The Change Of The Meaning Of Traditional Literati Painting In Late Works

This essay intends to elaborate howShi tao changed meanings in traditional literati painting in his later works. By narrating the life of Shi Tao, I present the big picture of social environment in the late Ming and early Qing Dynastyand try to figure out the artist’s view on his own identity. Individuals like Shi Tao who entered the market of painting was a macroscopic phenomenon at that time,since losing opportunities to work for the government, they had to earn his own living by painting skills. But their special identity and moral position were the main reasons why they won the popularityin the market. Highly developed commodity economy changed the original stratification of social class, the difference between the traditional literati class and merchant class became ambiguous, culture taste was a suitableway to secure the superiority of elites in that period. Shi Tao is the creator of a new cultural standard, he created the ideal of traditional elites’ life for his sponsors. His later works expressed anxieties and aspirations of his patron and himself in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasty.Theoriginal exclusivity of traditional literati painting inShiTao’s late works was replaced bythe anxiety of merchant class and the desire of traditional literati class.