Xie He
Xie He (fl. 6th century) was a Chinese art historian, art critic, painter, and writer of the Liu Song and Southern Qi dynasties. He is known for the "six principles of Chinese painting", which was found in the preface to his book The Record of the Classification of Old Painters (古畫品錄).
Xie He
- Born
- 450 · Liu Song dynasty.
- Died
- 600 · Liu Song dynasty.
- Nationality
- Liu Song dynasty
- Occupation
- art critic · painter
- Known for
- Six principles of Chinese painting
- Languages
- Traditional Chinese
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Xie He (fl. 6th century) was a Chinese art historian, art critic, painter, and writer of the Liu Song and Southern Qi dynasties. He is known for the "six principles of Chinese painting", which was found in the preface to his book The Record of the Classification of Old Painters (古畫品錄).
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Six principles of Chinese Painting
Six principles of Chinese Painting
According to Xie He, the six elements that define a painting are: • "Spirit Resonance" (zh-Latn-pinyin 气韵) or vitality (zh-Latn-pinyin 生动), and seems to translate to the nervous energy transmitted from the artist into the work. The overall energy of a work of art. Xie He said that without Spirit Resonance, there was no need to look further. • "Bone Method" (zh-Latn-pinyin 骨法) or the way of using the brush (zh-Latn-pinyin 用笔). This refers not only to texture and brush stroke, but also to the close link between handwriting and personality. In his day, the art of calligraphy was inseparable from painting. • "Correspondence to the Object" (zh-Latn-pinyin 应物) or the depicting of form (zh-Latn-pinyin 象形), which would include shape and line. • "Suitability to Type" (zh-Latn-pinyin 随类) or the application of color (zh-Latn-pinyin 赋彩), including layers, value and tone. • "Division and Planning" (zh-Latn-pinyin 经营) or placing and arrangement (zh-Latn-pinyin 位置), corresponding to composition, space and depth. • "Transmission by Copying" (zh-Latn-pinyin 传移) or the copying of models (zh-Latn-pinyin 模写), not only from life but also the works of antiquity.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
450
Xie He born at Liu Song dynasty.
600
Xie He died at Liu Song dynasty.
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
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General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Paintings
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- Xie HuanArtist
- Xie ShichenArtist
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- Xie ZhiliuArtist
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