Li Shida
Pintura satírica de costumbres
Li Shida (李士達) (c. mediados del siglo XVI – principios del siglo XVII), cuyo nombre de cortesía era Tongfu (通甫) y nombre artístico Yang Huai (仰槐) (también escrito como Yang Huai (仰懷)), era originario de Suzhou, en la provincia de Jiangsu (algunos dicen que de Sanyuan, en Shaanxi), y más tarde vivió retirado en Suzhou. Se convirtió en jinshi (graduado de los exámenes imperiales) en el segundo año del reinado de Wanli (1574). Pintor de la dinastía Ming, destacaba en la pintura de figuras y paisajes, y propuso las teorías pictóricas de las «Cinco Bellezas» (Cang (蒼), Yi (逸), Qi (奇), Yuan (远), Yun (韵)) y los «Cinco Males» (Nen (嫩), Ban (板), Ke (刻), Sheng (生), Chi (痴)). He was naturally independent and did not flatter the powerful. In the 29th year of Wanli (1601), when the eunuch tax inspector Sun Long gathered a crowd in Suzhou, everyone knelt, but Li Shida saluted with a long bow and walked away. As a result, he was pursued and later lived in seclusion in Xinguo, Suzhou. During his seclusion, he focused on his art. His works covered subjects including scholars, Buddhist and Daoist deities, spirits, and social satire, such as "Gathering of Elegant Scholars in the Western Garden" (Suzhou Museum), "Cold Forest Zhong Kui" (1611), and "Three Camels," the latter using ink cartoon style for satirical meaning, now in the Palace Museum, Beijing. He also created the "Xunyang Pipa Scroll" to express dissatisfaction with the world. He was skilled at depicting scholars’ gatherings and New Year customs, with works like "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove" (done at age 67), "Wan Yu Reciting Immortals Scroll" (depicting the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, Hengshui Chinese Painting Museum); "New Year Poem Scroll" (1615, Seikado Bunko Art Museum, Japan), and "New Year Village Celebration Scroll" (1618, color on paper, 132.9 cm high × 64 cm wide, Palace Museum, Beijing), the latter detailing Wu region New Year rituals. In his later years, he painted "Immortal Mountains and Pavilions" (Nanjing Museum, 167.7 cm high × 79.2 cm wide) with strong, rounded lines. Li Shida set a personal rule to "paint only Chinese painting and critique only Chinese painting for life" and, in his old age, used the theory of the “Five Beauties and Five Evils” to evaluate art.