Peach Tree Fan Chang Tien Year: 1984. Medium: Chinese ink and colour. Size: 136 x 67 cm.

"The Shanghai School, although an extension of the classical literati tradition, took on a somewhat decorative form when Wu Changshi incorporated archaic calligraphic elements into the style. Despite the traditional motifs and subjects, the xieyi style is a somewhat abbreviated, stylized, and symbolic form of the classical ink tradition. This approach, which reflected a microcosm of Chinese traditions, was what the United Artists Malaysia saw as representative of Chinese culture in the Nanyang.

Fan Chang Tien and See Hiarg To, two of the most influential ink painting teachers in Singapore, usually paint in the xieyi style. While Fan Chang Tien's Peach Tree and Bamboo and Orchids are excellent examples in the traditional idiom, Fan's Under the Coconut Palms Under the Coconut Palms and See's Malay Man with Wayang Kulit are atypical as they show local people and scenery."

-- Channels & Confluences, ch. 2.

References

Kwok Kian Chow. Channels & Confluences: A History of Singapore Art. Singapore: National Heritage Board/Singapore Art Museum, 1996. Plate 3.

This document is part of a joint project of the Singapore Art Museum and the Honours Core Curriculum, National University of Singapore. This image and accompanying text appears here with the kind permission of the Singapore Art Museum.

Last updated: April 2000