Bulletin Autumn 1975

of Ming I-min cultured imaginations and pursue the uncommon is fully revealed in their artistic expression. The style of these painters, the individualists, has been aptly called "fantastic" by contemporary scholars. The special features o f paintings of this period can be summarized as follows: i Extemporization—as in writing poetry ii Expression of individuality iii Use of dry brush iv Use of space (emptiness) in composition V Perceptiveness —to reduce the complex to the simple, to perceive the simple truth underlying superficial complexity. Hsiao Tun- Ts'ung Prunus in ink EXHIBITION The Exhibition of Paintings and Calligraphy by Ming I-min held in August—September at this University displayed many important masterpieces of the late Min g and early Ch'ing period. Among the 84 exhibits were an album of landscapes painted for Huang Yen-l u by Tao-chi, a rare album of landscapes by Chu Ta, an album of landscapes of south-west China by Huang Hsiang-chien and a superb landscape hangin g scroll by Tai Pên-hsiao. Other artists represented included Hung-jen , Fang I-chih, Fu Shan, Wen Tien, Huang Tao-chou, Ni Yüan-Iu and Chen Hung-shou. This comprehensive exhibition has not only attracted local art lovers, bu t also overseas world-renowned scholars in the field of Chinese art, who came all the way from Americ a and other parts of Asia to attend the Symposium, so as to study the masterpieces on display and exchange ideas and information on one of the most fascinating phases of Chinese cultural history. 3