Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting, Vol. 3

...the signs of flourishing and withering original: 榮枯之候 (rong ku zhi hou), referring to the seasonal cycles of nature. Since flowers and birds are both found in the Classic of Poetry and the Book of Rites original: 詩禮 (Shi Li), the foundational Confucian texts that frequently use nature imagery to teach moral lessons, it is only natural to excel in painting both.

Regarding the lineage of flower painting: I first compiled the herbs and trees, and then included insects and butterflies. Now, within the section on woody plants, I include birds and feathers lingmao (翎毛): literally "plumes and feathers," the technical term for the bird-painting genre. Examining the famous artists of the Tang and Song dynasties, all were skilled in both flowers and birds. How could I possibly separate them into a different record?

Birds belong to many different categories. "Xue’s cranes and Guo’s hawks" referring to the Tang dynasty masters Xue Ji and Guo Qianhui were already praised by the ancients. Since their time, have there not been others who excelled in a specific style?

• Cranes: Following Xue Ji, artists such as Feng Shaozheng, Kuai Lian, Cheng Ning, and Tao Cheng all specialized in painting cranes.
• Eagles and Hawks: Following Guo Qianhui and Guo Qianyou, artists like Jiang Jiao, Zhong Yin, Li You, and Li Demao were all masters of eagles and hawks.
• Peacocks and Parrots: Bian Luan was known for peacocks; Wang Ning and Xia Yi were known for parrots.
• Small Birds: Li Duan and Niu Jian painted doves; Chen Heng painted magpies; Ai Xuan, Fu Wenyong, and Feng Jundao painted partridges; Fan Zhengfu and Zhao Xiaoying painted wagtails.
• Pheasants and Waterfowl: Huang Quan a pivotal 10th-century master known for his "courtly" and realistic style painted golden pheasants and mandarin ducks; his son Huang Jucai painted quails and bamboo partridges. Wu Yuanyu painted purple swallows and orioles; the monk Huichong painted gulls and herons; Que Sheng painted crows; Ding Xi and Shi Qiong painted pheasants.
• Wild Geese: Cui Que, Chen Zhigong, Zhang Jing, Hu Qi, Chao Yuezhi, Zhao Shilei, and the monk Fachang also known as Muqi, a famous Chan/Zen painter all excelled at wild geese.
• Domestic Fowl: Mei Hangsi painted fighting cocks; Li Cha, Zhang Yu, Wu Xianzhi, and Yang Qi painted chickens.
• Ducks: Shi Daoshuo, Cui Bai a Song dynasty master known for injecting movement and "life-spirit" into his work, Teng Changyou, and Cao Fang painted mandarin ducks; Gao Shou painted sleeping ducks and floating geese; Lu Zonggui painted chicks and ducklings.
• General Categories: Tang Gai painted wild birds; Qiang Ying, Chen Ziran, and Zhou Hun painted waterfowls; Yu Xiao painted songbirds.

These are all famous masters throughout history. Some placed birds within floral settings, specializing in a single excellence; others depicted a vast variety of birds, achieving the heights of the craft.

As for mountain birds and water birds, their forms differ according to their regional origins. Their ornate plumage and kingfisher feathers original: 錦羽翠翎 (jinyu cuiling), referring to the bright, iridescent colors of exotic birds change color across the four seasons. An artist must also observe their varied states: flying, calling, roosting, and feeding, as well as the specific structures of their beaks, wings, tails, and claws.