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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