Bird-and-flower painting, called () in Chinese, is a kind of

Chinese painting Chinese painting () is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. Painting in the traditional style is known today in Chinese as ''guó huà'' (), meaning "national painting" or "native painting", as opposed to Western style ...

with a long tradition in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and is considered one of the treasures of

Chinese culture Chinese culture () is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and traditions varying grea ...

. The was named after its subject matter. It originated in the Tang dynasty where it gained popularity, matured at the of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

and during the

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...

, and fully reached its peak during the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

where it clearly became socially relevant in Chinese culture. Normally, most paintings belong to the scholar-artist style of Chinese painting. The became prevalent in

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

, where it was introduced in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

during the 14th century and was introduced in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

Intended purpose and cultural significance

According to Chinese tradition, the covers "flowers, birds, fish, and insects" (); thus, it can deal with a wide range of natural topics, including flowers, fish, insects, birds, pets (dogs, cats), etc. The paintings are inspired by the resilience and the beauty of the flowers and birds found in

nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

. The intended purpose of the was not simply imitate nature, but to use different painting styles to convey the personality and ideas of the artist. In Chinese culture, different types of birds and flowers held their own symbolic meanings; with some of them even holdings auspicious meanings, scholarly and human virtues, as well as principles. Scholars-artists, in particular, developed a freehand-style painting as a mean to express their emotions and considered Chinese calligraphy and poetry as being an integral component of their painting by giving their ares with a deeper spiritual meaning.

Schools and great artists

Autumn flowers and white pheasants 秋花白鷴图

The is proper of 10th century China; and the most representative artists of this period are Huang Quan () (c. 900 – 965), who was an imperial painter for many years, and Xu Xi () (937–975), who came from a prominent family but had never entered into officialdom.Both Huang Quan and Xu Xi were masters of their two schools. The first school, led by Huang Quan, was characterized by an "outline" method of brush work, with emphasis on bright colours filling a meticulously outline (). Huang Quan used to paint based on exotic flowers, herbs, rare birds and animals which were found in the imperial gardens and palaces; his paintings were characterized by their meticulous nature as well as the bright colours. Huang Quan's painting style was thus acclaimed as (). The second school was led by Xu Xi whose paintings style became known as ().His school was typically characterized with the use techniques associated with ink wash painting ().Marco, Meccarelli. 2015.
"Chinese Painters in Nagasaki: Style and Artistic Contaminatio during the Tokugawa Period (1603–1868)"
Ming Qing Studies 2015, Pages 175–236. These two schools would have important influences on paintings of the later centuries.

Varieties based on painting technique

According to painting technique: * Ink wash painting (水墨花鳥/水墨花鳥畫). Representatives:

Lin Liang Lin Liang () (ca. 1424－1500) was a Chinese imperial painter of plum, flower, and fruit works during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). Lin was born in Nanhai in the Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwang ...

( 林良),

Qi Baishi Qi Baishi (1 January 1864 – 16 September 1957) was a Chinese painter, noted for the whimsical, often playful style of his works. Born to a peasant family from Xiangtan, Hunan, Qi taught himself to paint, sparked by the Manual of the Musta ...

( 齊白石),

Zhang Daqian Chang Dai-chien or Zhang Daqian (; 10 May 1899 – 2 April 1983) was one of the best-known and most prodigious Chinese artists of the twentieth century. Originally known as a '' guohua'' (traditionalist) painter, by the 1960s he was also renowned ...

( 張大千) *Fine-brush (工筆花鳥/工筆花鳥畫) **Fine-brush with Ink and Wash Painting (工筆水墨/兼工帶水墨). Representatives:

( 林良),

Ren Yi Ren Yi (; 1840–1896), also known as Ren Bonian, was a painter and son of a rice merchant who supplemented his income by doing portraits. He was born in Zhejiang, but after the death of his father in 1855 he lived in Shanghai. This move placed hi ...

