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How did Xia Wenyan praise Xia Gui’s ink washes and brushwork?

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Pure and Remote View of Streams and Mountains, detail of hand scroll in ink and paper by Xia Gui, early 13th century (Southern Song); in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan. — Xia Gui *Pure and Remote View of Streams and Mountains*, detail of hand scroll in ink and paper by Xia Gui, early 13th century (Southern Song); in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan.

In his 1365 work Tuhui Baojian, Xia Wenyan offered a highly positive assessment of Xia Gui’s artistic technique. He praised the artist's work for having an "exciting" or stimulating quality and highlighted the following specific attributes:

Ink Washes: He described the ink washes as being applied in a "rich and wet" manner, characterizing this as a "remarkable achievement."
Ink Tones: He noted that Xia Gui’s ink tones were so skillfully handled that they produced the effect of colors.
Brushwork: He described the brushwork as "mature and controlled."

Xia Wenyan further emphasized Xia Gui's stature by stating that among all the Academy masters of landscape following Li Tang, none were his equal.1