The Four Gentlemen have been used in Chinese painting since the time of the Chinese Song Dynasty (960–1279) because of their refined beauty, and were later adopted by artists in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. As they represent the four different seasons (the orchid for spring, the bamboo for summer, the chrysanthemum for autumn, and the plum blossom for winter), the four are used to depict the unfolding of the seasons through the year.

Four Gentlemen

The Four Gentlemen are an important subject matter in learning to paint in the aforementioned Asian traditions, as they embody all the basic brush styles. They are also depicted in Mahjong tiles.

Related to the Four Gentlemen are the Flowers of the Four Seasons, which consist of the orchid (spring), the lotus (summer), the chrysanthemum (autumn) and the plum blossom (winter). They contain three of the elements of the Four Gentlemen.

Chinese Bamboo Painting

This is a piece of ink bamboo showing amply the wet brush technique of the painter. He added a bit of glue in light ink to paint the bamboo stalk, making it light, full, and strong. The bamboo leaves, thick and thin, are painted with lively ink. The brushes are sharp, bringing out the characteristics of wet brush- one has to know exactly what one wants to paint and paint it in one go. The elegant stone in light ink, moss and grass slope in thick ink are alternately sparse and dense-just right, and showing the consummate skill of the painter. In his Chinese painting, we can somehow see light green in the light ink on the bamboo stalk.