Artistic Confluence in Guangdong from Ming to Mid-Qing China - Ming to Early Qing

As Chen put it in his poetry, “the plain qin zither had no string in the first place [but the music can be apprehended by those who appreciate it],” and the trap can be forgotten as soon as the fish is caught. Chen Xianzhang focused on obtaining the higher truths of “dao” and “principles,” seeing calligraphy only as a medium for the transmission of “dao,” and hence working meticulously on the carriers of “dao” is simply a case of putting the cart before the horse. Therefore, he does not attempt to pursue a level of refinedness in his calligraphy, and the ink follows the movement of the brush, with little lifting or pressing. Furthermore, when he lived in the countryside, it was inconvenient to buy brushes, so he used local materials and bound cogon grasses together into a brush to write his calligraphy, forming the unique Maolong (“Congon Grass”) style.

Yuan used piled ink (jimo 積墨) and ink washes to depict the hilly terrain of Jiangnan, covered with vegetation and surrounded by mountains, misty and fantastic. This also invokes the piled-ink landscape of Gong Xian (1618-1689), the number one figure of the Eight Masters of Jinling, who was active slightly later in time than Yuan Dengdao.

Chen Gongyin's poem mentions that Zhang Mu "is especially skilled at painting eagles and horses, was it because ghosts or gods were standing in his arms?" The poem goes on: "The old steed bending at the stable has lingering sorrow, and the flying eagle on paper is still in rage." What people saw as divinely painted eagles and horses were in fact an outlet for Zhang Mu to express his frustrations due to the failure to realize his ambitions in reality. 

His Rolling Horses was painted at the age of 63 for his "great-nephew, Shengyi," and depicts horses in various colours and patterns from various angles, dust rolling, galloping, and making other movements, which shows off all of the painter's skills. 

The paintings and the inscription imply Zhang Mu's powerlessness in trying to change his fate but failing to reverse his untimely birth. 

The seven-character poem written by the artist himself is pregnant with meaning: "The blue sky is like a dream that blocks the primordial energy, and the ten thousand miles of red clouds become empty overnight." Here "blue" refers to "Qing" 清 , a character also literally meaning "clear," whereas "red" refers to "zhuhong" 朱 紅 , or vermillion, and Zhu 朱 was the ruling family of the Ming Dynasty. The poem expresses the idea that the Qing Dynasty was a dreamlike assault that closed off the vitality of the world, and that the Ming's control of a vast territory turned into nothing overnight. 

The intricate mindscape of the author has all of a sudden turned into a miserable world of ice and snow, and he feels lonely as he ponders with bewilderment the fact that he cannot reach his ambitions.

This lofty gentleman holding a walking staff in the foreground of the painting is a self-portrait of Gao Yan, who appeared to be a small man in the vast landscape covered by ice and snow.