Centuries ago, a prince-turned-monk transformed personal loss and political upheaval into art that continues to resonate today, Lin Qi reports.

In the over three centuries since Bada Shanren (1626-1705), a prince-turned-monk and artist, left this world, the iconic visual language of his ink paintings has created an even deeper resonance with the public.

His works have been integrated into popular culture, with people particularly fond of animals personified under his expressive strokes — fish, birds, deer, and cats, their eyes turned to the sky, staring wide-eyed, and gazing ahead blankly. These creatures' expressions have transformed into popular memes across social media, an outlet many use to vent their social anxiety and workplace stress.

The works of Bada Shanren, often referred to as just Bada, stand out with an unconventional minimalist approach and sedated mood that bring people respite in the intervals of their fast-paced lifestyles.

Marking the 400th anniversary of his birth, his birthplace, Nanchang, Jiangxi province, is holding an exhibition, So Lofty the Spirit, So Eternal the Ink, at a memorial and museum named after him. In Beijing, where prestigious museums also house his works, an ongoing exhibition at the National Art Museum of China reveals the enthusiasm and muted beauty of Bada's spiritual world.

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Ink Splendor and Cultural Context: Exhibition of Bada Shanren and Chinese Xieyi Art Since the 17th Century, running until Aug 15, gathers over 60 paintings and calligraphic pieces from the collections of the NAMOC, the Shanghai Museum, the Guangzhou Museum of Art in Guangdong province, the Bada Shanren Memorial in Jiangxi, and other institutions. It is held under an Ink Splendor and Cultural Context program umbrella for which the NAMOC has been mounting exhibitions of classical art and artifacts to honor the consistency of Chinese cultural lineage.

Shao Xiaofeng, the exhibition's co-curator, says that amid drastic social transformations in the 17th century, Bada carved out a new realm through an innovative freehand style on paper: "With just a few strokes, he drew fish and birds to convey a transcendent mental state and detachment from mundane worries, a pool of lotus blossoms to present Zen serenity for meditation, and rocks in strange forms that reveal defiance and pride.

"These ordinary subjects represent his deepest feelings and unyielding integrity, thereafter elevating the art of xieyi (drawing the spirit) to new heights."

It is not difficult to discern Bada's works from others'. In addition to the evocative animals and their rolling eyes, his art is characterized with limited, often monochromatic, hues, reserved strokes and sparse composition, hinting at aloofness in his character and a witty attitude. His art is highly regarded as a one-of-a-kind in the style of wenrenhua, or elite literati paintings.

To understand Bada's distinct art requires knowledge of his life trajectory.

Bada led a lonely, destitute life, despite being born into prestige. He was raised at Prince Yiyang's Mansion in Nanchang and was known by his birth name, Zhu Tongquan, and also by Zhu Da. He belonged to a direct line of the imperial Zhu house that ruled the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). His ancestral lineage is traced to Zhu Quan, one of Ming's founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang's sons.

If Bada had been born in the Ming prime, he could have led a prince's life of superiority and affluence, but his days were turned upside down in the raging storms of monarchic transition. At 18, he witnessed the collapse of the Ming, replaced by the Manchu-built Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Fearing that he would be executed like many of his clan members, he fled into the mountain wilderness and later became a Buddhist monk. He led a monastic life for over three decades during which he was devoted to practicing Buddhism, painting, and calligraphy.

He returned to secular life around 1680. No specific reason was given but he was said to have been seized by sudden madness. Because the political situation had stabilized, he felt a former imperial member like him was no longer a threat to the Qing court.

He returned to Jiangxi only to find his former home had turned into debris, and he was seen as an eccentric man by others. A sense of instability and reclusiveness remained in his heart. He sold paintings for a living and his struggle with the mental illness continued to haunt him while shaping his art.

After 59, he began signing his works "Bada Shanren" — literally, Eight Great Mountain Man — the best-known of his several pseudonyms. No agreed explanation for this unique, yet bizarre pseudonym has been discovered. One popular idea suggests it is a graphic variant and wordplay of the characters for "crying and laughing". The opinion is grounded on his abstract, peculiar brushwork that indicates a mentality of dissonance with mundane affairs.

How he depicted subjects reflects an alternative, extraordinary world perspective. Shapes are exaggerated: rugged stones look like the side of a man's profile, a cat's body is elongated, and the fish has the tail of a bird. They are placed against an empty background, looking as if they are defying gravity. Sometimes a fish is painted above a bird, blurring the boundaries of time and space.

Bamboo by Autumn Window, a NAMOC collection on display, illustrates Bada's artistic philosophy of "less is more" very clearly. Zhao Hui, the exhibition's other curator, says Bada is "a virtuoso of pictorial composition", and in this painting, a contrast is formed between the hard — the square outer window, stiff rock and upright bamboos — and the soft — the circular inner window, three reishi mushrooms and a honeysuckle flower, "which gives a profile of his helplessness and, meanwhile, bemusement with the world".

The repertory of images in his works is endowed with rich spiritual symbolism. In loneliness, he sought independence and self-assurance. Rarely did he portray animals in a group, but only one or two: on the mountain road, a deer turns its head and eyes to the sky; two birds stand on tree branches, both on one leg, their upright feathers suggesting a state of alertness. "Whatever he painted was a projection of his inner self," Zhao adds.

Bada achieved artistic maturity in his later years, and his works assumed a more eased state. He revisited the lotus motif — his shabby house was said to be near a lotus pond — and his renderings of lotus blossoms, in a lucid, expansive scenario, evoke an ideal realm of peace and harmony.

"The ethereality in his works, achieved through greatly reduced strokes and emptiness, embodies the idea that all things are equal and life is ceaselessly renewed," says Deng Feng, a senior researcher at the National Art Museum.

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In life, Bada's art was rejected by the mainstream, although the artistic spirit and philosophical take of his oeuvre were inherited by influential painters in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The same exhibition shows selective works of these noted personas to reflect Bada's endearing charm in the modern age: the stones in Wu Changshuo's (1844-1927) work; the vast, serene lotus pool under the strokes of Zhang Daqian (1899-1983); and the small animals in which Qi Baishi (1864-1957) commanded innocence.

Bada's influences are everywhere, and his spirit endures through the innovative brushworks of these luminous figures.

One may see similarities between Bada and Vincent van Gogh — tragic in life, a lack of recognition for their unconventional works, and revered after death.

Deng says Bada was, indisputably, the peak in the flower-and-bird genre and the xieyi style of traditional Chinese art. "His simplified brushwork and the spatiality that expands without limit render his work intense spirituality.

"Bada has long been a topic worthy of discussion. Entering his world, we may find ourselves in a broader universe."

Contact the writer at linqi@chinadaily.com.cn