| 内容简介（英文） | Shitao, originally named Zhu Ruoji, had the sobriquets Dadizi, Qingxiang laoren, and Kugua heshang. A scion of the Ming dynasty imperial family, after the fall of the Ming, he took the tonsure and became a Buddhist monk, traveling to Xuancheng in Anhui and living in reclusion at Jinling (Nanjing) and Yangzhou. He excelled at painting landscapes, fruits and vegetables, and orchids and bamboo. In neither brushwork, use of ink, nor composition was he constrained by the rules of tradition, his style being unique and innovative. This painting depicts a boating scene on a pure river with fishermen by banks catching fish. Without much ink and the brushwork casual and elegant, it is still a fine and succinct work by Shitao. His description of the trees by the water is vaguely reminiscent of that by Bada shanren. In fact, the poem written at the top mentions his recollection of the monk Geshan, referring to Bada shanren. The poem reads, “In a place with few people are new fishnets drying in the sun. It is where fishermen and those of the waters commingle and befriend each other. As I sit in my small skiff and face only myself, how can I not recall the monk |
