Sequel to The Grading of Painters

Wu Xing's life is sparsely documented in publicly available sources: his dates of birth and death, native place, and nationality are not clearly recorded. What can be confirmed is that he is the author of the work Xu Hua Pin (Continued Rankings of Paintings). Xu Hua Pin belongs to the traditional Chinese genre of painting criticism known as hua pin, continuing the earlier practice of ranking and evaluating painters and their works. It records and assesses painters, serving as a valuable source for the study of early painting criticism and the history of painting theory. Wu Xing follows the hua pin format, in which rankings are combined with commentary; his style is concise, focusing on judgments of painters' styles and achievements and displaying a clear sense of connoisseurship and critical insight. Because relevant historical materials are scarce, the details of his life are difficult to verify, and scholars have discussed both the circumstances in which Xu Hua Pin was composed and its authorship. Knowledge of Wu Xing therefore rests mainly on this transmitted text. On the available evidence, his contribution lies chiefly in the writing of painting criticism and in carrying forward the tradition of evaluating painting, and his work provides a valuable textual basis for later understanding of ancient Chinese ideas about painting.