Wen Zhenheng (, 1585–1645) was a

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

scholar, painter, landscape garden designer, and great grandson of

Wen Zhengming Wen Zhengming (28 November 1470 – 1559), born Wen Bi, was a Chinese painter, calligrapher, and poet during the Ming dynasty. He was regarded as one of the Four Masters of Ming painting. Biography Wen Zhengming was born Wen Bi near present-day ...

, a famous Ming dynasty painter. Wen was born in Suzhou in 1585. In 1621, he graduated from the Imperial Academy, obtained the lowest degree of '' zhusheng''. In 1637, Wen was the assistant magistrate of Longzhou county in the Shanxi prefecture. On the same year, he was appointed Secretariat Drafter Clunas argues for a composition date of 1616-20. For his discussion of the matter, see p. 27 by

Chongzhen Emperor The Chongzhen Emperor (; 6 February 1611 – 25 April 1644), personal name Zhu Youjian (), courtesy name Deyue (),Wang Yuan (王源)，''Ju ye tang wen ji'' (《居業堂文集》), vol. 19. "聞之張景蔚親見烈皇帝神主題御諱字德� ...

. Wen Zhenheng was famous for his calligraphy,

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

and essays. He was also an expert in landscape garden design, the Sweetgrass Garden he built in Suzhou was famous at his time.

Treatise on Superfluous Things

Wen Zhenheng's best known work '' Zhang Wu Zhi'' (traditional: 長物志, simplified:长物志, "Treatise on Superfluous Things") written between 1620-1627 was an encyclopedic book about garden architecture and interior design. Zhang Wu Zhi was divided into twelve volumes: * Vol 1. House and Dwelling—17 chapters * Vol 2. Flowers and Trees—43 chapters * Vol 3. Water and Stones - 18 chapters * Vol 4. Fowl and Fish—11 chapters * Vol 5. Books and Paintings - 26 chapters * Vol 6. Chairs and Beds—20 chapters * Vol 7. Utensils—58 chapters * Vol 8. Cloths and accessories—10 chapters * Vol 9. Boat and carriage—4 chapters * Vol 10. Arrangement—11 chapters * Vol 11. Vegetable and Fruits—27 chapters * Vol 12. Incense and Tea—24 chapter
Wen Zhenheng on Tea

References

An excellent edition, with detailed annotations, abundant pictures and photographs of various objects discussed in the book. There is no complete translation of this book in any other language. Some sections were translated in the Clunas book above and in some books on gardening and furniture. Craig Clunas discusses several Ming dynasty scholars, including Gao Lian,

Tu Long Tu Long (; Wade-Giles: T'u Lung, 1542–1605), was a playwright and essayist who lived during the Ming Dynasty. He was born in Yin county (now Yin county, in suburb of Ningbo city, Zhejiang). In 1577, Tu Long obtained the degree of jinshi. He ...

in addition to Wen Zhenheng. He has translated the first chapter of each of the twelve volumes and there is a detailed biography of Wen Zhenheng on pages 20 to 25.

External links

Zhang Wu Zhi-- Treatise on Superfluous Things, Chapter 12, Incense and Tea
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wen, Zhenheng Ming dynasty calligraphers Ming dynasty painters Ming dynasty poets Chinese scholars Landscape or garden designers 1645 deaths 1585 births Suicides in the Qing dynasty Suicides by starvation Painters from Suzhou Writers from Suzhou Poets from Jiangsu Ming dynasty politicians Politicians from Suzhou 17th-century Chinese calligraphers Ming dynasty people