QI BAISHI (1864-1957)

Qi Baishi, also known as Qi Huang or Qi Weiqing, was born in 1864 in Xiangtan county, Hunan province.  In his youth he taught himself painting, poetry, calligraphy and zhuang seal carving.  Qi moved to Beijing in 1918, where he resided until his death in 1957.   From 1928 he began to sign his name on paintings as 'Baishi', meaning 'White Stone', which also implied 'White Mountain', hence his favoured signature 'Mountain Hermit Baishi'.

About his own work, Qi once said, "I learned finger painting in my youth, landscape painting after 30, and specialised in flowers, insects and birds after 40."  After that, Qi resolved to paint "all the insects and birds in the whole world".  Qi changed his painting styles several times before settling down finally to create his own unique style called xieyi, or swift, sure, spontaneous emotional brushstroke.