The Li/Guo style:

A Review of Selected Works

in the Tradition of the

Masters of Northern Song Landscape Painting. Mark

Shelby ARH 574 3/2/95

Introduction
One of the high points of the history of Chinese painting are the landscapes from the

Northern Song dynasty. The best known artists from this time are Li Cheng, Fan Kuan, and

Guo Xi. Li Cheng lived during the early to mid- 10 th century. He was well educated but

preferred living in the countryside instead of working at the Imperial Court. He is best

remembered for his distinctive 'crab-claw' trees and his winter landscapes. His overall mood

in his paintings is one of desolation and bleakness. His attention to detail is also evident in

paintings like A Solitary Temple amid Clearing Peaks.

Fan Kuan followed and studied Li Cheng for some time before creating his own style.

He is best known for representations of massive mountains that dominate his compositions,

as can be seen in his best known work, Travelers among Mountains and Streams. Guo Xi

came along later in the early 11 th century. He combines many of the elements of Li Cheng

and Fan Kuan to create a distinctive type of landscape. He was a court painter and

decorated many halls of the Imperial Palace. He is also important because he conveyed his

ideas and philosophies about painting in the form of a treatise.

Because Li Cheng and Guo Xi were considered the old masters, many painters

imitated their works and facets of their style. Some of these were Xu Daoning, Zhao Meng

Fu, Chu Te Jun, Tang Ti, Lo Chi Chuan, and Shen Zhou. In many of the works by these

painters, elements of Li Cheng's dead trees, Fan Kuan's mountains (to a lesser extent than Li
Cheng and Guo Xi), and Guo Xi's vigorous and free brushwork come together to create a

dynamic painting style.

Li Cheng A Solitary Temple amid Clearing Peaks

This is one of the supreme masterpieces of Song landscape painting and one of my

personal favorites. The painting, at the Nelson Gallery in Kansas City, is very aesthetically

pleasing and allows the viewer to wander through the landscape (Figure 1). The progression

from foreground to middle ground to background is clear and concise. The painting is very

detailed, with particular attention to brushwork and space. In the foreground a large, quiet

pool of water sets the tone for the serenity of the whole. The pool of water is fed by two

waterfalls. This sets the acoustic tone, in which one imagines the sound of rushing water

and thus has a calming and pleasing effect.

The sequence begins with a path emerging from the forest on the left hand side of the

foreground. On the path are two travelers/pilgrims. The path then crosses an old bridge of

bamboo which spans a stream. Upstream of the bridge is a tall, thin waterfall. After

crossing the bridge the path follows a bank until it enters a clearing. Centered around this

clearing is a cluster of small buildings. From this cluster you can follow the path up an

incline until it disappears and is assumed to reach the temple at the top of the hill. The

architecture of the temple is rational and clear and is quite detailed. The forest around the

middle ground temple and foreground area exhibits the mastery of the brush strokes to create

these gnarled and twisted trees.

The background is a striking monumental landscape. The mountains rise sheer out

of the middle ground. They are steep and rugged and give a rough edge to the piece. On

either side of the two center mountain peaks is a tall, thin waterfall. His use of mist seems

to me to be an aesthetic and not a problem solver like other painters used it for.

Li Cheng Reading the Memorial Stele and Old Pine Trees on Snowy Rocks.
These two paintings perhaps best embody what is meant by the 'crab claw' trees of Li

Cheng. Reading the Memorial Stele in the Abe Collection in Osaka portrays some aged and
twisted trees growing on a small hill (Figure 2). Beside the trees is a tall memorial stele, or

tablet, that is being read by a traveler on mule back. He is attended by a servant. The

overall affect is one of reflection and contemplation of the subject of the stele. The trees

appear in a wintry type of landscape, leafless and desolate. The writhing trunks lead to the

twisted branches which appears as 'crab claws'.

Old Pine Trees on Snowy Rock, A Fisherman in a Boat again represents a wintry and

bleak landscape (Figure 3). A group of pine trees stand beside a stream. There is a

fisherman in a boat in the stream at the lower left. In the background is a waterfall and a

snow covered mountain. He uses heavy gray mist to heighten the desolateness of the

composition (Siren 1956: 198).

As an example of the persistence of the Li Cheng style, consider Tall Cedar Trees on

a River Bank (Figure 4). This is attributed to Li Cheng, but it can be argued that this work

was done four or five hundred years later (Siren 1956: 198). However, the design and

execution of the trees is typical of the Early Song master. The trees are vertical and almost

fill the composition. These compositions provide the basic examples of the Li Cheng style.

Later in the 11 th century Guo Xi picked up Li Cheng's techniques and style and modified it

somewhat to create his own style of landscape painting.

