A Transformtion in Literati Painting as Reflected from the Northern Song to the Southern Song Dynasties

The reformation of poetry and prose in the Northern Song Dynas ty exerted influence over painting, thereby promoting and enhancing morals and fur ther developing a school of painting done by amateur literati in that period. Th en, restrictions were removed upon the style for both poetry and painting, while many literary men held that there was a harmonious link between the two. Briefl y speaking, the theory of this literati painting represented by Su Shi features three points: (1) painters should be artistically and morally accomplished; (2) painters should pay particular attention to spirit resemblance beside form resem blance; and (3) painters should take the ″aroma″ of poetry or paintings as the yardstick by which to measure their artistic works. Literati paintings can be divided into three styles: (1) the style represented b y Guo Zhongshu, Li Cheng, Fan Kuan, and Li Gonglin just like expert painters wit h high artistic attainments, whose works are regarded as pure literati paintings ; (2) the style represented by Yan Su, Wang Shen and Zhao Lingrang, whose works are considered literati paintings done by absorbing strong points of imperial-c ourt decorative painting; and (3) the style represented by Su Shi, Wen Tong and Mi Fu, who did typical-literary-man's painting by translating the literary ide as into it, while in practice turning the same theory for painting and calligrap hy into the combined work of painting and calligraphy. Literati panting fell to a decline during the Southern Song Dynasty. Its root ca use was its internal factor despite the external one-the steady rising of imp erial-court painting. But the decline led to a transformation, which was reflec ted in five aspects: (1) Literati painting began to turn to the typical-literar y-man's painting in its true sense, like the style represented by Su Shi and ot hers. (2) Literati painting began to be seriously done by drawing on strong poin ts from imperial-court painting rather than just for fun. (3) Literati painting began to take ″bamboo, stone, flower, and plants″ as its traditional subject matter. (4) Literati painting began to feature the inventive combination of four forms of art: painting, poetry, calligraphy, and seal. (5) Literati painting do ne by a special group of painter-monks began to produce an unrestrained and lei surely style, which went as far as to exercise influence over the Japanese paint ing.