Luo PingWan: Page 1204. 'Pìng' is the older pronunciation of 聘. The modern pronunciation is 'Pìn' ( 1733 - 1799) was a Chinese painter of the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

who lived in Ganquan (甘泉; present-day

Yangzhou Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou, Jiangsu, ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

. His

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 ...

was Dunfu (遯夫) and his

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

s were Liangfeng (兩峰; Liǎngfēng; lit. "Two Peaks") and Huazhisi Seng (花之寺僧; Huāzhisì Sēng; lit. "Monk of the Temple of Flowers"). He studied painting under

Jin Nong Born in 1687 in Hangzhou, Jin Nong (金農) became popular as a painter and calligrapher while living as a childless widower in Yangzhou in his sixties. His paintings of '' mei'' blossoms were in particular demand there. Heralded as one of The Ei ...

and developed a unique personal style. He painted people, Buddhist images, plum with bamboo, flowers, and scenery paintings.Cihai: Page 1680. He refused government service to live a life of poverty selling paintings. He was the youngest of the

Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou () is the name for a group of eight Chinese painters active in the eighteenth century who were known in the Qing Dynasty for rejecting the orthodox ideas about painting in favor of a style deemed expressive and individ ...

. Luo Ping's life began with loss and sadness. His father died when Luo was just one year old, and his mother soon after. But from an early age the youth orphan was recognized as a talented poet and gained admission to the exclusive artistic circles of his home town, Yangzhou. At nineteen he married - for love—the poet and painter Fang Wanyi (方婉儀, 1732 - 1779). Their daughter and two sons (Yǔnshào, 允绍, and Yǔnzuǎn, 允缵) also went on to become artists. All painted plum blossoms, the family trade mark (罗家梅派). Five years after his marriage Luo met the man who would change his life. This was the nationally renowned poet, artist and bon vivant

(1687 - 1763). The 70-year-old master took a great liking to the talented young man, who was in turn inspired by the emotional and expressive art of his mentor. Luo also painted pictures for Jin Nong, who signed them with his own name and sold them. When, after 6 years of this close collaboration, Jin Nong died, Luo buried his teacher with as much reverence as if it were the funeral of his own father. In the second half of his life, Luo often visited the capital, Beijing, where he caused a sensation in the fashionable cultural scene. On to a long painting scroll which he showed to everyone, he had painted ghosts and claimed to have seen such creatures with his own eyes: "Some expose teeth like melon seeds, and have fingers large as thighs." Luo died, highly esteemed, at the age of sixty-six. Throughout his life he saw himself as an austere Buddhist and signed his works with the name "Monk of the Temple of Flowers".

Notes

References

* Ci hai bian ji wei yuan hui (辞海编辑委员会). Ci hai (辞海). Shanghai: Shanghai ci shu chu ban she (上海辞书出版社), 1979. * Wan Zhiwen (宛志文). Han Yu Da Zi Dian (Xiu Jian Ben) (漢語大字典(袖珍本)). Chengdu: Sichuan ci shu chu ban she (四川辭書出版社), 1999. * ''Eccentric Visions: The Worlds of Luo Ping (1733-1799),'' ed. Kim Karlsson, Alfreda Murck, and Michele Matteini, Museum Rietberg, Zürich, 2010

External links

ChinacultureEccentric Visions: The Worlds of Luo Ping (1733–1799)
from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Audio guide transcript of ''Eccentric Visions: The Worlds of Luo Ping (1733–1799)''
from the Metropolitan Museum of Art {{DEFAULTSORT:Luo, Pin 1733 births 1799 deaths Qing dynasty painters Painters from Yangzhou Buddhist artists