Monk Painter Shi Tao and His Innovative Paintings

                     僧画家石涛和他的创意绘画

Shi Tao, born Zhu Ruoji, is known as one of “the Four Monk Painters of the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)”.

Born in Guilin, Guangxi province, Shi Tao was a kinsman of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). In 1644, after falling to the invading Manchurians and civil rebellion, the Ming Dynasty was overthrown.

Shi’s father, Zhu Kengjia, rebelled in Guangxi province and was later captured and killed, when Shi Tao was only three-years-old. It is said that he was taken away by a eunuch and in 1651 became a Buddhist monk.

Shi led a wandering life for a long time. He migrated from Wuchang, where he began his religious instruction, to Anhui in the 1660s. During this period, he read many books and visited abundant places, laying a solid foundation for his paintings. Throughout the 1680s he lived in Nanjing and Yangzhou.

Many believe Shi’s conversion to Buddhism served as a political pretense or a way of saving life since he kept paying attention to the occurrences in the outside world when he stayed in the Buddhist temple.

When the Qing Dynasty Emperor visited South China, Shi Tao received him with a warm welcome.

Shortly after, Shi went to Beijing to find patronage for his promotion within the monastic system. After his arrival in Beijing, he lived in Ci Yuan Temple which was dilapidated and dirty. Nobody, including the contemporary Emperor Kang Xi, was interested in his talks about Zen. He was only treated as a monk who could paint.

       石涛，俗名朱若极，在清初（1644-1911）是有名的“清初四僧”之一。
石涛明宗室靖江王朱赞仪十世孙，广西桂林人。1644年，满族入侵，臣民叛乱，明朝灭亡。
       石涛3岁那年，他的父亲朱亨嘉在广西叛乱并被逮捕杀害。据说当时石涛是被一个太监带走并于1651年出家成为和尚。

       很长一段时间石涛都在过着浪迹天涯的生活。他在武昌开始他的传统技法学习，并于1660年代移居至安徽。在这期间，他阅读许多书籍，走访许多地方，这为他的绘画打下坚固的基础。在1680年代期间，石涛先后定居在南京和扬州。
       当他在佛寺出家的时候，就已经在一直关注着外面世界所发生的动乱和事件。当时的许多人认为他转入佛门只是以其为借口来掩饰他的政治姿态，或者是为了在动乱中保全性命。
       清朝皇帝康熙南巡时，石涛热情迎之。
       不久之后，石涛来到北京，以僧人的身份为自己能够有提升的机会光顾达官贵人。在他到了北京之后，住在慈源寺，那个地方既偏僻又肮脏。没有一个人对他的谈禅感兴趣，当时的皇帝康熙，对禅同样没兴趣。人们只把他看作会作画的僧人。