In order to explain historical tensions in eighteenth century Chinese paintings, I combine a biographical (Chinese) approach with a contextual approach (Western) in a study of two different scholar painters, Zheng Xie and Li Shan. I juxtapose biographical sources with artworks, and less official writings relating Zheng Xie and Li Shan, in order to describe the tensions involved in painting for the literatus within the merchant culture of Yangzhou.

These tensions existed between the literatus' expected status and that granted him, between his ideal of the role of painting in the scholar's life and the implications of commercial painting, and between his emphasis upon poetry and his popularity as a painter. In all cases, the tensions in eighteenth century literati painting arise from the difficult relationship between the painter and patron, and between the painter and the ideas of a broader public. The lack of a clear definition of "scholar" and "scholar painting" amongst literati illustrates the literatus' loss of control over the definition of his lifestyle. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).