Li Yin
Elegant ink wash flower-and-bird paintings
Li Yin(李因) (born around 1610 according to one account, died in 1685, or born in 1616 according to another), courtesy name Jinsheng(今生), art name Shi'an(是庵), also known as Kanshan Yishi(龛山逸史) and Haichang Nushi(海昌女史), was a singer, poet, and painter at the end of the Ming and beginning of the Qing dynasty, from Qiantang (now Hangzhou) or Kuaiji (now Shaoxing). She grew up in a poor family and practiced calligraphy and painting using moss as paper and persimmon leaves as silk. She became famous in Hangzhou at the age of fifteen. At seventeen, she married Ge Zhengqi(葛徵奇) as his concubine and traveled with him along the Taihu and Yellow River regions. After her husband died in 1645 during the Shunzhi period, she lived alone for forty years, making a living through weaving and selling her paintings. Li Yin excelled in ink wash paintings of flowers and birds, learning from Mi Fu, Mi Youren, and Chen Chun. Her style was fresh, elegant, and unrestrained, breaking the delicate and weak aesthetic typical for women at the time. Her surviving works include "Reed and Wild Geese," "Pine and Eagle," and "Lotus and Mandarins." The Palace Museum holds her fan painting "Flowers." Her poetry collections include "Bamboo Smile Studio Poetry Drafts" and "Bamboo Smile Studio Poetry Continuations," covering travels and painting inscriptions. Her lyrics were graceful and unique, and she also wrote the Buddhist work "Record of Enlightened Mind." Alongside Liu Rusi and Wang Xiuwu, she was considered one of the three great female literary figures of the late Ming. In her later years, her creations became even more free-spirited and elegant, especially her silk-and-ink "Peony Painting," which showcases her unique brushwork.