Shrimps have been a favorite subject of Qi Baishi's artwork for decades. He could render them so vividly that they seem to swim off the canvas. The sight of the shrimps can immerse people in a watery world; even a slender whisker conceals a microcosm. The shrimps hail from Xiangtan, Hunan, the hometown of the artist and a place full of grassy streams and ponds.Unlike his predecessors, Qi Baishi painted shrimps in an impressionistic style with swift, definite and spontaneous brush strokes. He used different shades of ink to model the shrimp's torso and head. 

The torso looks translucent, while the head has been painted almost opaque, depicting solidity. The deceptively casual strokes were actually deliberate and required painstaking detail. Each section of the torso and each tremulous whisker conveys the resistance of the water and the shrimp's physical exertion. 

These creatures are not just passive subject matter; rather they are asserting their presence.

The atwork shows sings of age,such as wrinkles,small stains,or tears,which are common in vintage and antique pieces.