Kun Can (1612–c.1673), also known as Shi Xi, Baitu, Jieqiu, was a core member of the Four Monk-Painters of the Early Qing, a Ming loyalist who took Buddhist orders and resided at Youqi Temple in Niushou Mountain, Nanjing. Fishing with a Rod is a monumental vertical hanging scroll, ink and pale mineral colors on paper, executed in his mature period after his Huangshan travels (1659–1660). He employed his signature tubi (bald brush) and kebi (dry brush) techniques, fusing Wang Meng’s dense pima cun (hemp-fiber texturing) and Ju Ran’s mellow ink gradations, complemented by subtle ochre and cyan washes. The work bears a long running-script colophon with his poems and three seals: “Shixi”, “Baitu”, and “Jieqiu”, linking the fishing hermit to Chan Buddhist detachment and loyalist nostalgia.
The composition excels at gaoyuan (lofty distance) and layered spatial depth, balancing imposing mountain masses with lyrical openness. A solitary fisherman sits calmly in a small boat on a mist-shrouded river, his figure rendered with concise, forceful lines that avoid sentimentality. Beyond the river, jagged peaks tower, textured with overlapping cun strokes and dotted with dark burnt-ink moss patches; ancient pines twist tenaciously in cliff crevices. Mist is masterfully defined by liubai (reserved white space) and pale ink washes rather than outlines, flowing between valleys, veiling lower slopes, and wrapping around pine boughs. Waterfalls streak down in white highlights, while a distant temple peeks through the clouds—all unified by a muted palette that merges the stillness of Chan meditation with the freedom of Daoist reclusion.
This work is a landmark of Early Qing individualist landscape painting and the fishing-hermit genre, breaking free from the rigid academic conventions of Dong Qichang’s school. The fisherman, a universal symbol of transcendence, carries dual meanings here: Chan philosophy (freedom from desire, living in the moment) and Ming loyalist sentiment (withdrawal from the Qing-ruled world into nature’s sanctuary). Kun Can’s rough, unrefined brushwork—far from being flawed—becomes a declaration of artistic authenticity, influencing later masters including Shi Tao and the Yangzhou School. The integration of poetry, calligraphy, and painting (the Three Perfections) elevates the landscape from mere scenery to a profound vehicle for spiritual reflection and emotional expression, cementing his status as one of the most original landscape painters of his era.