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Xia Chang 夏昶

1388-1470 China/Ming Dynasty

 

Brief Biography-Xia Chang, a bamboo painter, was born in Kunshan in 1388. He was an early Ming scholar-official painter in the Yuan tradition. The Hanlin academy admitted him in 1415, and he eventually was called to Beijing, where he held high-ranking positions until 1457. Xia Chang was one of many scholar painters regarded as literati or wenrenhua painters. They were more interested in expression than the visual impact of a painting. It was a style devised by Dong Qichang, who established the Southern and Northern Schools. Literati painting was preferable to professional works by some scholars, which concentrated mainly on aesthetic viewpoints.

 

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Clear Wind on
the Qi River

Clear Wind on the Qi River

Bamboo under
Spring Rain

Bamboo under Spring Rain

Bamboo After Rain
on the Rivers

Bamboo After Rain on the Xiao and Xiang Rivers

Bamboo
and Stone

Bamboo and Stone


Bamboo

Bamboo

Bamboo
in Wind

Bamboo in Wind

Clear
Wind-

Clear Wind Strong Bamboo Joints

Bamboo
Grove-

Bamboo Grove in a Windy Storm

Springtime at
the Phoenix Pool

Springtime at the Phoenix Pool

Tapping Jade
Autumn Sound

Tapping Jade Autumn Sound

White Stone and
Dark Bamboo

White Stone and Dark Green Skinned Bamboo