Li Cheng (; 919–967),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Xiánxī (咸熙), was a Chinese painter of the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

. He was influenced by Jing Hao and Juran. Li Cheng,

Fan Kuan Fan Zhongzheng (c. 960 – c. 1030), courtesy name Zhongli, better known by his pseudonym Fan Kuan (), was a Chinese landscape painter of the Song dynasty. He was both a Daoist and a Neo-Confucianist. ''Travelers among Mountains and Streams'', ...

, and Guan Tong became known as the "three great rival artists".

Life

Li Cheng lived in

Qingzhou Qingzhou () Wade–Giles: Tsing-chou, sometimes written as Ching-chow-fu, formerly Yidu County (Yitu) (), is a county-level city, which is located in the west of the prefecture-level city of Weifang, in the central part of Shandong Province, Chin ...

(now part of

Weifang Weifang ( zh, s=潍坊, t=濰坊, p=Wéifāng) is a prefecture-level city in central Shandong province, People's Republic of China. The city borders Dongying to the northwest, Zibo to the west, Linyi to the southwest, Rizhao to the south, Qingdao ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

) during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period and the early

. He came from a family distinguished by scholarship and official conduct. His grandfather lived during the

Huang Chao Rebellion The Huang Chao Rebellion was a rebellion that took place in China from 874 to 884. It was instigating by Huang Chao and Wang Xianzhi against the Tang dynasty. While both were eventually defeated, by the end of Emperor Xizong's reign, the Tang ...

of the 870s, and eventually the family fled during the tumultuous end period of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

. He learned painting from Jing Hao and Guan Tong before turning to focus on nature and developing his own style. He was also a poet and literary stylist, but regarded these as secondary endeavors, and he did not seek government office. Many nobles sought out Li Cheng's services, but he never accepted. An official named Sun Anzhi desired a painting from Li Cheng so ardently, he offered Li a prestigious government post, but Li Cheng refused. Sun then paid an acquaintance of Li Cheng to steal a painting, earning the artist's lifelong enmity. During his later years, he took to travel and died in

Huaiyang County Huaiyang District () is a district in the prefecture-level city of Zhoukou in the east of Henan, Henan province, People's Republic of China. It is located in the southeastern part of Henan Province and the central part of Zhoukou, Zhoukou City. T ...

. Li Cheng did many landscape paintings with diluted ink, a technique called "treating ink like gold", which gives the appearance of a foggy dream world. In his day, he was considered the greatest landscape painter of all time. His paintings carried on an artistic dialogue with those of Wu Daoxuan. Li Cheng primarily portrayed the landscapes of Shandong. Artists of later generations, such as Guo Xi, modeled their teaching on his painting style and methods. His works include “Jigger", "Joy in Fishing", "Cold crow", and "Landscape". One extant painting, "Reading Stele Nest Stone", was a collaboration with Wang Xiao.

Art

References

Reading

*Sullivan, Michael. ''The Arts of China''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008 *Chinese painting - Five Dynasties (907-960) and Ten Kingdoms (902-978) *宣和画谱 - Chinese Text Project

External links

Landscapes Clear and Radiant: The Art of Wang Hui (1632-1717)
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Li Cheng (see index) *http://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=en&res=668529&searchu=李成&remap=g 919 births 967 deaths Song dynasty landscape painters People from Weifang Painters from Shandong Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms landscape painters 10th-century Chinese painters {{China-painter-stub

Life

Art

See also

References

Reading

External links