十九世紀中葉海上畫派興起，成為了當時中國畫壇的主流，對於當時及二十世紀中國水墨畫的發展有著重大的影響。目前學者的研究已知當時福建各地已有海派支流的形成。一向深受閩南繪畫影響的台灣早期水墨畫能不受它的影響嗎？過去，研究者常將台灣早期水墨畫祇鎖定受到揚州畫派的影響。事實上，現存文獻及畫作證據均顯示十九世紀晚期已有台灣畫家很快地跟上中國的流行，開始追逐海上畫派的新步調了。海派繪畫透過大陸、台灣兩地畫家的往返及書畫作品、
畫冊的流通等各種不同管道傳入台灣，而台灣畫家也積極的吸取這股新的繪畫潮流。本研究證實了台灣早期水墨畫家施少雨、王席聘、張品三、黃天素、李學樵、蔡雪溪、洪璽嘉等人確實為海派的學習者。然而，由於政局的阻隔及日本政府的皇民化政策，台灣畫家對海派繪畫的認識較為片面，詮釋的方式也較本土化。直到1945 年台灣光復，台灣畫家才又有機會全面學習海派繪畫的真面目。

In the middle of the nineteenth century, the painting of Shanghai School
emerged and became the mainstream of Chinese painting circles, largely influencing the development of Chinese painting then and in the next century. Scholars have now discovered that many branches of the Shanghai School already formed in different areas of Fujian around that time, too. These branches must have influenced early Taiwanese ink painting, since Minnan painting styles always had deep influence on Taiwanese ink painting. Previous researches often regarded early Taiwanese ink painting as being only influenced by the Yangzhou School. However, current literature and paintings have shown that, by the late nineteenth century, there were a few Taiwanese painters following the new painting of the Shanghai School. Through traveling painters, art works and publications carried by literati and merchants from China, the style of the Shanghai school was imported to Taiwan, and was absorbed by Taiwanese painters. This research confirms that the painting style of early Taiwanese ink painters such as Shi Shaoyu, Wang Xipin, Zhang Pinsan, Huang Tiansu, Li Xueqiao, Cai Xuexi, and Hong Xijia were influenced by the Shanghai School. Nevertheless, due to the difficulties of the political situation, and, in particular, the Kominka movement of the Japanese colonial government, Taiwanese painters’ knowledge of the painting of the Shanghai school was very much limited and their interpretation of this School rather localized. This characteristic remained until Retrocession in 1945, when Taiwanese painters finally had the opportunity to freely absorb the true painting painting style of the Shanghai school