Guo Xi Early Spring

This is considered one of the masterworks by Guo Xi (Figure 5). It is dated 1072 and

signed by the artist. Here we can see Guo Xi's modifications and reinvention of the earlier

Song master's styles. Instead of a straightforward portrayal of a landscape, he incorporates

several views, or sections, of a landscape into the whole which is dominated by a single

monumental mountain that extends from foreground to the background.

The forms are more spontaneous and more free than Li Chengs. The presentation of

the mountain is that of a living organism, pulsating with life (Siren 1956: 219, Cahill 1960:

35). Some of the trees exhibit the 'crab claw' motif of Li Cheng. The human element is
reduced to a minimum. The small figures located at various parts of the composition are lost

in the massiveness of the mountain.

To the right and center is a cluster of buildings situated above a waterfall. Attention

to detail is also important to Guo Xi, as can be seen in the details of the architectural

features. The overall composition is at first confusing but upon closer inspection becomes

rational and clear within each space cell.

Guo Xi Autumn in the Valley of the Yellow River and Old Cedar Trees on Snow
Covered Mountains.
These other compositions by Guo Xi also clearly exhibit the influence of Li Cheng.

Autumn in the Valley of the Yellow River is a handscroll at the Freer Gallery (Figure 6). The

long composition is divided by valleys and misty mountains. The human element is here

more pronounced than in Early Spring, with small buildings in the foreground that a traveler

is approaching and larger buildings half obscured by mist in the left mid-back ground. The

mountains here take on a real and rational representation instead of that of fantasy and

spontaneity as is found in Early Spring. The influence of Li Cheng is quite evident in the

execution of the trees in the foreground. Some stand tall while others are twisted, and the

'crab claw' motif appears. Again, attention is paid to detail without sacrificing spontaneity

and inspiration.
Another composition that recalls the Li Cheng 'crab claw' motif is Old Cedar Trees

on Snow Covered Mountains (Figure 7). The subject, which dominates the whole, are

gnarled and twisted trees. What is interesting about this piece is that much effort was put

forth on the trees but little effort went to the background. Indeed, the ground is somewhat

plain (although snow covered it is still much too plain for Guo Xi) and the mountains are

simplified. Meticulous attention is given to the details of the trees in the way of the knots,

holes, curves, and twists of the trunks and branches. The trees seem to take on a life of their

own, as if huddled together in the cold and bleakness of winter.

 In all of Guo Xi's paintings mentioned here, he achieves balance, detail, and depth

with varying gradations of ink. The combining of Li Cheng landscape elements such as

'crab claw' trees, the buildup of landscapes with dots, an "undertone of desolation and

loneliness" (Siren 1956: 198), the portrayal of Autumn or Winter landscapes, and treatment

of the mountains with Guo Xi's spontaneity and vigorous brushwork, more expressive

mountains, and ink wash gradations resulted in a landscape tradition that was to be copied

and modified over the next few hundred years.

Xu Daoning Fishing in a Mountain Stream.

One of the immediate followers of Li Cheng was Xu Daoning. This is evident in the

dream like vision of Fishing in a Mountain Stream (Figure 8). He is said to have studied Li

Cheng extensively (Vandier-Nicolas 1983: 103). The Li Cheng 'crab claw' trees are evident

here, although they are not as pronounced. This handscroll depicts fisherman at various

points in a stark mountain landscape. The water is treated very pale and is almost

indistinguishable from soil.

Wang Xin Fishing Village under Light Snow.

Another immediate follower of Li Cheng was Wang Xin, who lived in the second half

of the 11 th century (Vandier-Nicolas 1983: 118). It seems that he followed two traditions,

that of Li Cheng and the blue and green tradition. One of his compositions (Figure 9),

Fishing Village under Light Snow is very reminiscent of Li Cheng in regard to the shapes of

the mountains, the twisted and contorted trees, and a feeling of bleakness (Vandier-Nicolas

1983: 118).

Anonymous Chin Dynasty Paintings in the Li/Guo Style.

Many paintings formerly attributed to the Song or Yuan dynasties have now been

assigned to the Chin Dynasty (Little 1979: 285). One of these is Travelers among Valleys

and Peaks (Figure 10). It bears some striking resemblance to Guo Xi's Early Spring.

However, the main point of difference here is that the Guo Xi mountain type is relegated to
the background instead of acting as a unifying force. Also, the trees are done in a somewhat

different manner from those of Li Cheng.

Some other paintings that are imitations of Guo Xi are Clearing after Snow in the

Min Mountains, A Thousand Valleys and Myriad Peaks, and Mountain and River

Landscape. One painting by the 11 th century artist, Li Kung-nien, entitled Winter

Landscape, is very reminiscent of Li Cheng regarding both the trees and they way the

mountains are constructed (Figure 11).

