Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou (simplified Chinese: 扬州八怪; traditional Chinese: 揚州八怪; pinyin: Yángzhoū Bā Guài) is the name for a group of eight Chinese painters known in the Qing for rejecting the orthodox ideas about painting in favor of a style deemed expressive and individualist[1].
The term was also used because they each had strong personalities at variance with the conventions of their own time. Most of them were from impoverished or troubled backgrounds. Still the term is, generally, more a statement about their style rather than being a judgment of them as personally being among history's noted eccentrics.
The eight had an influence and association with painters like Gao Fenghan, as well as several others.
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The generally accepted list is[2]:
Alternate lists include[3]: