叶九如

Ye Jiuru is an author about whom little public information is available; details such as nationality and dates of birth and death are not clearly recorded, and what can be confirmed is that eleven works appear under this name. Judging from the works held in the collection, Ye Jiuru's writing and compilation center on the field of traditional Chinese painting, most notably the series Sanxitang Huabao (Precious Paintings from the Hall of Three Rarities), which covers subjects such as rocks, birds and flowers, and beautiful women, issued in separate volumes and combining pictorial plates with demonstrations of painting methods. Works of this kind generally serve learners and enthusiasts of painting and calligraphy by gathering famous works and technical illustrations from earlier periods, presenting the formal conventions and brushwork of landscape, flower-and-bird, and figure painting. Ye Jiuru's work is closer to the arrangement and editing of traditional painting manuals, and its influence lies chiefly in providing beginners with accessible models for copying and reference, helping the artistic resources represented by Sanxitang Huabao reach a broader readership.