YUN SHOU-P'ING (1633-1690) AND THE ORTHODOX TRADITION OF CHINESE BIRD-AND-FLOWER PAINTING

Yun Shou-p'ing (1633-1690), one of the Six Orthodox Masters of the early Ch'ing dynasty, painted landscapes and flowers, but his greater fame rests on his talent as a flower painter. His interest in flower painting, unique among the scholar-painters of his time, was related to the special artistic tradition of his native district of P'i-ling (present day Wu-chin) in Kiangsu province, which had a long history of flower, plant, and insect painting going back to the Sung dynasty. Inspired by the artistic heritage of his home town, Yun Shou-p'ing, who had to make a living by painting, devoted his creative energy to elevating the status of flower painting to a level of prestige comparable to that enjoyed by scholarly landscape painting.;Through his study of ancient painting and nature, Yun Shou-p'ing created a distinctive personal style, which synthesized what had previously been two separate currents in traditional Chinese flower painting, the polychrome style of professional artists and the ink monochrome style of scholar-painters. Yun's flower paintings represent creative transformation of the art of the past, expressing the same goals, approaches, and theoretical interests as landscape paintings of contemporary orthodox masters. Both as an artist and as a theorist, Yun Shou-p'ing opened a new direction in the genre of flower painting and exerted a strong influence on later painters. He was a pivotal figure who helped to bring about a significant growth in the importance of flower painting during the Ch'ing dynasty.;He accomplished this goal by applying contemporary theories of scholarly landscape painting, specifically the orthodox theory propounded by Tung Ch'i-ch'ang (1555-1630), to the field of flower painting. By studying flower painting of the past, Yun selected canonical models, establishing an orthodox, or correct, tradition of flower painting which exemplified the tradition of literati painting. In particular, Yun chose the ink monochrome and color-wash methods of the scholar-painters of the past as ideal modes of imitation. Thus, in flower painting, the conscious practice of drawing on stylistic traditions from the past for inspiration and formal elements began with Yun Shou-p'ing.