Shannan lunhua 山南論畫

Shannan lunhua 山南論畫, in the collection Molin jinhua 墨林今話 called Shannan Laowu hualun 山南老屋畫論, is a book on painting written during the Qing period 清 (1644-1911) by Wang Xuehao 王學浩 (1745-1832), courtesy name Mengyang 孟養, style Jiaoqi 椒畦, from Kunshan 崑山, Jiangsu. The book of 1 juan length was finished around 1830.

The Shannan hualun consists of eight sections. The main subject of discussion is landscape painting, though the principles discussed, such as brushwork and colour application, can also be applied to flowers, other plants, and insect painting. The first part expounds on brushwork and ink usage, part 4 on the painting of rocks, and chapter 5 on moss. Section 2 quotes from the works of the painter Wang Yuanqi 王原祁 (1642-1715), and chapter 3 expands on the insights of Zhang Pushan 張浦山 (Zhang Geng 張庚, 1685-1760), Dong Qichang 董其昌 (1555-1636), and Wang Yuanqi regarding the relationship between painting and calligraphy. Nature and spiritual resonance in landscape painting is the topic of part 6, while chapter 7 focuses on "blue-and-green" landscape painting. The final section number 8 discusses the "lost-bone method" (mogu fa 没骨法), a technique that dispenses with outlines and relies solely on washes of color or ink.

Though the Shannan lunhua consists of only eight brief sections, its author was a celebrated landscape painter of the mid-to-late Qing dynasty and a central figure of the Loudong School 婁東派. His discussions draw deeply from traditional sources while also demonstrating personal insights born of artistic practice. Thus, the treatise holds significant theoretical value and serves as a meaningful reference for the study and practice of Chinese landscape painting.

The text is included in the series Cuilangganguan congshu 翠琅玕館叢書, Sitongguzhai lunhua jike 四銅鼓齋論畫集刻 and Lidai lunhua mingzhu huibian 歷代論畫名著彙編.