The Art of Chinese Flower and Bird Paitings

This genre of art originated from a remote past.The patterns of flowers and birds on the primitive coloured potteries,the like designs on the bronze vessels,the phoenixes in the paintings on silk of the Warring States Period,and the roseflinches in the same ones of the Western Han Dynasty--all these constituted the images of flowers and birds,which were characterized by ancient plainness and simplicity,yet adorned with bright colours.
But this genre of art did not become an entirely separate one on its own merit until the mid- and late- Tang Dynasty.Such artists as Bian Luan,Xue Ji and Diao Guangyin had played a decisive role in contributing to the independence of this genre.

Huang Quan under the Xishu dynastic rule and Xu Xi under the Nantang dynastic rule during the Five Dynasties period both added shine to the flower-and-bird paintings with the styles of their own.The Northern Song Dynasty's artists Zhao Chang and Yi Yuanju instilled vitality into the,and then Cui Bai and Wu Yuanyu endowed the already full-grown and mellow genre of art with still greater charm through their artistic conceptions,which spelled out vivacity,succinctness and profundity.The images they created on white silk could well be mistaken as real flowers and birds.By this time,the techniques of true-to-reality depiction can be said to have reached the peak of perfection.

Then,Zhang Zhong in the Yuan Dynasty put out the pioneering feat of outlining the flowers and dotting the leaves,which was a real eye-opener to people.Thereafter,Xu Wei's ink splashes,Bada Shanren reduced strokes,and the skills of Yun Shouping,Wang Wu,Hua Yan,Li Shan,Ren Yi and Wu Changshuo,each with his own special style,helped shape up the situation of "a hundred flower bloom"that would compose a flourishing scene all along without any sign of fading.

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