HalfaMoon Day 1: Female artists in ancient China

[snowynight]

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Prompt: Day 1: Black / White / Shades of Grey

Shan shui painting is a style of traditional brush and ink Chinese landscape painting. In ancient China, women had less freedom to education and travel, so it was harder for them to pursue art or observe the nature. However, some female artists's shan shui paintings survived to this day.


Huang Yuanjie (1620?-69?) came from an educated but poor family. Huang's husband was a poor scholar, so Huang Yuanjie was the actual breadwinner, unconventional at the time. She was a family tutor, professional writer and artist, travelling around for job opportunities.

When the Ming Dynasty was overthrown in 1644, Huang lost her husband and became a war fugitive. She continued her teaching and creative career to support her children's and her living, and was well known for her talent. She wrote over 1000 poems, but few survived.

Huang's fan landscape painting

Some of her paintings

Wang Duanshu (1621?-1701?) also came from an educated family. She was a scholar, literary critic, poet and artist. She was the first person to edit an anthology of woman's writing across history in China.

Wang's landscape painting

Liu Rushi (1618-64) was a Chinese performer, poet, calligrapher, and painter. Many of her creative work survived. She was very independent, and also known for her love of her husband and country. Scholar and writer Chen Yinke said she was "a heroine, a belle, a wordsmith, and a patriot" .

Selected paintings