Writing an Image: Chinese Literati Art

Excerpt from essay by Shuishan Yu: Literati art, or Weren Yishu 文人藝術, is a Chinese art form nurtured and promoted by scholars. The creators of literati art do not consider themselves as specialized artists, but first and foremost as human beings completed by Confucian moral cultivation and elevated by Daoist integration with nature. Literati art thus emphasizes art as a way of life that, in turn, nurtures the cultivation and moral character of the practitioner. The learning and creative process of art are just as essential as the final product.