, while his own paintings are
ascribed to Han Kan, painter of horses in the T'ang period. However, among
the numerous works attributed to Chao Meng-fu, there are a few in which we
recognize the vibrant and flexible line which is seen in his landscapes.
These paintings bear the signature of Tz[)u]-ang, in all probability a
false one, but the work of art itself will always be of greater value in
determining its authenticity than the most impressive of inscriptions. If
the technique and the quality of the line are sufficiently similar to
warrant attributing to the same hand the landscape in the British Museum,
and any particular painting of horses, this may be regarded as sufficient
evidence on which to base our own opinion as to his style.

Amongst his grooms and mounted soldiers, Chao Meng-fu painted the
different races which the wave of Mongolian invasion had swept into China:
Chinese from the central provinces, Tartars, Mongols with fur caps,
Moslems of a Semitic type from Turkestan, with white turbans and heavy
earrings. Whether his subject was the little Tartar horse from the
Mongolian plains or the beautiful steeds of ancient Transoxiana, always
brought as tribute by way of Khotan to the Chinese court, he gave the life
of the horse a singular beauty, portraying him in an equally happy manner
whether in the act of racing or in the attitudes of repose. In his mind
still dwelt the vision of Sung ideals, which proclaimed the hidden soul of
things and valued spirituality and life in a painting. Although we see
marked evidence of the Southern style in his work, his paintings are more
strongly colored than are those of that school. The influence of the Yuean
period begins to make itself felt. It brings out values in colored
pigment, emphasizes its violence and paves the way for a new tradition.

Chao Meng-fu has been compared by Chinese critics to his great predecessor
Han Kan. The writings, however, are unanimous in stating that,
notwithstanding his undeniable mastery, he lacked something of the vigor
of the earlier master. When we attempt to compare the two styles through
the aid of paintings of the T'ang period, wherein a reflection of the
great animal painter may be sought, the writings appear to be confirmed
in attributing a more positive and forceful character to the work of Han
Kan or the unknown group of painters around him. But Chao Meng-fu seems to
have possessed in a higher degree the feeling of movement and life