Mi Fu: the Genius Behind the Madman

Mi Fu (米黻, 1051–1107), also known as Mi Fei (米芾), was a painter, poet, and calligrapher born in Taiyuan, Shanxi during the Song Dynasty. In painting he gained renown for his style of painting misty landscapes. This style would be deemed the "Mi Fu" style and involved the use of large wet dots of ink applied with a flat brush. His poetry followed the style of Li Bai and his calligraphy that of Wang Xizhi. His uninhibited style made him disliked at the Song court.

He is best known for his calligraphy, and he was regarded as one of the four greatest calligraphers in Song Dynasty. His style arises from that of calligraphers in earlier dynasties, but with a unique mark of his own.

As a personality Mi Fu was noted as an eccentric. At times they even deemed him "Madman Mi" because he was obsessed with collecting stones and even declared one stone to be his brother. Hence he would bow to his "brother" rock in a display of the filial devotion given to older brothers. He also was known as a heavy drinker. His son, Mi Youren, would also be a famous painter in his father's artistic style. Unlike his father Mi Youren lived to be quite elderly, dying at the age of 79.

According to tradition, he was a very smart boy with a great interest in arts and letters and an astonishing ability of memorising. At the age of six he could learn a hundred poems a day and after going over them again, he could recite them all.

His mother served as the emperor Emperor Renzong of Song’s wife, where he also started his career as Reviser of Books, Professor of Painting and Calligraphy in the capital, Secretary to the Board of Rites and Military Governor of Huaiyang. These frequent changes of official position were caused by Mi Fu's sharp tongue and open criticism of official ways and means. He is said to have been a very capable official, but unwilling to submit to conventional rules and manifested a spirit of independence which caused him serious difficulties.

Mi Fu was very peculiar in his manners and the way he dressed. Wherever he went, he attracted a crowd. He was also very fond of cleanliness. He used to have water standing at his side when working because he washed his face very often. He would never wash in a vessel that had been used by someone else or put on clothes that had been worn by another person.

Mi Fu's passion was collecting old writings and paintings. As his family wealth was gradually lost on relatives, he continued to collect and made every possible sacrifice to get the samples he wanted. There is even an anecdote according to which Mi Fu, once being out in a boat with his friends, was shown a sample of Wang Xianzhi’s writing and this made him so excited that he threatened to jump overboard unless the owner made him a present of it, which, apparently, could not be refused.

Gradually his collection became a big treasury and his simple house a meeting place for the greatest scholars of the time. Some of the calligraphies of his collection he inherited but others acquired. He also exchanged the less good for better. He wrote: “When a man of today obtains such an old sample it seems to him as important as his life, which is ridiculous. It is in accordance with human nature, that things which satisfy the eye, when seen for a long time become boring; therefore they should be exchanged for fresh examples, which then appear double satisfying. That is the intelligent way of using pictures.”

Mi Fu was something of a maniac in regard to safeguarding, cleaning and exhibiting of his pictures. He arranged his collection in two parts, one of which was kept secret or only for a few selected friends and another which could be shown to ordinary visitors.

Yan Shan Ming (Part 1)

Yan Shan Ming (Part 2)

Yan Shan Ming (Part 3)

Mountains and Pines in Spring