Li Kan

Li Kan (c. 1245–1320) was a Chinese painter active during the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). Born in Jiqiu county, in what is now Beijing, he is remembered above all for his ink paintings of bamboo, a genre in which he gained considerable recognition in his time.

According to the sources, he lived for a time in a bamboo valley, a setting that inspired many of his works. His refined ink strokes were praised for their realism. His style followed that of Wen Tong, the Song dynasty bamboo painter whom he took as a model.

His style name was Zhong Bin and his sobriquet Xi Zhai. Although the available information about his career is limited, his work belongs to the Chinese ink painting tradition that gave bamboo a central role as both a pictorial and philosophical subject.