The ink painter who drew inspiration from the resilience of life

The popular subjects depicted by Qi Baishi (1864-1957), a leading painter of the 20th century, include shrimp, birds, chickens, fish and other animals, which he drew on to playfully celebrate the essential beauty of nature.

Qi also left a body of figurative paintings, some in which he imagined celestial figures in folk tales, imbued with his observation of human nature. For example, he revisited Tie Guaili, an immortal who carries a gourd around filled with medicines to relieve pain, and Zhong Kui, "the king of ghosts", who hunts evil spirits and protects people and their houses. He also made a seal on which he engraved these words: "I'm old, in good health, and not envious of (the benefits of) being an immortal".

The painter experienced the vicissitudes of 20th-century China — from social instability and wars to peace — but in good or bad times, he celebrated the vigor of nature and the resilience of life through his fine brushwork.