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Shi Tao is an epoch-making art master in the history of Chinese calligraphy and painting. His art is profound and full of creative vitality. More than half of Shi Tao's handed down calligraphy and painting works were created in Yangzhou. Many people believe that he is the founder of the Yangzhou School of Painting.

Shi Tao also has an important painting theory monograph "Bitter Melon Monk Painting Quotations", which is referred to as "Painting Quotations". This work was written and engraved by Shi Tao personally in Yangzhou Daditang during his lifetime, and was called "Painting Manual", but it was not widely circulated. The currently circulated "Painting Quotations" is a manuscript passed down by Wang Yichen during the Yongzheng period, and there are many differences between it and Shi Tao's own engraving.

Shi Tao's "Painting Quotations" aims to be both profound and ethereal, and the language is mysterious and obscure, to convey the secrets that painters do not convey. "Painting Quotes" begins with this: "It is impossible in ancient times, and it is too simple to be scattered; once too simple, it is scattered, and the law is established. Where does the law stand? It is established in a painting. A painting is the foundation of all things, the root of all things; Seeing is used by gods, hiding is used by people, but the world does not know it. Therefore, the method of painting is self-establishment. "This is the famous "One Painting Theory" in traditional Chinese painting theory.

The text of Shi Tao's "Painting Quotations" is difficult to read, but its explanation of painting principles is profound. It can be said that no ancient painting theory can surpass it in profoundness. His famous saying, "Stand the spirit in the sea of ??ink,... light shines out from the chaos" is actually a wonderful sentence about pen and ink.

In the history of Chinese art, Shi Tao's transcendent temperament and heroic and passionate talent are unique. "Painting Quotes" written by him in his later years is a summary of his understanding of artistic life. It shines with the brilliance of intelligence and opens up a new horizon for the creation and appreciation of Chinese ink painting. In his scroll "Playing the Qin to an Ox", he is shown playing the Qin with an open-minded and confident expression, singing to the cows in the leisurely space between heaven and earth, which is a true portrayal of Shi Tao's life realm.

Shi Tao (AD 1630-1742), formerly known as Zhu Ruoji, later changed his name to Yuanji, Yuanji, also known as Chaoji, also known as Qingxiang Old Man, and later as Blind Venerable, a native of Beijing, Qing Dynasty One of the most outstanding painters. He was originally a member of the royal family of the Ming Dynasty. When he was 10 years old, his country was destroyed and his family was destroyed. He became a monk and changed his name to Shi Tao. In order to escape the disaster of the war, he wandered around and engaged in painting and sketching, and eventually became a famous painter at home and abroad. Shi Tao enjoyed the famous mountains and rivers, and formed his own unique style of lush and unrestrained. The composition of his paintings is novel, whether it is dead trees, jackdaws, cliffs, Jiangnan ink paintings, or Huangshan clouds and smoke, he strives for novel layouts and innovative artistic conceptions. He also makes good use of ink techniques, expressing the dense atmosphere and profound state of mountains and rivers through the penetration of ink and the blending of brush and ink. He is especially good at using the "interception method" to convey the depth of the scene with close-ups. His brushwork is unbridled, free and easy, regardless of small flaws, and has a bold and vigorous momentum. He made extremely outstanding achievements in the art of painting and was the most creative painting master in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. His representative works include "Scroll of Searching for Strange Peaks", "Picture of Colored Stones", "Scroll of Clouds and Mountains", "Scroll of Plum and Bamboo", "Scroll of Pleasures in the Mountains and Forests", "Picture of Plum, Bamboo and Orchid", etc.