Commentary on the Theory of "lijiahua"

The original meaning of li is contrariness or cruelty and its extended meaning is violation.According to the textual research of such scholars as Qigong,lijia means the person who is laic,non-professional and unskillful.Thereby,lijiahua can be regarded as this kind of painting.Qian Xuan and Zhao Mengfu compared the lijiahua with painting,and the intellectuals refer to the officials in the government.The dialog between Qian and Zhao about lijiahua,reveals that in some degree Qian Xuan is an intellectual who somewhat disassociated himself from the intellectual circles consciously.Qian Xuan's theory contains the historical connotations of the relationship between Tao and Yi,which also shows that Qian Xuan surpasses Tao,whose value orientation turns from valuing Tao to emphasizing art.Qian Xuan's personality and artistic practice enlightened the up-coming painters and he was a link between the past and the future in the history of art.