Peonies and Pomegranates, a painting by Wu Changshuo. [Photo/Courtesy of Beijing Fine Art Academy]

Featured figures included Wu Changshuo, recognized a leading reformer of art in South China, who integrated the forms of Chinese calligraphy into his body of work. His approach to painting became well-received among an emerging group of middle-class city dwellers.

Another noted painter at the time was Qi Baishi, who took Wu's advice to adopt a carefree style. His paintings juxtapose small insects drawn with meticulous brushwork and blooming green plants painted with loose strokes, thereafter achieving a poetic feeling in Qi's fans, mostly in North China.