Zhang Han (張瀚, 1511–1593), courtesy name Ziwen (子文), art name Yuanzhou (元洲), was a leading scholar-official during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Although eventually posted to serve in the capital at Beijing, Zhang was a native of the thriving commercial city of Hangzhou and a descendant of a wealthy family that ran a textile business. Brook, Timothy. (1998). '' The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China''. Berkeley: University of California Press. . p. 16. He was also a literary author, a

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

, a follower of Chinese Buddhism, and an essayist while in retirement from office during his later years. According to the historian Timothy Brook, he was a "close observer of the changes of his age", in reference to China's intensified commercialism and consumption of commodities in the late Ming era and its effects upon Chinese culture.

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Ming dynasty scholars Ming dynasty Buddhists Ming dynasty painters Politicians from Hangzhou Ming dynasty essayists 1511 births 1593 deaths Writers from Hangzhou Artists from Hangzhou 16th-century Chinese people 16th-century Chinese male writers 16th-century Chinese painters Painters from Zhejiang Viceroys of Liangguang Buddhist artists {{China-hist-stub