Jin Liying

CHINA, Zhejiang, Shaoxing; Qing dynasty

Jin Liying was a painter from Shanyin (present day Shaoxing, Zhejiang). Since she was a child, Jin had adept skills in writing, painting, and calligraphy, and was accomplished in poetry. In addition to depicting figures, plums, architecture, and the Buddha, she particularly enjoyed landscape painting, often creating works while she traveled. The works she created were unique to her own elegant style. In calligraphy, Jin created works based on the styles of the Jin (265–420) and Tang (618–907) dynasties. She also excelled in Han clerical script.
Her well-known work, Avalokitesvara and a Child, is kept at the Zhejiang Provincial Museum. The rare depiction of a domestic parrot in the painting is implicit of a new trend of secularization that was observed in similar paintings of the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1911).