SIX MASTERS OF THE EARLY CH'ING PERIOD

group of major Chinese artists who worked in the 17th and early 18th centuries (Ch'ing dynasty). Also known as orthodox masters, they continued the tradition of the scholar-painter, following the injunctions of the artist-critic Tung Ch'i-ch'ang (q.v.) late in the Ming dynasty. The Six Masters include the flower painter Yn Shou-p'ing (q.v.) and the landscapists Wu Li (q.v.) and the Four Wangs: Wang Shih-min, Wang Chien, Wang Yan-ch'i, and Wang Hui (q.v.). The works of the Six Masters are generally conservative, cautious, subtle, and complex in contrast to the vigorous and vivid painting of their individualist contemporaries.