Study On The Interaction Between Shi Tao And Yangzhou Huizhou Merchants In His Later Years

The Chinese painter Shi Tao in the early Qing dynasty is my favorite artist.In his artistic career,Hui Merchants in Yangzhou has had crucial influence on his later years and artistic creation.I studied the last fourteen years of his life after he settled in Yangzhou,during which Shi Tao associated with the Hui Merchants and created art with the financial assistance from Hui Merchants.From the perspective of the sociology of art and art sponsorship perspective,based on the predecessors' study,this paper looks at the influence on Shi Tao's creation of art by the social environment,the ideological trend at that time,dealings with the sponsors,Hui Merchants in Yangzhou,and the financial assistance from the sponsors under the background of the late Ming dynasty.In addition,this paper tries to interpret the complicated relationship between Shi Tao and his sponsor group,putting forward the preliminary personal views on this research problem.The evidence of the dealings between Shi Tao and Hui Merchants is the inscription of the correspondence between them and numerous books and paintings,all of which is also the main data basis of this study.Through the case study of Shi Tao's dealings between the painter Shi Tao in his later years and Hui Merchants in Yangzhou,a rule can be found that Yangzhou painter group during the late Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasty has just entered the art market;that the economic behavior between the painter and his art sponsor was still secret and unpublicized,but the dealings between the artist and his sponsors were frequent since poems,paintings,correspondence exchanges were recorded.In the middle of the Qing dynasty especially during the Yangzhou eight eccentrics time,painters had already made public their own standard payment for their paintings in the society and sold their paintings openly.The economic behavior between the painter and his sponsors is no longer a secret.Through the study of dealings between Shi Tao in his later years and Hui Merchants in Yangzhou,we can see that the rise of the Hui Merchants as sponsors,the professionalization of painters and the marketization of Chinese painting and calligraphy have the close symbiotic relationship.Also we can see that the Hui merchants in Yangzhou who are the economic backers behind the painter have played an important role in promoting the art market of Chinese painting and calligraphy.This paper is divided into five parts:The introduction part summarizes the current research on the dealings between Shi Tao and Hui Merchants in Yangzhou.It expounds the orientation and two core concepts of this research: 1.Art sponsorship;2.Sponsors of the arts.The first chapter mainly expounds the social environment of the arts sponsorship in the early Qing dynasty.Chapter two expounds art sponsorship from the social perspective,cultural perspective and values.The third chapter is the core of this article,focusing on the dealings between Shi Tao in his later years and Hui Merchants in Yangzhou.The fourth chapter analyzes the influence and effect of the art sponsorship of Hui merchants on the creation of Shi Tao's painting and calligraphy in his later years.The fifth chapter,based on the contemporary cultural situation,puts forward the suggestions on contemporary painters and sponsors referencing the dealings between Shi Tao and Hui merchants in Yangzhou.