Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics Memorial Hall locates in Guangling District in Yangzhou. It is a professional memorial hall that introduces and promotes the artistic achievements of the Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics. The memorial hall is adjacent to the bustling Wenchang Business Circle in the east. It was built inside the ancient Xifang Temple complex, where Jin Nong, one of the "Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics" once lived.
What is Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics?
Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics refer to the eight active renowned Chinese painters with the innovative spirits in Yangzhou from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). Their artistic works have creative compositions with new painting skills. They created a new generation of the painting styles and contributed to the development of Chinese calligraphy and painting in the future.
The eight painters, namely Wang Shishen, Huang Shen, Li Shan, Jin Nong, Luo Pin, Gao Xiang, Zheng Xie (also known as Zheng Banqiao) and Li Fangying are highly reputed by the people in the past and now.
The bold and innovative styles of the Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics have been inherited by the painters in the following decades. Modern and contemporary painters such as Wang Xiaomei, Wu Rangzhi, Tang Yun, Wang Yiting, Qi Baishi, Xu Beihong, Huang Binhong were all once affected by the works of "Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics" in some ways.
Layout of Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics Memorial Hall
The memorial hall covers an area of 4,452 square meters. The Nanmu Hall is a well-preserved ancient building built in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The structure of the main hall is mostly made of precious Nanmu wood. The hall had experienced many wars and fires and undertook several innovations, but still stood firmly.
In the main hall, the colorful paintings were drawn all over the beams, which are rare in Yangzhou. These well-preserved large-scale paintings have unique style of the early Ming Dynasty: clear composition, connected patterns, simple outline and multi-colors.
The main exhibition hall shows the customs of Yangzhou, the convenient transportation and prosperous economy in Yangzhou during the 18th century. It is as well as a hall used to exhibit the precious masterpieces of the eight painters.
The east and west galleries display the paintings of the Eight Eccentrics and the representative artworks by other Yangzhou calligraphers or painters. It also shows the historical artistic atmosphere of the Eight Eccentrics at that time.
In the courtyard stand thousands of the ancient trees. The rockery and pond also brings a vivid environment with green lawn is green and clean water.