Shitao

1642-1707 Chinese

Innovative ink painter and theorist

Shitao (1642–1707) was a painter from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. His family name was Zhu, his given name was Ruoji, and his childhood name was Achang. As a monk, he was called Yuanji, sometimes referred to as Yuanji. He had several other names and aliases, including Shitao, Dadi Zi, Dungen, Shidaoren, Mad Melon Monk, Blind Reverend, Qingxiang Chenren, Qingxiang Elder, Qingxiang Survivor, and Lingding Elder. He was from Quanzhou, Guangxi (now Quanzhou County), and was the son of Zhu Hengjia, Prince Jingjiang of the Ming dynasty. At the end of the Ming dynasty, he became a monk and, along with Hongren, Kun Can, and Zhu Da, was known as one of the “Four Monks of the Late Ming.” Shitao is a highly significant figure in the history of Chinese painting. He was both a practical explorer and innovator in painting, as well as an art theorist. Shitao became a monk after hardships in his early life. He once studied under the famous monk Luan, loved to travel, and frequently visited Jingting Mountain, Huangshan, Nanjing, and Yangzhou. He resided at Guangjiao Temple on Jingting Mountain in Xuancheng, Anhui, and spent much of his later life wandering and earning a living by selling paintings. In his later years, he settled in Yangzhou, where he devoted himself to creating art until his death. In his early years, he learned landscape painting styles from the Song and Yuan dynasties, producing works that were elegant, delicate, and clear. In his later years, his brushwork became bold and expressive, with dynamic ink techniques. He innovated the “ten thousand dots of dark ink” method and used cut-off composition in paintings. He was particularly skilled at small album pages; his flowers were lively and vivid, with a natural, fresh charm; his figures were straightforward and rustic, with a unique style. He was also skilled in calligraphy, with his small script deeply reflecting the essence of Zhong Yao. His work on the full scroll of the Dao De Jing, containing over five thousand characters, is preserved in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Shitao was also able to write poetry and prose. Existing works include *Shitao’s One Hundred Arhats Album*, *Sketching the Peaks*, *Landscape with Clear Sounds*, *Bamboo and Rock*, and *Ink Plum Album*. He authored *The Paintings and Sayings of the Mad Melon Monk*, where he proposed theories such as “Discussing Painting with One Stroke,” “Sketching All the Strange Peaks,” and “Brush and Ink Should Follow the Times.”