Wu Daozi (about 685-758) was a painter of the Tang Dynasty. His original name was Wu Daoxuan, and he was honored as Wu Sheng in the history of painting. Yangdi was a native of Yuxian County, Henan Province. A famous painter in the Tang Dynasty of China, he is known as the "Sage of Paintings of All Generations".
Wu Daozi came from a poor family when he was young. He first became a folk painter and became famous for his paintings at a young age. Later, he became a county lieutenant in Ziyang County, Yanzhou, Shandong Province, and resigned soon after. Wandering around Luoyang, engaged in mural creation. At that time, he once painted for General Pei Min. Zhang Xu's cursive calligraphy, Pei Min's sword dancing, and Wu Daozi's paintings were simultaneously called the "Three Wonders" by people at that time. During the Kaiyuan period, he was summoned to the palace by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty for his good paintings, and served successively as a minister, a doctor of internal medicine, and a friend of King Ning. He was awarded the title of Doctor of Internal Education of Zhongshu Province. He has been serving the court ever since. He once studied calligraphy with Zhang Xu and He Zhizhang, and learned how to use pens by watching Lady Gongsun dance her sword. Wu Daozi was good at Buddhism, Taoism, gods and ghosts, figures, landscapes, birds and beasts, vegetation, pavilions, etc. He was especially good at Buddhism, Taoism, figures, and mural creation. According to records, he had painted as many as 300 murals in temples in Chang'an and Luoyang. There are many strange and strange shapes, and there is no similarity between them. Among them, "Hell in Disguise" was especially famous at the time. Wu Daozi's paintings have a unique style. His landscape paintings were revolutionary, and the figures he painted had flowing pleats, strong lines, and graceful elegance. At that time, people compared him with Cao Zhongda, a famous painter in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, calling them "Cao's clothes come out of the water, and Wu's belt is in the wind." Because Cao Zhongda's paintings The clothes of the characters in the painting are often tightly wrapped around the body; while the characters in Wu Daozi's paintings have flowing sleeves and smooth lines. Mi Fu, a painter of the Song Dynasty, described the lines in Wu Daozi's paintings as "water shield strips", which are smooth, delicate, and undulating. The changes in the width of the lines can be used to express the concavity and convexity of objects, giving the line drawing a three-dimensional effect. He also added light colors to the burnt ink lines, which is known as Wu suit in the world. The lines of his paintings are concise. "The strokes are only one or two, and the images are already in response", which is known as "sparse style". Wu Daozi's paintings have a great influence on later generations. He is respected as the "Sage of Painting" by people and respected by folk painters. Patriarch Su Shi once praised his art as "creating new ideas in the law and embodying good principles in boldness". Wu Daozi is very famous in historical records, but because a large number of his creations are murals, few of them have been handed down. The works have been preserved, but no authentic ones have been passed down to the world. The "Picture of the Heavenly King Sending Sons" passed down to this day may be a copy from the Song Dynasty, but the essence of Wu Daozi's brushwork can already be seen. There are also "Baoji Bingala Buddha Statue" and "Daozi Calligraphy Treasure". Among other copies, the Vimalakirti Sutra in Cave 103 of the Dunhuang Grottoes is also considered to be his painting style. Xu Beihong once obtained a fragment of the scroll, which he and Zhang Daqian identified as an authentic work by Wu Daozi and possibly a mural. The sketch is tentatively named "Eighty-Seven Immortals" based on the characters in the painting. This painting is majestic and the characters are leisurely and beautiful. It is a masterpiece of ancient Chinese painting.