated with the overall artistic composition of the whole painting to achieve unity and harmony. It embodies its spirit of "innovation" that breaks away from the old stereotypes. ?
He was one of the most creative artists in China in the 17th century. His aloof and confident personality, extraordinary artistic understanding and enterprising spirit decided him to climb to a new peak in the history of China fine arts.
Shi Tao's painting style is lush and unrestrained, and his layout is extremely dangerous. His works show the abundant life force of all things in the universe with great momentum.
"Mountains and rivers have disappeared when they meet with God, so they all end up in great cleansing." Shi Tao said.
Shi Tao always puts his personal subjective feelings and feelings in the first place in his creation. His great achievements in landscape painting lie not only in his extensive travel and careful observation of famous mountains and rivers, but also in his innate tolerance and characteristics.
He totally puts his personal feelings into the mysterious scenes of nature, and transcends the conventions of his predecessors through his unusually unrestrained feelings and sense of mission.
In his drama "Searching for the Qifeng Draft Map", the forest is full of green drops, the waterfall is suspended, and the momentum of harmony and muddy runs through the whole work. The mottled ink in front of us seems to be chaotic and chaotic, and it is full of force in an instant, and a powerful power mixed with excitement and lack of embankment emerges from the paper. In this perceptual space composed of bold and unrestrained lines, Shi Tao also uses the characteristics of ink dots to the extreme.
The axis of Lotus Picture is another outstanding work of Shi Tao. Lotus leaves, lotus leaves and weeds are intertwined in the picture, and the shades of ink set off each other. I saw vigorous strokes criss-crossing, which greatly shocked the clouds. In "Searching for the Qifeng Draft Map" and "Lotus Map", Shi Tao's self-discipline lines and spatial expressions tend to completely project the vitality of natural objects and personal inner passion into the picture.