Pure and Remote Views of Mountains and Streams， a Song Dynasty（960.1279） hand scroll by Xia Gui， ink on paper， 46.5cm×889.1cm， in the collection of the Palace Museum， Taipei.
Xia Gui， a Southern Song Dynasty（1127.1279） painter， was good at drawing figures in his early years， but was later known to the world for his landscape paintings. He enjoyed equal fame with Ma Yuan in the painting history. In addition， Xia Gui， Ma Yuan， Li Tang and Liu Songnian were acclaimed as “Four Great Painters in the Southern Song Dynasty.” His extant works include Pure and Remote Views of Mountains and Streams and Huts in Willow Embankment.
It is a top-quality massive work among existing Southern Song paintings. As for composition， its upper section looks feint， while the lower section is painted in realistic approach， and color gradation is appropriate. It puts infinite landscape into a scroll of limited size， reflecting author’s superb skills.