This article determines Shitao's Qing Xiang's Sketches of Calligraphy and Painting in 1696 as a synthetic literati painting sought by a professional painter from late 17th century to early 18th century in China. Through poems and paintings are observed Shitao's self-consciousness which reflects a facet of early Qing Dynasty paintings which were becoming professionalized. The handscroll consists of fourteen poems and seven paintings. The close interaction of words in entire poetry and images in paintings lets us consider the piece as a unique work about Shitao's life story. The artist represented his self-consciousness varying according to time and space and autobiographical life story to present for his patron. The reason behind this offer to a particular person comes from Shitao's diverse and complex character as a calligrapher and painter at the time being. To understand such facet found in the form of the unity of poetry, calligraphy and painting, it is necessary to observe the role of each part based on his situation in 1696. Starting with brief information about the background of production and composition of entire scroll, the role of words and images to deliver Shitao's life story in the aspect of the painter's transformation and existence will be explained. Through this analysis, parts which images narrate instead of words will be discovered to unveil the painter's expectation for patronage. Let's start with the background and composition of Qing Xiang’s Sketches of Calligraphy and Painting. In summer of 1696, Shitao was invited to stay at ChengJun’s Pine Wind Hall located in Shexian estate in Huizhou, Anhui province. During his sojourn, Shitao produced the work following the landlord’s request. Cheng Jun was a famous merchant and literati of this area, who collected works of painters of the school of Anhui and Bada Shanren. Shitao met him in spring of that year for the first time. ‘Qing Xiang’ is one of Shitao’s many sobriquets. The entire composition of this handscroll with poetry of various scripts and paintings fall into four parts: two long passages in the middle framed by short opening and dosing passages. The opening passage starts with four poems without painting. His creative activities in Beijing are described, where he worked for high-ranking officials and government ministers within the network of artist-patron from 1690 to 1692. About the autumn of 1691, he determined to return to the South. The subject of the first main parts of the scroll is his journey to the Grand Canal in the autumn of 1692. There are five poems and three pictures about the gathering of literati people in Botou and Xiazhen and sceneries of Gucheng, Linqing and Yangzhou. The gathering scene in the boat with an elegant atmosphere is represented in a reminiscent real scenery landscape painting. A symbolic flower painting of chrysanthemums stands for a haphazard gathering in Chongyangjie. The landscape painting which combined Gucheng in Jiangsu and Linqing in Shandong together outlines the scenery of the Grand Canal as a famous scenic spot. It also lets us understand his experience during the journey in detail. The second main parts of the scroll embody merchant patrons of the North and the South. Zhang brothers were salt merchants from Tianjin. While Shitao met them during the winter of late 1691 and early 1692, Cheng Jun, the merchant of Huizhou was his patron in the summer of 1696. Shitao visualized Zhang brothers’ economic capability and cultural support in scribbled but energetic scripts. For Cheng Jun, he drew in a linear neat style of the school of Anhui. The closing passage describes his self-portrait set in an old tree with a phrase of a poem in antique seal script and the inscription in regular script about the motive of production. From this scene, he implies the role of a patron who will enable Shitao’s eternal future as the master of Tao in paintings. In overall, Shitao'’s poems written under four themes in different time and space closely interact with his calligraphy and painting accomplished in Pine Wind Hall in the summer of 1696. The interaction then allows the personal life story of Shitao in a novel-like composition of introduction, development, tum and conclusion. Shitao quoted some metaphor from Zhuangzi, in which Shitao is set himself as an ant for a man of courage and wisdom, and as the peng bird, transformed from the kun fish, for a rouser of Tao. Through the metaphor, Shitao explains his move to South to look for a place to practice his Tao. Main parts about his journey afterwards imply the grand nature, an appreciative friend and a rich and cultural patron for an ideal place to practice Tao. The self-portrait of Shitao set in an old tree is drawn in the closing passage. It is important to catch that this old tree stands for his patron in the summer of 1696, Cheng Jun. Shitao brought the useless tree from Zhuangzi and changed it to a useful and signillcant place for his training site. The recipient of this work was Cheng Jun and Shitao’s expectation for his continuous patronage is intimated wittily. Shitao’s own plan and direction for such composition and narration is an unprecedented case. Poems written in past were selectively chosen from his draft collection to modify to new versions. They were then juxtaposed with paintings. On the other hand, Shitao’s paintings and calligraphy show the level of each art he could exert at the time being. Shitao’s pictures covering from landscape paintings, flower paintings to figure paintings do not stick to conventional brushwork. They rather pioneer a new field of innovative formatives. Also, his creative composition skill and various painting styles in pursuit of orders under varying deformation are found. Shita’s excellent calligraphy from seal script, clerical script, regular script and semi-cursive script to cursive script is shown here. He inserted many sobriquets and seals, which enhances his complex self-consciousness. Qing Xiang’s Sketches of Calligraphy and Painting with poetry, calligraphy and painting vividly proves Shitao’s images as a synthetic literati and great master of calligraphy and painting in summer of 1696. Paintings in Qing Xiang’s Sketches of Calligraphy and Painting did not serve as a mere illustration. So were poems which did not serve to depict paintings. The main role of poems was to offer ‘narrative.’ The poetry talks about Shitao’s personal life and his metamorphosis in a compositional structure of narratives which reminds us of a novel or a play. On the contrast, paintings are suggested as a catechetical question or an issue to bring related stories. In the world of symbolism, reminiscence and humor realized by the unity of poetry, calligraphy and painting, images are reanalyzed. Those images are connected to a new narrative which seeks the completion of Tao in paintings. The narrative set up by poems is the core part to clarify the content of Shitao’s experiences and the meaning of images. There he brings the metaphor about himself and the patron from Zhuangzi to show his interest in Taoism. He enabled a structure of stories in coherence as well. In the meantime, the visual image of calligraphy and painting narrates the detail of a particular situation in styles familiar to the painter. The viewer gets to focus one’s attention and the artist’s emotional changes and attitude is immediately delivered to the viewer. Apart from the narrative which recalls past and sets forth of present and future, the calligraphy and painting eloquently shows the existence of the painter at the time of production. When narrative pictorializes the metamorphosis of the artist who sought Tao, it is the image itself which shows the realization and completion of Tao. From then the ideal relationship between the painter and the patron is clearly stated by the painter who is the subject. Poetry and paintings could not only cooperate to make a lyric, contemplative and fixed scenic world but also interact to build a narrative and metaphysical world for philosophical and recreational studies on the metamorphosis of an individual in circumstances, his ego becoming more resolute and his surrounding world. This painting could be evaluated as a work which exceeded the state of ‘poetry in paintings’ to explore the verge of ‘stories in paintings.’ It is also important to notice that this masterpiece was made at the time when autobiographical literature was prevalent. The existence of an autobiographical calligraphic and painting handscroll with a composition of a novel or play-like plot is a new rise which was not covered under the theme of the relationship of literature and painting.