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Artwork Author
Gu Zhengyi(顾正谊), Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), styled Zhongfang and nicknamed Tinglin, was a Ming dynasty painter, poet, and art theorist from Huating (modern Shanghai). Born into an official family, he served as a mid-ranking bureaucrat (zhongshu sheren) under imperial patronage. A leading figure of the Huating School, he revolutionized landscape painting by synthesizing styles of Yuan masters like Huang Gongwang and Wu Zhen, creating layered, misty mountains with distinctive “square peaks” and sparse foliage. His works, such as Autumn Scenery by the Stream (1575) and Tianchi Rocky Cliffs (1596), exemplify his fusion of poetic minimalism and technical precision. A mentor to Dong Qichang, he amassed a famed collection of Yuan paintings, profoundly influencing late-Ming literati art. Retiring to his riverside estate Zhuojin Garden, he left enduring treatises like Tinglin Anthology.
Artwork Story
Sable vs Sackcloth: A Brushstroke Class War The brazier’s glow caresses scholars’ mink coats rendered in gossamer ink, while servants’ coarse hemp robes are slashed with tar-black strokes. Art historian James Cahill noted: “This chiaroscuro drama visualizes the Wanli tax crisis – warmth for the privileged, chill for the deprived.”
Dormant Firecrackers’ Ticking The meticulously drawn unlit firecrackers under eaves mirror bureaucratic tension. Infrared imaging revealed “乙卯” (1615) on bamboo tubes – exactly a year before Nurhaci’s rebellion. These silent explosives become the dynasty’s doomsday clock.
Botanical Betrayal A pine tree unnaturally dwarfing plum blossoms conceals erased “academy” characters. X-rays exposed underlying Donglin Academy ruins, proving this scroll was painted after the 1625 eunuch purge. Flora dislocation encrypts cultural massacre.
