Hong Kong Famous Painter, Lui Shoukun – Review of the 7th Taiwan Art Exhibition:
He can interpret an imperial-court style in his own personal style as can be seen in Yu Chung-lin’s “Bamboo and Bird.” Looking at this piece of work, he can be regarded as the first painter of imperial-court style of flowers and birds painting in the modern times of China.
The composition of Yu Chung-lin’s paintings does something new with assigning color. His style is unique in “dyeing powder” which is a class of its own; therefore, the composition can be somewhat relaxed and refined, yet raw and rich.
Yu Chung-lin’s success did not just happen overnight. His success to acquire the skill for his paintings were inevitably achieved through his long-term arduous self-study.
Taiwanese art critic, Chu Ge:
The difference between Yu Chung-lin and those in the past is in his delicate and bright-colored paintings. He introduces a technique of ink-dilution which gives the result of the painting to be multi-faceted. He combines the “craftmanship” of Song Academy paintings and the “meaning” of scholarly paintings like he is smelting them in a furnace.
Yu Chung-lin’s flower-and-bird paintings can be said to have revived the tradition of flower-and-bird paintings from the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty, and moreover further carries this tradition forward to new heights.
The realm of Master Yu Chung-lin’s flower-and-bird paintings is the fusion of decoration and aesthetics.
The Mourning of Teacher Yu Chung-lin, an article – Taiwan’s famous writer, Qiong Yao – The Eternal Fragrance of Birds and Flowers:
Although Teacher Yu’s paintings are well-renowned locally and abroad for his “Flowers and birds with traditional and meticulous Chinese brushwork,” he is also good at Chinese freehand brushwork. Whether it is landscapes, people, cats, dogs, or monkeys, he is practically a master of all kinds, and even his insects and butterflies are drawn very vivid and lifelike.
What I admire the most is the “intent of the picture” of the teacher’s mind, which comes from his self-cultivation and his genius.
Dong Yunxia, art reporter for China Times:
Yu Chung-lin’s paintings are based on traditional and meticulous Chinese brushwork and Chinese freehand brushwork. He has become the leading flowers and birds painter in Taiwan and China, and some people even praise Mr. Yu Chung-lin as the first person in contemporary imperial-court flowers and birds painting.
Chen Changhua, art reporter for United Daily News:
Fans of “A Guide to How Flowers Can Teach Us About The Language Of Birds” describes Yu Chung-lin’s drawing prowess: flowers and fruits of the four season, the crowding of hundreds of birds, and the flourishing of every color of plants, a piece of the intoxication of a beautiful spring day, all within a picturesque charm. He is recognized as the most accomplished person who can accommodate the traditional, imperial-court style of flowers and birds and achieve his own personal style.