The “Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou” refers to a group of professional painters active in Yangzhou during the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns of the Qing dynasty, whose styles broke from traditional conventions. Though the name suggests eight, historical accounts identify around fifteen artists, including Jin Nong, Huang Shen, Zheng Xie, Li Shan, Li Fangying, Wang Shishen, Gao Xiang, Luo Pin, Hua Yan, Gao Fenghan, and Bian Shoumin. Most were scholar-artists skilled in poetry, calligraphy, painting, and seal carving, yet earned their livelihood through art. They popularized literati painting, which had traditionally been consumed by the elite, among the general public. The museum’s collection on the “Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou” encompasses landscapes, figures, flowers, birds, and calligraphy, distinguished by bold individuality, inventive brushwork, and a spirit of artistic rebellion.
