Fang Wanyi

Fang Wanyi (1732-1779), was a Chinese poet and painter.^[1][2] She married the painter Luo Ping in 1752, and painted several works both with him as well as alone.^[3][4][5] Many of these works were exhibited in Beijing during her lifetime, and became well-known.^[6]

Her family was from Anhui, though she moved to Yangzhou when she and her husband married.^[1] Her father was named Baojian, and her grandfather, Fang Yuanying, had been a poet and politician.^[1][7]

Fang Wanyi was highly-educated. She studied poetry with the respected poet Shen Dacheng.^[1][7] She excelled in many skills, and gained renown as a painter, poet, and calligrapher.^[1][3] There are books of her work, including one titled Poems by Bailan. One of her collections of several works, Grieving a Young Maiden, was said to be so well-known that everyone in the city could say it by heart.^[1]

Around 1754, Fang Wanyi hosted a famous gathering of notable women poets, primarily members of the extended family of Luo Ping. Her guests included Luo Qiuying (Luo Ping's sister), Sun Jingyou (Luo Ping's sister-in-law), Xu Deyin, and Yuan Tang.^[1][8] The gathering was painted by the artist Guan Xining, in a painting entitled Reciting Poems in the Female Quarters on a Winter Day.^[8][1]

Fang Wanyi and Luo Ping created art together in their workshop, called The Thatched Hut of Fragrant Leaves.^[1][6] Their marriage appears to have been quite loving, and they wrote fondly of one another and praised one another's works.^[1] In their poetry, they often wrote lovingly, referring to one another by their 'style' names: Luo Ping was 'two peaks' and Fang Wanyi was 'white lotus'.^[6] Their friends and colleagues even wrote of the pair's love.^[1][2] Many years after Fang Wanyi's death, Luo Ping had a portrait painted; in the portrait, the elderly man holds a white lotus.^[1]

References

• Lily Xiao Hong Lee,Clara Lau,A.D. Stefanowska: Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: v. 1: The Qing Period, 1644-1911

1. Karlsson, Kim (2004). Luo Ping: The Life, Career, and Art of an Eighteenth-century Chinese Painter. Peter Lang. ISBN 978-3-03910-223-5.
2. Lu, Weijing (2021-07-22). Arranged Companions: Marriage and Intimacy in Qing China. University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-74913-6.
3. Li, Xifan (2022-10-03). A General History of Chinese Art: Qing Dynasty. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 978-3-11-079093-1.
4. Patron, Ernesto Carlos Pujazon; Choon Woon, Chong; Elias, Jose Domingo (2022-09-01). "THE PECULIAR REVELATIONS: SCROLLS PAINTINGS FROM THE WORLDS OF LUÓ PÌNG - 罗聘 (1733-1799)". International Journal of Heritage, Art and Multimedia. 5 (18): 01–15. doi:10.35631/ijham.518001. ISSN 2600-8262.
5. Hsü, Cheng-chi (1987). Patronage and the Economic Life of the Artist in Eighteenth Century Yangchow Painting. University of California, Berkeley.
6. Rogers, Howard; Lee, Sherman E. (1988). Masterworks of Ming and Qing Painting from the Forbidden City. International Arts Council. ISBN 978-0-9621061-2-5.
7. Lee, Lily Xiao Hong; Lau, Clara; Stefanowska, A. D. (2015-07-17). Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: v. 1: The Qing Period, 1644-1911. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-47588-0.
8. Lee, De-Nin D. (2017). "More Than Mere Diversion: Painting and Tihuashi in the Life of Luo Qilan". Archives of Asian Art. 67 (1): 61–82. doi:10.1215/00666637-3788645. ISSN 1944-6497. S2CID 194672507.