| dc.description.abstract | In 1645 CE, Gao Shiqi (高士奇, c. 1645-1703) was born in Gu′an, a county near Beijing. Several decades later, Gao Shiqi joined the retinue of the Kangxi Emperor(康熙皇帝, c. 1654-1722) due to his skills of calligraphy and his literary knowledge, and became a well connected figure in the Emperor’s court. During this period, his painting appreciation skills enhanced and he developed his own method of appreciation. Gao’s life and work are popular topics for scholarly works. However, among the many studies, discussions on Gao′s taste in painting are quite rare. This paper attempts to collect Gao Shiqi′s inscriptions through his anthology and catalogs, as well as from existing or former paintings in Gao′s old collection, and interprets them together with the literature to restore Gao Shiqi′s personal views on painting and to discuss his historical position in the circle of painting appreciation.
This paper is divided into three chapters. The first chapter focuses on Gao Shiqi′s life, social capital, and collection of historicaly important paintings. In the second chapter, I will discuss Gao Shiqi′s aesthetic of ＂Essence＂(zhen, 真) and ＂Energy＂(shen-qi, 生氣) - over three categories: landscapes, ＂Bird-and-flower painting ＂(huaniao hua, 花鳥畫) and ＂Portraits ＂ (jen-wu, 人物) . In the third chapter, I hope to demonstrate how Gao′s collection influenced his stytle as an artist and his choices as a prominent taste maker in the mid to lateQing period and to inquire into the roots of his historical status. | en_US |