Research On Dong Qichang's Life Career And Family History

Dong Qichang is a great painter and calligrapher in Ming Dynasty, who possesed extremely high artistic attainments and initiation. But the previous academic studies about him usually limited in art theory not in his life career and family background. The Late Ming is a critical period for the change in politics and culture in China,in which the civil classes grew up,cultural powers went down from elites to ordinary intellectuals. Dong Qichang is not just a artist,but also a high government official.He was kind to his extensive friends, avoid involved in political strife,so that he can safely retired with dignity.Dong Qichang was borned from Songjiang. His clan was a distinguished family in the city because there were many familymembers had scholarly honor or official rank in Ming and Qing Dynasties. This family had created favorable family background for Dong Qichang in learning and political career. The rise and fall of his family had reflected the changing of society and local affairs in the time of Ming to Qing dynasty.This thesis takes Dong Qichang's life career and experience, his clan and family background for main contents, the mainly content has three chapters. The first chapter takes the life story and experience of Dong Qichang for main line to study his life and communication activities.The second chapter take Dong's clan pedigree for basis to introduce his family background and the illustrious members of this clan.The third chapter mainly about his family especially in his descendant condition. In a word, this thesis make efforts to introduce the life and family of Dong Qichang to reflect the family culture, political and economic conditions in Ming and Qing Dynasties,especially in South of the Yangtze River of Late Ming period.