The Motive Forces Of The Development Of Yangzhou Eight Eccentric Artists

Yangzhou Eight Eccentric Artists develop an important group in Chinese painting history in 18th centuries. With rebellious and creative spirits, they form their own artistic ideas and style, which are influenced by the environment of the flourishing commodity economy of Yangzhou in the mid Qing dynasty, and the enlightenment in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Accordingly, the study is aimed at Yangzhou Eight Eccentric Artists , so as to search into the formation reasons and the motive forces. The brief research can be illustrated as follows. In chapter 1, it is expatiated the material condition which leads to the produce and development of Yangzhou Eight Eccentric Artists. To begin with, it deals with some important factors which may develop this special group, such as the vantage ground of Yangzhou, the increasing of salt economic in Lianghuai area, the growing of townspeople classes, the formation of artistic markets, the art patronage of salt merchants—especially Huizhou merchants to these eccentric artists , etc. Then, it induces two economic operation patterns of this group, and analyzes the influence of such market mechanism built on production and consumption to the change of refined and popular standard of the group. In chapter 2, it mainly discusses the important ideological basis for the thriving of Yangzhou Eight Eccentric Artists. In fact, in the influence of elite culture country widely and the culture of adherents of a former dynasty in central China, the group breed the latter-day Chinese humanistic spirit, which has a far-reaching influence on their artistic creation, and cause their personality liberating at last. In chapter 3, from their special personality mentality, it dues with the social and mental causes resulting in their eccentric personality according their life experiences. It concludes that these artists , who are beaten by the reality, in order to console themselves, have to devote their whole heart to art, so as to show their discontentment and ambition in the artistic works as eccentric styles. Thereby, they produce a series of larruping artistic works.