Zhao Meng Fu Rivers and Peaks and Twin Pines against a Flat Vista.
Zhao Meng Fu is one of the major painters of the Yuan Dynasty who imitated the

Li/Guo style in some of his compositions. He lived during the last half of the 13 th century

and first part of the 14 th century. Many painters of the Yuan discarded the styles of the

Southern Song and began a return to the past using archaic painting styles, such as T'ang

figure painting and the Li/Guo style of the Northern Song.

Zhao Meng Fu imitated various archaic styles, such as the Tung Yuan style, and

elements of the Li/Guo tradition can best be seen in a handscroll entitled Rivers and Peaks

(Figure 12). Although the overall composition is emptier than a Li Cheng or Guo Xi

composition, the trees, twisted and desolate, stand out as evidence of Zhao Meng Fu's

'homage' to the Li/Guo school style. Many of the rocks and portions of the mountains are

done in ink washes but the overall compositions of them are emptier and simply outlined.

Twin Pines against a Flat Vista (Figure 13) also bears characteristics of the Li/Guo

style. Again the major feature is the trees. Twisted and old, they faintly exhibit the 'crab

claw' branches of Li Cheng. The rocks are treated more cursorily with a looser brushwork.

Like Rivers and Peaks, this work is also empty and sparse with little details in the way of

background.

Li Kan Old Trees on a Rocky Shore.

Li Kan, like Zhao Meng Fu, was a scholar under the Yuan dynasty. He lived from

1245 to 1320. One of three compositions attributed to him, Old Trees on a Rocky Shore
(Figure 14), was originally believed to be by either Li Cheng or Guo Xi (Barnhart 1972: 282).

One glance at this work reveals the reason. The focus of the entire composition are three

old trees by a river. The trees, though not twisted, are gnarled and give the appearance of

age. The knots in the trunks are detailed and drawn in varying gradations of ink. The

branches are executed in the typical Li Cheng 'crab claw' motif and are stumped at the top.

The ground at the base of the trees and the shoreline is filled with rocks, also done in washes

of ink. The background is the opposite side of the riverbank, done with ink wash and not

outlined.

Chu Te-jun
Chu Te-jun is another artist of the Yuan who followed several archaic styles.

However, examples of his Li/Guo paintings could not be located. These are generally

"winter landscapes with snow covered mountains and frosty trees growing on rocky ledges in

a misty atmosphere. They look like diluted versions of Li Cheng's dramatic winter scenes"

(Siren 1956: 78).

Tang Ti Mountain Landscape in Guo Xi Style and Fisherman Returning with their Nets
under Large Trees.
Tang Ti imitated the Li/Guo style very closely, almost to the point of copying. This

sets him apart from other artists, who may have modified it to suit their own tastes and
reinvention of the style. Mountain Landscape in Guo Xi Style (Figure 15) is very similar to

Guo Xi's Early Spring. There is a single monumental mountain that borders on fantasy and

unifies the whole composition. In the foreground is a clump of trees in the Li Cheng

manner. On either side of the mountain are separate areas of space cells that depict scenes

that are independent of the whole. The human element is again reduced to next to nothing.

Another painting by Tang Ti, Fisherman Returning with their Nets under Large

Trees, is a close imitation of a Li Cheng landscape (Figure 16). The 'crab claw' tree

branches are here, the detailing of the tree trunks and bark, and the treatment of the rocks.

However, unlike Li Cheng, the human element takes on a larger aspect. It would almost
seem that these motifs became a sub theme in Tang Ti's works and an obvious formula

(Barnhart 1983: 126).

Lo Chih-chuan Crows in Old Trees and With Walking Stick through the Cold Forest.
Lo Chih-chuan is a lesser known painter of the Yuan Dynasty. He is believed to

have lived from 1265 to 1340. Again, many of the elements of the Li/Guo style is evident in

these two paintings. Crows in Old Trees is a desolate scene in winter (Figure 17). In the

foreground is a clump of contorted and gnarled old trees, leafless and bare. The riverbank is

covered in snow and the river itself seems to be frozen. In the background are some snow

covered hills. On the opposite riverbank are some more old trees, though not as detailed as

the ones in the foreground. These fore trees are intricately detailed, with knots and holes in

the trunks being highlighted. The branches end in the usual 'crab claw' motif.

The representations of the birds are very well done, with a slight amount of color. They are

detailed enough as to provide identification (Hartman 1993).

With Walking Stick through the Cold Forest is another composition by Lo Chih-chuan

(Figure 18). The focus of this work is the group of old trees, set in the foreground. The

trees are treated in the same manner as they were in Crows in Old Trees. Also, the rocks are

treated in a manner that recalls the Li/Guo style. The background is a low hill which is used

to frame the trees. The hill(s) is outlined and treated with a light wash of ink. On the right

side of the foreground is a bridge crossing a stream, upon which are two figures. This

compositional arrangement and subject matter is very similar to another painting, Carrying a

Lute on a Visit, by an unknown artist. However, it could be very possible that this is by Lo

Chih-chuan (Hartman 1993: 131).

