Ts'ui Po, Sung dynasty

Original: Hanging-scroll, Ink and colours on silk, 101.3cmX49.9cm

Signed by the painter

Collector's seals: Ta Chung-kuang yin, Wan-wei fang yin, Ch'un-ts'ao t'ang t'u-shu yin, three Ch'ien-lung seals

　Ts'ui Po (active 1024-1068) came from Hao-liang (the present Feng-yang in Anhui). His style-name was Tzu-hsi; he excelled at painting flowers, bamboos, and birds, using limpid colours and a relaxed style of composition. He was also an accomplished painter of Taoist and Buddhist subjects as well as of landscapes, figures, and animals. In 1068 he was commanded, along with Ai Hsuan, Ting K'uang, and K'o Shou-ch'ang, to paint a screen for the Ch'ui-kung Hall. Only Ts'ui Po's work proved satisfactory and as a result he was appointed to a post within the palace. However, he was reluctant to accept for he felt he was not suited to the formalities of court life. The Emperor himself convinced him of the necessity to accept. His paintings exercised a great influence on Academy painters of the following years.