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“Qi Baishi started receiving artistic training from Hu Qinyuan (胡沁園) which consisted of fundamentals in "gongbi" (工筆) mode, which features fine brushwork and meticulous detail” (Jung Ying Tsao p. 199). He was taught that every aspect of painting mattered, from the subject matter to the way the ink was applied to the paper. His landscape paintings came as a result of his next mentor Tan Pu. Because of his training, he then realized that he could pursue art as his full-time career instead of just dreaming to become a professional artist (Jung Ying Tsao p. 199-201). Despite his training in "gongbi", Qi is famed for painting in the freely expressive "xieyi" (寫意 ‘sketching thoughts’) style.