Tsao Chih-po River Landscape with Bare Trees and a Man in a Boat.
Tsao Chih-po was a contemporary of Ni Zan during the Yuan Dynasty. One of his

finest pieces that is very reminiscent of the Li/Guo manner is River Landscape with Bare

Trees and a Man in a Boat (Figure 19). It is a very pleasing piece. In the lower right are
two trees, though not twisted, but having the distinctive 'crab claw' motif. Beyond is a river

or body of water.

On the opposite riverbank are some more trees identical to the first group. The

mountains in the background are also similar to those by Li Cheng. The space between the

trees and the mountains are filled with mist. A man in a boat floats along the water in the

foreground. The compositional arrangement seems to be more related to Li Cheng than Guo

Xi. Even the brushwork and detailing is derived from the former.

Shen Zhou High Mountain Lu.

After the Yuan Dynasty ended, painters formed two schools of painting, both of

which ushered in a new period of reinterpretation of old styles. The Ming Dynasty painters

were not as prolific at imitating, or recreating, the Li/Guo style. Shen Zhou, who lived from

1427 to 1509, considered Li Cheng to be one of his favorite painters (Vandier-Nicolas 1983:

206). In one of his compositions, High Mountain Lu, the faint echo of the Li/Guo manner

can be seen (Figure 20). His portrayal of the trees in the use of ovals to simulate bark and

the detailing, and the compositional arrangement brings to mind Li Cheng and Guo Xi, but at

this point the style has been mixed with others so that other painters also come to mind.

Conclusions.
The diagnostic features and characteristics of the Li Cheng/Guo Xi landscape

tradition are fairly easily recognizable. One of the striking similarities between these works

is the realism and believability of the landscape portrayed. The technical unity was

achieved by using small dots of ink and long delicate strokes (Ho et al 1980: xxii). Shades

and highlights were separated into distinct areas (Vinograd 1978: 130). Groups of trees

were treated as a single unit, and most were contorted in strange shapes. However, others

were straight and upright.

One of the hallmarks of the style is the "whiplash curlicues defining branch ends",

otherwise known as 'crab claw' branches (Barnhart 1983: 124). The detailing of the trees

were also detailed, with knots and holes in the trunks realistically depicted. The depiction
of bark ranged from dabs of ink to loose ovals (Barnhart 1983: 124). Many of the paintings

entail a diagonal or zigzag composition of the main features. The portrayal of rocks and

other features take on a like pattern, with emphasis on outline and light highlights. Also, the

human presence in many of these works is minimized.

The Song artists of Li Cheng and Guo Xi created some of the best known works in

the history of Chinese Painting. As a result their distinctive landscape styles were copied,

imitated, and reinvented during the Chin and Yuan Dynasties, and to a lesser extent in the

Ming. One of the major factors that the style was imitated during the Yuan was partly a

result of the political climate of the time. Another was that artists looked back to past

masters for both inspiration and instruction.

Many of the painters of the Chin Dynasty continued the Li/Guo tradition by copying

and imitating them closely. We know very little about these artists and most of them remain

anonymous to us. At the same time the Southern Song artists were creating a new and

different style. Perhaps the one Southern Song artist who can bridge the gap between the

North and the South is Li Tang.

When the Yuan replaced both the Song and Chin Dynasties, the artists of the time

were no longer patronized and subsidized by the emperor. Free to explore their own style

and an elegiac tradition, they began to explore older styles while bypassing those of the

Southern Song. There are many more paintings in the Li/Guo style from this period than

those given here, these being the highlights. With the exception of a few, artists of the Ming

Dynasty tended to go their own direction. One reason that the Li/Guo style faded in the

Ming may be the great antiquity of the style. Many Ming artists sought to imitate and

recreate the styles of the Yuan artists, which of course, many of which were derived from Li

Cheng and Guo Xi, therefore, elements of the style became mixed with others, or 'watered

down'. The increasing presence, or dominance of Wu School literati painting could also be

another factor.
 Regardless of the reasons, elements of the Li/Guo traditions are present in many more

paintings than can be counted. This is because Northern Song painters basically set the

standard on landscapes; All those that came after looked to them and expressed the tradition

in their own way. They looked to Li Cheng for instruction on trees and winter scenes, and to

Fan Kuan and Guo Xi for the composition of mountains. Even today the faint echo of Li

Cheng and Guo Xi can be seen and felt in contemporary Chinese paintings.
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Cahill, James F.
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Ho, Wai-Kam et al.

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