Landscape of the imagination

When appreciating these great works, he adds, one is able to connect with the spiritual world of ancient intellectuals and their practice of gewu zhizhi (an exhaustive study of things for a thorough acquisition of knowledge), a principle of Confucianism; and that the purpose of tracing the past is for people to integrate the reformative spirit, philosophical outlook and lifestyle of refinement of ancient Chinese with the experiences of modern life, and to create a new realm of art and culture.

The exhibition marks a rare gathering of the works of "four great painters of the Southern Song Dynasty" — Li Tang, Liu Songnian, Ma Yuan and Xia Gui — the most luminous among a galaxy of cultural and artistic figures in Hangzhou, whose innovative brushwork ushered the aesthetics of Northern Song landscape painting to find new context. All four served as court artists at the imperial academy of painting.

They helped develop a distinguished academic painting style that has enjoyed long-lasting influence.