The saying of "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" has a long history.

However, the names of the eight people are different from each other.

According to Li Yufen's "Bibliographic Research on Calligraphy and Paintings of the Ou Bo Luo Chamber", the "Eight Eccentrics" are Luo Pin, Li Fangying, Li Wei, Jin Nong, Huang Shen, Zheng Xie, Gao Xiang and Wang Shishen.

In addition, there are Gao Fenghan, Hua Yan, Min Zhen, Bian Shoumin, etc. who are listed as "Eight Monsters" in various books. The opinions are very inconsistent. Today, most people take the number of "eight" from Li Yufen.

Forming factors: Yangzhou has been famous for its economic prosperity since the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Although it has been destroyed by war, due to its strategic location, convenient transportation, fertile land, and rich products, it has always quickly returned to prosperity after wars.

In the Qing Dynasty, although it was devastated by the Ten-Day Massacre, it prospered again through the development of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong dynasties, becoming a metropolis on the southeast coast of my country and an important trade center in the country.

Wealthy businessmen and businessmen gathered from all directions, especially the salt industry, which was rich in the southeast.

Economic prosperity also promotes the prosperity of cultural and artistic undertakings.

Literati and celebrities from all over the world gathered in Yangzhou.

Under the initiative of local officials, poetry and literary receptions were often held.

His poetry creations are famous throughout the country.

Some salt merchants were wealthy and elegant, and they often welcomed celebrities from all over the world who came to Yangzhou.

Yangzhou thus attracted many celebrities from all over the country, including many poets, writers, and artists.

Therefore, Yangzhou at that time was not only the economic center of the southeast, but also the center of culture and art.

In order to meet the needs of their luxurious life, wealthy businessmen have a large demand for material and spiritual products, such as exquisite handicrafts, treasures and jade, fresh clothes and delicious food, and they are especially looking for calligraphy and painting.

As the trend spreads, middle-class families and even wealthy people among the common people also seek to hang calligraphy and painting in their rooms to show elegance. There is a folk proverb that "if there is no calligraphy and painting in the house, it is not an old family."

The huge demand for calligraphy and painting attracted and produced a large number of painters.

According to the "Yangzhou Painting Boat Record", there are more than one hundred and dozens of local painters and slightly famous painters from all over the country, many of whom were famous at that time, and the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" are the famous ones among them.

The works of the Yangzhou School of Painting, represented by the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou", have distinctive personalities in terms of materials, conception, and composition.

The formation of this artistic style is closely related to the innovative trends in the painting world and changes in people's aesthetic tastes at that time.

From the late Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty, Chinese painting was restrained by conservative ideas. Copying was the mainstream, and the painting world lacked vitality.

This malaise aroused the dissatisfaction of knowledgeable people and talented painters, and Shi Tao, a great painter who advocated innovation, appeared in Yangzhou.

Shi Tao's slogans of "pen and ink should adapt to the times" and "find the right method if there is no way" shocked the animation world like the sound of footsteps in an empty valley.

Shi Tao's theory and practice "opened up a school in Yangzhou", and later finally gave birth to a group of innovative painters such as the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou".