Wen Zhengming The Landscape World

Wen Cheng-ming, more than anyone else, gives Soochow literati its own distinguished colour in the Mid-Ming dynasty. His poetry, calligraphy and paintings represents traditional Chinese literary road:Wen's family was famous for scholarship and public service. Wen Cheng-ming was taught to uphold the Confucians from his literary and art education. Later he became a sensitive, methodical, reserved man with elegant taste and peaceful character, and was known for his moral rectitude. Wen Cheng-ming tried and failed the Civil Service Exam many times. At last, he had a brief and unsatisfactory period of time as an official at the capital. But he returned home soon and devoted himself to art, his landscape world. In 1559, Wen Cheng-ming died peacefully. Landscape poetry and paintings are the main parts of Wen Cheng-ming's art creation, through which he earned his position in the Chinese art history. Chapter two discusses the background of Wen Cheng-ming's art work. Chapter three, "Wen Cheng-ming's landscape world", based on specific cases, discusses his special features of art creation. The fourth chapter concentrates on his followers:the Wen school in the late sixteenth century reflecting the significance and influence of Wen Cheng-ming.