纵观中国古代绘画史,人物画是起源、发展、成熟最早的画种。早在汉唐时期,人物画就已经达到了成熟鼎盛的高峰,出现了诸如顾恺之、阎立本、张萱、周昉、吴道子等一大批人物画大师。因人物画有着“成教化、助人伦”的功用,符合统治阶级治理天下的需要,为此人物画得到了统治者的重视,从而大兴。至宋代,由于山水、花鸟画的崛起,加之统治阶级审美趣味的转移,人物画一统画坛的局面被打破了。人物、山水、花鸟画三科平分天下,各领风骚。即使人物画坛出现了李公麟和梁楷这二位工笔与写意大师,也抗拒不了新生的文人画的冲击,人物绘画开始下滑,渐而失去了统领画坛的地 Throughout the history of ancient Chinese painting, figure painting is the earliest origin, development, mature painting. As early as the Han and Tang dynasties, figure painting had reached its peak of mature peak, appeared such as Gu Kai, Yan Liben, Zhang Xuan, Zhou Luan, Wu Daozi and a large number of figure masters. As the portrait painting has the function of “enlightenment and benevolence,” it meets the needs of the ruling class to govern the world. As a result, the portrait painting has gained the respect of the rulers and thus has been greatly revived. To the Song Dynasty, due to the rise of landscapes, flowers and birds, and the transfer of the aesthetic taste of the ruling class, the figure-painting scene was broken. People, landscapes, flowers and birds draw three division equally, the leading position. Even though there are two masterpieces of painter and freehand like Li Gonglin and Liang Kai, they can not resist the impact of the newly born literati paintings. As a result, the figure paintings begin to decline and gradually lose their place of leading the art circles