Wen Zhenmeng (; 1574–1636) was a late Ming Dynasty painter, calligrapher, scholar, author, and

Chinese garden The Chinese garden is a landscape garden style which has evolved over three thousand years. It includes both the vast gardens of the Chinese emperors and members of the imperial family, built for pleasure and to impress, and the more intimate ...

designer.

Biography

Zhenmeng was born to a very wealthy family in the city that is today known as

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

. He was the great-grandson of the very famous Ming artist, Wen Zhengming (1470–1559), and also the elder brother of Wen Zhenheng (1585–1645), the latter of which was the author of "Treatise on Superfluous Things". From a very wealthy family, Wen Zhenmeng placed first in the highest level of the civil service exams. This brought him to a national level of importance within the political realm. In 1635, he was given the bureaucratic post of "Grand Secretary", which was notable as a most supreme position. Wen Zhenmeng loved to garden and his ow
garden in Suzhou
was known as "Medicine Patch". Wen's garden was very much celebrated in its day and was especially noted as being quite remarkable for its loveliness. His garden is still preserved to this day in the quiet, northwest district of the city of Suzhou.Craig Clunas (2004). "Superfluous Things, Material Culture and Social Status in Early Modern China", University of Hawaii Press. Today, Wen Zhenmeng's artworks sell at major international auction houses, including

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

and Sotheby's.

References

{{authority control Ming dynasty painters Ming dynasty calligraphers 1636 deaths 1574 births Painters from Suzhou Writers from Suzhou Ming dynasty writers Politicians from Suzhou Ming dynasty government officials Grand Secretaries of the Ming dynasty 17th-century Chinese calligraphers