Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou

 

 

 

Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou (Ba Guai, pinyin for "Eight weird") is the name for a group of eight Chinese painters known in the Qing dynasty for rejecting the orthodox ideas about painting in favor of a style deemed expressive and individualist. Eight Eccentrics are very famous in painting and self-cultivation. The famous representative of them is Zheng Banqiao, who was famous painter good at the bamboo painting. It is bamboo painting is featured of the simplicity and vigor. Via his painting people can easily and strongly feel the obvious personality of the painter. Zheng Banqiao was a low-level official and poor in life. He used to feed on selling his painting.

So this term was also used because they each had strong personalities at variance with the conventions of their own time. Most of them were from impoverished or troubled backgrounds. Still the term is, generally, more a statement about their style rather than being a judgment of them as personally being among history's noted eccentrics. The eight had an influence and association with painters like Gao Fenghan, as well as several others. Furthermore it also learnt from some literature schools like Gediao theory. Chinese painting is consistent with Chinese calligraphy and Chinese literature. So to some extent, Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou are also the famous calligraphists or literature masters.