Wen Zhengming facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wen Zhengming
Born	November 28, 1470
Died	1559 (aged 88–89)
Education	Shen Zhou
Known for	painting, calligraphy
Movement	Wu School
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	文徵明
Simplified Chinese	文征明
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wén Zhēngmíng Wade–Giles Wen Cheng-ming Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Man4 Zing1 Ming4
Wen Bi
Chinese	文壁
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wén bì Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Man4 Bik1

Wen Zhengming (born November 28, 1470 – died 1559) was a very famous Chinese artist. He was a talented painter, calligrapher, and poet during the Ming dynasty. People thought he was one of the "Four Masters" of Ming painting.

About Wen Zhengming's Life

Early Life and Family Background

Wen Zhengming was born as Wen Bi on November 28, 1470, near a city called Suzhou. He later became known by his courtesy name, Zhengming. His older brother, Wen Gui, was born in 1469.

When Wen Zhengming was two years old, his father, Wen Lin, passed a very important test. This test was called the imperial examination, and he got the highest possible rank, jinshi. His father then got a government job far away in Zhejiang province. Wen Lin left his two sons with his wife, Qi Shenning. Sadly, in 1476, his mother died when she was only 32.

Wen Zhengming's family originally came from a line of military people. They lived in Hengshan County, which is in Hunan province. Later, his family moved to the city of Changzhou in the Suzhou area. Wen Zhengming was a distant relative of a famous official from the Song dynasty named Wen Tianxiang. Because of this family connection, he used "Hengshan" as his special art name (called a hao). He often signed his artworks with this name. Both his father, Wen Lin, and his grandfather, Wen Hong, loved painting. His father also supported another famous painter, Tang Yin, who was one of the "Four Masters" like Wen Zhengming.

Learning to Paint and Family Life

In 1489, Wen Zhengming started learning from Shen Zhou. Shen Zhou was the oldest of the "Four Masters" and started a group of artists called the Wu School. Wen Zhengming later became a very important leader in this school of painting. When Wen Zhengming's father died in 1499, Shen Zhou wrote a special story about his life for the funeral.

Around 1490, Wen Zhengming married the daughter of a high-ranking official. Her uncle was an artist named Xia Chang, who painted amazing bamboo pictures. These might have given Wen Zhengming ideas for his own art. After his wife died in 1542, Wen Zhengming painted a picture called Wintry Trees after Li Cheng for a friend who came to comfort him.

The Humble Administrator's Garden

Between 1509 and 1513, a friend of Wen Zhengming's family, Wang Xianchen, started building a beautiful place. This was the Humble Administrator's Garden, which many people think is one of China's best classical gardens. Wen Zhengming loved this garden. He wrote poems and painted many pictures of it. For example, he made an album of thirty-one paintings of the garden in 1535.

Wen Zhengming's Family of Artists

Wen Zhengming's brother, Wen Gui, died in 1536. Wen Zhengming's oldest son, Wen Peng, was famous for carving seals. His second son, Wen Jia, was also an artist. His nephew, Wen Boren (Wen Gui's son), was an artist too. Even his great-grandson, Wen Zhenheng, was a well-known garden designer. He helped rebuild the Garden of Cultivation in Suzhou. And his great-granddaughter, Wen Shu, was a popular painter of flowers and insects. It was a very artistic family!

Wen Zhengming's Artistic Style

The Wu School of Painting

Wen Zhengming was one of many artists during the Ming dynasty who chose a different path. They didn't like the official, academy-style painting that was popular in some areas. Instead, Wen and other artists of the Wu School (named after the Suzhou region where they lived) followed an older tradition. This was the wenren (Chinese: 文人) or scholar-artist tradition. These artists didn't want government support. They looked for private people to buy their art and wanted the respect of other artists. They often painted in the style of older masters.

Wen Zhengming learned from Shen Zhou, who started the Wu School. Shen Zhou's style greatly influenced him. Sometimes, Wen Zhengming would add his own poems to Shen Zhou's paintings. This helped him become more famous because Shen Zhou was already well-known. After Wen Zhengming became famous himself, his notes on Shen Zhou's works often helped collectors know they were real.

Painting Techniques and Popularity

Wen Zhengming and his teacher both admired artists from the earlier Song and Yuan dynasties. However, Wen Zhengming rarely copied them exactly. He could paint in many different styles. Some people even called him a "chameleon" because his paintings could look so different. Rich collectors really wanted Wen Zhengming's paintings in the 1500s. Because his work was so popular, many fake paintings were made during the late Ming period.

Poetry and Calligraphy

Wen Zhengming was also a very good writer. His poems often talked about painting. He believed that art and nature were connected. He frequently wrote about and painted scenes from nature, like private gardens such as the Humble Administrator's Garden.

Besides his poetry and painting, Wen Zhengming was also known for his amazing calligraphy. When he was young, his father introduced him to a leading calligrapher in Suzhou. By 1541, many people thought he was the best calligrapher in China. He was especially good at the kaishu (regular script) and xingshu (semi-cursive script) styles. His calligraphy technique was influenced by a master from the Song dynasty named Huang Tingjian.

Images for kids

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  Living Aloft - Master Liu's Retreat

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  One of eight album leaves showing the Humble Administrator's Garden, painted in 1551

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  A painting by Wen Zhengming

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  Another artwork by Wen Zhengming

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  Wintry trees after Li Cheng

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  Pi Pa Xing in semi-cursive script

See also

In Spanish: Wen Zhengming para niños