Ch: nanzonghua. The Southern school of Chinese painting. Composed of literati (scholars) as opposed to the Northern school *hokushūga 北宗画 of Chinese painting which was composed of professional artists. This division of painters into two lineages was championed by the scholar-artist-theoretician Dong Qichang (Jp: Tō Kishō 董其昌, 1555-1636). The terminology was borrowed from Chan 禅 (Jp: Zen) Buddhism, which had also split into Northern and Southern schools. Whereas Northern Chan practiced methods leading to gradual enlightenment, the Southern branch promoted the idea that enlightenment could occur more suddenly. Dong employed these divisions to distinguish different approaches to painting: literati or scholar-artists were put into the Southern school and professionals into the Northern school. The former generally painted with ink and emphasized personally expressive brushwork, while Northern school artists tended to use more color and painted in more formal, detailed modes. The classification of artists was based on social status as well as painting style, and because scholars themselves were the art critics, the Southern school was touted as superior. Among the major Southern school painters were Wang Wei (Jp: Ō I 王維, 699-759), Dong Yuan (Jp: Tō Gen 董源, mid-10th century), Huang Gongwang (Jp: Kō Kōbō 黄公望, 1269-1354), Ni Zan (Jp: Gei San 倪贊, 1301-74), Wu Zhen (Jp: Go Chin 呉鎮, 1280-1354), Wang Meng (Jp: Ō Mō 王蒙, 1308-85), Shen Zhou (Jp: Chin Shū 沈周, 1427-1509), and Wen Zhengming (Jp: Bun Chōmei 文徴明, 1470-1559). Wide-scale emulation of Southern school painting occurred in Japan during the 18th and 19th centuries, when interest in Chinese literati traditions peaked.