Five Dynasties

After the Tang Dynastypainters in the Five Dynasties (709-960) not only inherited the Tang Dynasty tradition of painting beauty but also made changes.

Han Xizai Evening Banquet

Take Gu Hong Zhong's "Han Xizai Evening Banquet " for example. The court attendant's posture is poor compared to that of the women in earlier Tang Dynasty paintings, but the woman is healthy and beautiful. In Ruan Gao's" Fairies of the Celestial Realm," there are also evident changes. Instead of painting obese models, he began to depict women with a more slender stature and charming posture.

Song Dynasty

With a relatively stable political power, developed economy and prosperous culture, Chinese artists in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), continued to make innovations in their portrayals of women.In addition to mythical female figures and courtesans, the women at the bottom of society began to catch artists' attention.

Take Wang Juzheng's " The Spinning Wheel " for example. Women in this picture do not have sweet and pretty facial expressions, attractive statures, magnificent clothing or honored status. They are real, ordinary, rural women.

The Spinning Wheel

Artists did not use artistic techniques to make them look better, but praised their unadorned individuality and virtuous lifestyle while simultaneously expressing sympathy for their poverty.