The Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou include eight painters: Zheng Xie, Luo Pin, Huang Shen, Li Fangying, Gao Xiang, Jin Nong, Li Wei and Wang Shishen.

It lasted nearly a hundred years from his rise in the late Kangxi years to the death of Luo Pin, the youngest painter among the "Eight Eccentrics" in the fourth year of Jiaqing.

Their paintings are numerous and widely circulated, immeasurable.

According to the "Catalog of Existing Paintings of Yangzhou's Eight Eccentrics" compiled by modern people, there are more than 8,000 paintings collected by more than 200 museums, art galleries and research institutions at home and abroad.

As an outstanding group in the history of Chinese painting, they have become world-famous.

The Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou were famous during their lifetime.

Li Wei, Li Fangying, Gao Fenghan, and Li Mian were summoned by the three emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong respectively to try out paintings or confer appointments.

In the eighth year of Qianlong's reign, Hongli saw the "Picture of Cherry Blossom Bamboo Shoots" by Zheng Xie, which was engraved with the oval seal with red inscriptions and "the treasure of Qianlong's royal view".

In the thirteenth year of Qianlong's reign, during Hongli's eastern tour, Zheng Xie was granted the title of "History of Calligraphy and Painting".

Luo Pinchang visited all three places, "For a time, the princes and ministers, the corporal in the West Garden, and the Yanbin in the East Pavilion. Wang Fu was at the door, and he was afraid it would be too late. Meng Gong was shocked, and it was obvious when we met face to face." The bold and innovative style of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou

, which has been passed down by later generations of painters.

Famous modern painters such as Wang Xiaomei, Wu Rangzhi, Zhao Zhiqian, Wu Changshuo, Ren Bonian, Ren Weichang, Wang Mengbai, Wang Xuetao, Tang Yun, Wang Yiting, Chen Shizeng, Qi Baishi, Xu Beihong, Huang Binhong, Pan Tianshou, etc. are all influenced by "

Influenced by the works of "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou", he established his own school.

Most of them spoke highly of the works of "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou".

Xu Beihong once wrote an inscription on a painting of "Orchid and Bamboo" by Zheng Xie: "Mr. Banqiao is one of the most outstanding figures in China in the past three hundred years. His thoughts, writings, and calligraphy and painting are especially amazing. Looking at his poetry and

Calligraphy and painting are not only about excellence, but also about benevolence and compassion, which are especially rare among ancient and modern talents. "The Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou is the general name for a group of calligraphers and painters with similar styles who were active in Yangzhou in the mid-Qing Dynasty of China. They are also called Yangzhou.

School of painting.

There are 8 people in the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou", they are Luo Pin, Li Fangying, Li (add a single fish next to the fish), Jin Nong, Huang Shen, Zheng Xie, Gao Xiang and Wang Shishen.

Most of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou came from the middle and lower intellectual classes. Some of them were dismissed state and county officials, some were scribes who had not obtained any honors, and some were painters from poor families who made a living by painting.

They either grew up in Yangzhou or came to live here as expatriates from other provinces. Each of them had a rough experience. They gathered in Yangzhou one after another and sold their calligraphy and painting works in Yangzhou's bustling calligraphy and painting market.

The Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou are a group of intellectuals with a sense of justice. They are aware of official corruption and the plundering of wealthy businessmen.

Faced with the gap between rich and poor in real life, and combined with their own experiences, they became strongly dissatisfied with society.

They often express deep sympathy for the suffering people and express their anger on their behalf.

However, because they received feudal cultural education and the Qing Dynasty was in its prime at that time, their emotions and dissatisfaction could not break through the barriers of feudal thought.

Among them, those who are officials strive to make some achievements so that the people can live and work in peace and contentment in order to maintain the feudal order.

Those who have no intention of officialdom will keep themselves clean, do not conform to popular customs, and flaunt themselves as noble.

However, it is impossible for them to get rid of their economic dependence on landlords, officials and merchants, so they are often in the extreme pain of ideological contradictions. In addition to cynicism, they have to compromise in order to survive.

Zheng Xie, the representative of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou, left a lot of remarks and can be called the thinker among the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou.

The contradictions expressed in Li's works are the most painful and intense, and he became the main target of attack.

The most outstanding thing about the artistic outlook of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou is their emphasis on individual expression.

They advocated original style and "self-reliance". They openly announced that their works were sold to make a living, tearing away the veil that literati painters in the past regarded painting creation as "an elegant matter".

In terms of the subject matter of their works, on the one hand, they inherited the tradition of literati painting and used plum, orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum, pine, and stone as the main objects of description to express the painter's nobility, aloofness, and unconventionality. On the other hand, they

Symbols, comparisons, metaphors and other techniques are also used to give the works profound social content and unique ideological expressions through inscribed poems.

For example: Li Fangying's "Wind Bamboo Picture" uses strong bamboos that are not afraid of strong winds to symbolize stubborn and unyielding character; Huang Shen's "Group of Beggars" and Luo Pin's "Cow Selling Song Picture" express their views on the real society.

The meticulous observation directly or indirectly shows social injustice.

In terms of painting style, the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou mainly inherited the techniques of freehand ink painting from previous paintings, and further developed the expertise of ink painting, using a highly concise approach to shape objects without sticking to the shapes of branches and leaves.

In writing, they were not restrained, ran freely and expressed their thoughts directly.

Because their works were contrary to the subtle and elegant flower-and-bird painting style popular at the time, they were often severely criticized by critics and were called "weird".

Although the art of the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou was only popular in Yangzhou and its surrounding areas at the time, it had a profound influence on the inheritance and development of traditional Chinese ink freehand painting.