Gongbi (simplified Chinese: 工笔; traditional Chinese: 工筆; pinyin: gōng bǐ; Wade-Giles: kung-pi) is a careful realist technique in Chinese painting, the opposite of the interpretive and freely expressive xieyi (寫意 'sketching thoughts') style.
The name is from the Chinese gong jin meaning 'tidy' (meticulous brush craftsmanship). The gongbi technique uses highly detailed brushstrokes that delimits details very precisely and without independent or expressive variation. It is often highly colored and usually depicts figural or narrative subjects. One of the better known Gongbi works is the Song Dynasty Scroll, 17 feet long and includes intricate details that most don’t pick up. It is one of many popular tourist attractions in China today, as it is updated regularly to try and show what modern China looks like compared to when it was created during the Song Dynasty
The term related to gongbi, jiehua (or "boundary painting"), refers to the accurate depiction of architectural forms aided by the ruler.