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What criticism of Xia Gui did Zhuang Su write in Huaji Buyi?
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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 1298 work Huaji Buyi, the writer Zhuang Su offered a harsh critique of the Southern Song academy painter Xia Gui. He characterized Xiaās landscapes and figures as "very vulgar and debased," arguing that the artist gained prominence during a period of societal decline by "pursuing excess" rather than creating work with "real substance."1