Characteristics of ancient fish paintings

Tang Dynasty: According to Sleeping Travels, Li Sixun once painted a fish, but before he could draw the background of aquatic plants, a guest knocked at the door and had to be received. When he came back, he couldn't find the painting he had just finished. Let the boy look around and find that it was blown into the pool by the wind. When he picked it up, it turned into a blank sheet of paper. Not long after, he found a fish exactly like the one he painted in the pool. He drew a few more fish and threw them into the water. He found that they all left the drawing paper and swam around in the water like real fish, but they didn't disperse after a day.

It means that the painting is very vivid.

At the end of Ming Dynasty and the beginning of Qing Dynasty, the painting "The Cuttlefish Map" by "Badashanren", in which the fish's eyes are wide open, is called "glaring fish". The main implication of the author's exaggerated artistic technique is that it reflects the changes of the times, social unrest and dissatisfaction with reality.

"Fish Le Tu" in the Southern Song Dynasty and Zhou Dynasty (meticulous painting): The expression in the painting is mostly boneless, supplemented by light color, light ink or extremely light brushwork. First, the fish shape is drawn, and then the scales and stripes are slightly drawn with thin lines. Duckweed is dyed with lighter ink, vividly creating a looming shape. The exquisite performance of pen and ink makes the whole picture show a flowing rhythm, which embodies the wanton vitality of fish.