Dwelling in the Mountains

Li Huasheng is fond of depicting scenes of his native province of Sichuan in western China. A member of the first generation of artists to be raised and trained in the People's Republic, Li rose from poverty to national acclaim in the 1980s. His compositions are innovative and whimsical, often with a touch of his equally eccentric calligraphy. The saturated ink in the foreground group of rocks and the trees provides an interesting foil to the diluted washes that form the mountains and low hills.

An avid writer on the nature of Chinese painting and its role in society, Li often expressed his opinions in public forums. His views on traditional painting are clear from this painting's inscription, in which he rejects the dictum to copy scenes from China's eastern landscape, instead opting to depict his native region. Such views made him the object of much criticism and disgrace at the hands of the leaders of political campaigns in the later 1980s.

The inscription on this painting reads:
Dwelling in the mountains. The hills and mountains of Sichuan have many rivers and streams. Its woods and forests are lush and interesting. Gradually I realize why one does not have to paint famous mountains and rivers. Li Huasheng in the summer of 1981.