Yi Yuanji (; Wade-Giles: I Yüan-chi) (c. 1000,

Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a popul ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...

I Yüan-chi
/ref> – c. 1064) was a

Northern Song Dynasty Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

painter, famous for his realistic paintings of animals. According to

Robert van Gulik Robert Hans van Gulik (, 9 August 1910 – 24 September 1967) was a Dutch orientalist, diplomat, musician (of the guqin), and writer, best known for the Judge Dee historical mysteries, the protagonist of which he borrowed from the 18th-century ...

, Yi Yuanji's paintings of gibbons were particularly celebrated. Van Gulik, Robert Hans (1967), The gibbon in China: An essay in Chinese animal lore, E. J. Brill, Leiden, Holland. There is a brief summary a

/ref> The 11th-century critic

Guo Ruoxu "Guo", written in Chinese: 郭, is one of the most common Chinese surnames and means "the wall that surrounds a city" in Chinese. It can also be transliterated into English as Cok, Gou, Quo, Quach, Quek, Que, Keh, Kuo, Kwo, Kuoch, Kok, Koc, ...

() in his ''Overview of Painting'' (图画见闻志, ''Tuhua Jian Wen Zhi'') tells this about Yi's career: He spent months roaming the mountains of southern

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...

and northern

, watching roebucks () and gibbons () in their natural environment. In 1064, Yi Yuanji was invited to paint screens in the imperial palace. Once this job has been completed, the Yingzong Emperor, impressed, commissioned him to paint the ''Picture of a Hundred Gibbons'', but unfortunately the artist died after painting only a few gibbons. A few of his other gibbon paintings have survived, and

, quite familiar with the behavior of this ape, comments on how naturally they look in the pictures. His other work includes depictions of deer, peacocks, birds-and-flowers and fruits-and-vegetables; many of them are kept in the National Palace Museum in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

. The ''Monkey and Cats'' painting is especially charming. Van Gulik identifies the monkey as a macaque. This painting was featured on a 2004 "Year of the Monkey" stamp from

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea w ...

. The image of Yi Yuanji, with his intimate knowledge of nature, has attracted attention from modern Chinese painters.Painting by modern artist Fan Zeng (范曾
''Yi Yuanji playing with a monkey'' (易元吉戏猴图)"
painting by the modern Chinese artist Fang Zeng (范曾)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yi, Yuanji Song dynasty painters Animal artists 1000s births 1064 deaths Artists from Changsha Painters from Hunan