<P> Among the most commonly used names were Shitao (Stone Wave - 石涛), Daoji (道 濟; Tao - chi), Kugua Heshang (Bitter Gourd Monk - 苦瓜 和尚), Yuan Ji (Origin of Salvation - 原 濟), Xia Zunzhe (Honorable Blind One - 瞎 尊 者, blind to worldly desires), Dadizi (The Cleansed One - 大 滌 子). </P> <P> As a buddhist convert, he was also known with the monastic name Yuan Ji (原 濟) </P> <P> Da Dizi was taken when Shitao renounced his Buddhism and turned to Daoism . It was also the name he used for his home in Yangzhou (Da Di Hall - 大 滌 堂). </P> <P> Shitao is one of the most famous individualist painters of the early Qing years . The art he created was revolutionary in its transgressions of the rigidly codified techniques and styles that dictated what was considered beautiful . Imitation was valued over innovation, and although Shitao was clearly influenced by his predecessors (namely Ni Zan and Li Yong), his art breaks with theirs in several new and fascinating ways . </P>

Who were the painters known as the individualists