Liang Shimin
Akribischer Blumenmaler der Nord-Song
Liang Shimin(梁师闵), a painter of the Northern Song Dynasty, also called Shi Min(士闵), courtesy name Xunde(循德), was from the capital (today's Kaifeng, Henan Province). His birth and death years are unknown. He gained a position through family influence, serving as an official in the Right Department, later as Left Martial Attendant, Governor of Zhongzhou, and Inspector of the Western Capital’s Chongfu Palace. He was skilled in poetry and painting, excelling in flowers, bamboo, and bird-and-animal painting, and also did landscapes. His paintings often followed the Jiangnan painting style, with precise and careful brushwork that was delicate yet not loose, meticulous but not rigid. He valued rules and structure, so his works had few flaws. Critics said: ‘His work comes from what he was tasked to do, not necessarily from what he personally felt; it follows the forms, not what the forms restrict. Generally, restrictions can allow freedom, but where there is freedom, restraining it is impossible. Liang Shimin’s paintings were at the stage of rising but not yet fully free, aiming for that freedom.’ Because of a lack of creativity, he didn’t reach the peak of his era, which is quite regrettable. His representative works include 'Willow Creek after Rain' and 'Dense Snow on Reed Bank.' The latter is a unique surviving copy housed in the Palace Museum, depicting a small scene of dense snow covering sandy hills, riverbanks, and reeds, blending landscape with bird-and-flower elements—a fine example of lake-and-sky scenery. Its mounting style serves as a relatively complete model for studying the ancient 'Xuanhe mounting' technique.