( 任頤) **Fine-brush with Colour (工彩) *** Fine-brush with Heavy Colour (工筆重彩) *** Fine-brush with Light Colour (工筆淡彩). Representatives: Emperor Huizong ( 趙佶), Lü Ji ( 呂紀),

( 林良) *Freehand style (寫意花鳥/寫意花鳥畫) **Great Freehand style (大寫意) **Slight Freehand style (小寫意). Representatives:

Tang Yin Tang Yin (; 1470–1524), courtesy name Bohu (), was a Chinese painter, calligrapher, and poet of the Ming dynasty period. Even though he was born during the Ming dynasty, many of his paintings, especially those of people, were illustrated with el ...

( 唐寅),

Xu Wei Xu Wei (, 1521–1593), other department Qingteng Shanren (), was a Chinese painter, playwright, poet, and tea master during the Ming dynasty. A noted painter, poet, writer and dramatist famed for his artistic expressiveness.Cihai: Page 802. ...

( 徐渭),

Wu Changshuo Wu Changshuo (, September 12, 1844 – November 29, 1927, also romanised as Wu Changshi, ), born Wu Junqing (), was a Chinese calligrapher, painter, and seal artist of the late Qing Period. Life Wu was born into a scholarly family in Huzhou ...

( 吳昌碩),

( 任頤) *Fine-brush with Freehand style (兼工帶寫) **Representatives:

( 林良),

( 唐寅),

Ma Quan Ma Quan (, dates unknown), courtesy name Jiangxiang (), was a Qing painter who lived during the late 17th–18th centuries, specialising in bird and flower painting. As a female artist who sold her paintings, Ma's art style is markedly different ...

( 馬荃)

In Japan

The bird-and-flower motif started appearing in

Japanese art Japanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including Jōmon pottery, ancient pottery, Japanese sculpture, sculpture, Ink wash painting, ink painting and Japanese calligraphy, calligraphy on silk and paper, ''ukiyo-e'' paintings and ...

around the

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by ...

during the 14th century, and developed its own distinct style. It also entered ''

ukiyo-e Ukiyo-e is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk ta ...

'' woodblock printing, where it was known as ''kachō-e'' (花鳥絵). Especially the ''

shin hanga was an art movement in early 20th-century Japan, during the Taishō and Shōwa periods, that revitalized the traditional ''ukiyo-e'' art rooted in the Edo and Meiji periods (17th–19th century). It maintained the traditional ''ukiyo-e'' co ...

'' movement produced a number of works with this motif starting in the

Meiji era The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

. Artists working with this were

Ohara Koson was a Japanese painter and woodblock print designer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, part of the ''shin-hanga'' ("new prints") movement. Ohara Koson was famous as a master of kachō-e (bird-and-flower) designs. Throughout a prolific ...

(1877–1945) and

Ito Sozan Ito may refer to: Places * Ito Island, an island of Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea * Ito Airport, an airport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo * Ito District, Wakayama, a district located in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan * Itō, Shizuo ...

(1884–?), as well as

Imao Keinen was a Japanese painter and print designer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, part of the ''shin-hanga'' ("new prints") movement. In 1904 he was appointed as an Imperial Household Artist. Biography He received a comprehensive educa ...

(1845–1924).

Gallery

File:10 ZhaoMengfu- Hoopoe on Bamboo. Shanghai mus..jpg, alt= File:Hua Yan - Birds and Flowers - Google Art Project.jpg, alt= File:Bian Jingzhao-Snow Plum and Twin Cranes.jpg, alt= File:Camellia and a Lonely Bird by Zhou Shuxi.jpg, alt=

References

External links

Chinese Flower Painting
at China Online Museum
Chinese Bird Painting
at China Online Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Bird-And-Flower Painting Birds in art Chinese iconography Chinese painting Japanese iconography Japanese painting Korean iconography Korean painting

Intended purpose and cultural significance

Schools and great artists

Varieties based on painting technique

In Japan

See also

Gallery

References

External links