The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting, named after Li Yu’s villa in Nanjing, first appeared in 1679. It sets out in detail the techniques for painting landscapes, plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum, and flowers, birds and insects. The bibliographer Zhao Wanli called it “a bridge to the study of painting, used by most beginners.” Huang Binhong, Qi Baishi, Pan Tianshou and Fu Baoshi all used it as a model to learn from.
Before his travels, Qi Baishi’s landscapes followed mainly the manual and the style of the Four Wangs. On learning from others, he said: “I learn from others. I do not imitate them. What I learn is the spirit of brush and ink, whether the outward form looks alike or not.”