Liang Kai (梁楷 in Chinese, c. 1140 - c. 1210) was a prominent academic master during the Southern Song Dynasty. Born into a scholarly family in Shandong province, he held the esteemed position of Painter-in-Attendance in the Imperial Painting Academy. He was even honored with a golden belt by the emperor as a symbol of royal recognition. However, Liang Kai, driven by an untrammeled nature and feeling constrained by the rigid court rules, chose to resign from his position in the Academy, leaving the golden belt behind. It is believed that he spent the remainder of his life in the vicinity of the monastic communities in Qiantang (present-day Hangzhou).

Liang Kai was renowned for his figure paintings, particularly  Buddhist and Taoist images. He also excelled in landscape and bird-and-flower paintings. His painting style ranged from the refined and delicate Baimiao, or plain line technique, to a sketchy and spontaneous freehand style. This latter style had a profound influence on later painters, including Xu Wei, Zhu Da, Jing Nong, and others.