Introducing Song Dynasty literati painting

The development of Chinese painting to the Song and Yuan Dynasties, a significant change occurred, which is the emergence of a more rigorous style of painting popular since the Tang Dynasty seems to be the brush, not to seek the likeness of the new style of painting, and soon became popular among the scholarly literati.

Before the emergence of this style of painting, painting a skill mainly by professional painters, so the more social status of the literati mostly look down on the attitude; and after the emergence of this new style of painting, initially mastered this new style of painting is mostly a number of famous scribes, and then the literati also competed to follow suit, and instead of being able to paint for the elegance of the literati.

Therefore, the later called this by the literati advocated, advocated and practiced the style of painting for the literati painting. After the emergence of literati painting, there are different names for it.

Song Kang and the so-called "hermit painting", Liu Xueji so-called "painting Shi" painting, Su Shi so-called "scholar painting" and so on.

From the point of view of its concept as a counterpart to the traditional "painter's painting", they all refer to literati painting.

In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, this new style of painting soon became popular among the scholars.

After the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, a large number of literati painters appeared in the history of painting, and almost all of them were related to Su Shi in some way, which may not be an accident of history.

Su Shi said in the book Mochizuki Lantian Smoke and Rain Poem: "Taste Mochizuki's poetry, poetry has a painting; view Mochizuki's painting, painting has a poem.

In this most famous statement, the most important thing for the theory of literati painting is the four words "poetry in painting".

The so-called "poetry in painting" is in fact a clear statement that literati painting should have more than painting, in the depiction of tangible things within the more rich intangible content; is a clear statement that painting and poetry, not only to be "difficult to write the scene as at present

This is also the later literati painting heavy mood, heavy style, heavy author of the beginning of learning.

As literati painting emphasized "poetry in painting", it brought about a series of changes in technique, making literati painting have a set of techniques very different from traditional painting, and finally even affecting the tools and materials used in literati painting, such as paper, brush, and so on, also gradually different from traditional painting.

Thus, understanding the content of Su Shi's theory of "poetry in painting" is a prerequisite for understanding literati painting as an art form.