Page 228 - The Arts of China, By Michael Sullivan Good Book
P. 228
250 WcnCheng-mijig(i470-i559).
Cypttu and Rotk, Hindscroll dated As Shcn Chou dominated the Wu district in the titteenth cen-
equivalent to 1 5 jo. Ink on paper. Ming
Dynasty. tury, so did his follower Wen Cheng-ming (1470-15 59) in the six-
teenth. Ten times Wen Cheng-ming sat for the civil service exam-
inations, and ten times he failed; hut he was called to the capital
where he spent a few unhappy years as an official before returning
in 1 527 to Soochow, to devote the rest of his life to art and schol-
arship. There he systematically collected and studied the works of
the old masters, not only the Yuan literati but such classical and ac-
ademic figures as Li Ch'eng and Chao Po-chu. His studio became
an informal academy through which he passed on his high stan-
251 Tang Yin(l479-I5l.}), GmIbmH dards and encyclopaedic knowledge of the history and technique
I'hyinn iht Lute in a Lmduapt. Detail of
a handsrroU. Ink and colour on paper. of painting to his many pupils, who included not only his son Wen
Ming Dynasty.
208
