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In China, the value of traditional painting was increasingly questioned during the 20th century, a period in which great efforts were made to modernize Chinese society. Many artists and intellectuals championed artistic practices adopted from the West, such as oil painting and optical realism over the more subjective and highly abstracted use of brushed ink on paper or silk that had characterized painting in China for over two thousand years. Yet, supporters of brush-and-ink painting advocated it as a unique expression of Chinese "national essence," even coining the term guohua or "national painting" when referring to the scrolls executed in this manner.

Like other "national painting" artists, Qi Baishi resisted a radical departure from historical art practices in contemporary China. Rather, he infused his works with a new energy by employing a free, unimpeded brush style that introduced dynamic colors into a repertoire of simple, yet traditional life studies. Qi Baishi’s fresh approach to Chinese painting made him one of the most esteemed painters in modern China.