Four Masters of the Ming Dynasty

Four Masters of Ming Dynasty (Chinese: 明四家; Pinyin: Míng Sì Jiā; "Sì" in Chinese is "four"), is a term to mention four famous painters during the Ming Dynasty era in China.[1]

Contents

The term

The four leading painters are Shen Zhou, Tang Yin, Wen Zhengming, Qiu Ying. These four were close contemporaries.[1]

There are several alternative terms to mention these four leading painters, as below[1]:

The term was coined first in mid-Ming Dynasty, most possibly created during the Jiajing Era (Jiajing Emperor), and has been flourished since then.

The painters

The painters were friends when they are alive and very familiar with each other. They have different family background. Shen Zhou was a anchoret[3]. Tang Yin was born in a rich merchant family[4]. Wen Zhengming was born in a bureaucratic family and himself was a government official. Qiu Ying was a craftsman of dyes and lacquers.

Shen Zhou was one of the main founders of the Wu School (Wu is the ancient and literal name for south Jiangsu, now Taihu Lake area) painting, which was originated from Wumen. Shen's early mentor of painting was Du Qiong (杜琼), and Shen's paternal grandfather was friend of Wang Meng - an artist during the late-Yuan Dynasty. Shen's father and uncle were all painters.[3]

Both Shen Zhou and Qiu Ying were most accomplished in Shan shui painting, and they succeed and inherited the painting skills and style of the Imperial Royal Court (so-called Yuan-Ti, 院体). Tang Yin was an all-rounder, and was accomplished nearly all topics of traditional Chinese painting[4]. Wen Zhengming was accomplished in blue-green shan shui painting and the fine style (Simplified Chinese: 工笔; Traditional Chinese: 工筆; Pinyin: Gōng Bǐ).

Wen Zhengming and Shen Zhou had teacher-student relationship. Zhou Chen (周臣) was an important coach in Tang's early career. Qiu Ying was self-learned. The three except Qiu Ying were also classic Chinese scholars (文人). And the three except Qiu Ying were also accomplished calligraphists and poets.[1]

Especially, Tang Yin later became a character in romaunts and very famous in popular culture.[4]

See also

External links

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Four Masters of Ming" (in (Chinese)). Baidu Baike. http://baike.baidu.com/view/104950.htm. Retrieved 31 May 2010. 
  2. ^ "Wumen Painting School and Four Master Painters of Suzhou" (in (English)). Chinadaily.com.cn. http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_artqa/2003-09/24/content_39599.htm. Retrieved 31 May 2010. 
  3. ^ a b "Biography of Shen Zhou" (in (Chinese)). Baidu Baike. http://baike.baidu.com/view/87546.htm. Retrieved 31 May 2010. 
  4. ^ a b c "Tang Yin: One of the Four Masters of Ming Dynasty" (in (English)). cultural-china.com. 2007. http://arts.cultural-china.com/en/77Arts6487.html. Retrieved 31 May 2010. 
Four Masters of the Ming Dynasty