Among them, eight painters are called "Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics" for their unique painting style, eclectic articles and maverick personality. Where are these eight monsters?
The first is the painting style monster. The eight eccentrics are: Wang, Zheng Xie, Huang Shen, Shan Li, Li, Gao Xiang and Jin Nong.
The paintings of the Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou are bold, free and straightforward. Most of these people were frustrated in the official career of the imperial examination, but they were bold, wild and cynical.
The second is strange behavior. Zheng Banqiao's most popular poem is Bamboo Stone, which praises the loyal quality of bamboo:
Bamboo is not relaxed at all, its roots are firmly embedded in the cracks in the rocks.
After thousands of tortures and blows, it is still strong, whether it is the southeast wind or the northwest wind in winter, it can bear it and will still be tough and straight.
This seven-character quatrain eulogizes the indomitable and fearless quality of bamboo, and is also the sustenance of the poet's own noble character.
Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics were intellectuals in the middle of Qing Dynasty. They came from humble origins and were mostly incompetent. They were dissatisfied with Qing officials and sympathized with the working people at the bottom. It is with this seemingly strange behavior that they express their resistance.
The third is a strange temper. Jin Nong has a wide range of friends, from famous officials and tycoons to poor people who sell oars and lead cars. He has a strange temper in making friends. The people he looks down upon are not only lovers, but also supercilious, not to mention his poetry and calligraphy. For good friends, you never take people away from poverty and wealth.
The "eccentricity" of the "Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou" does not mean how maverick their words and deeds are. It is the "strange" who doesn't want to take the road that others have already started, but wants to find another way. They want to create "articles that reveal the sky and the earth, words that shock thunderstorms, words that curse ghosts and gods, and paintings that have no past or present". They deviate from the "truth" and do not follow the customs, and spend their lives trying to create a new style of writing or painting.