Zhao Mengfu (;

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theo ...

Zi'ang (子昂);

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

s Songxue (松雪, "Pine Snow"), Oubo (鷗波, "Gull Waves"), and Shuijing-gong Dao-ren (水精宮道人, "Master of the Water Spirits Palace"); 1254–1322), was a Chinese calligrapher, painter, and scholar during the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...

. He was a descendant of the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

's imperial family through

Emperor Xiaozong Emperor Xiaozong of Song (27 November 1127 – 28 June 1194), personal name Zhao Shen, courtesy name Yuanyong, was the 11th emperor of the Song dynasty of China and the second emperor of the Southern Song dynasty. He started his reign in 1 ...

's brother Zhao Bogui who married a lady surnamed Song who was the granddaughter of Emperor Huizong. Zhao Bogui was a descendant of Emperor Taizu, through his son

Zhao Defang Zhao Defang (; c. 959–981) was an imperial prince of imperial China's Song Dynasty. He was the fourth son of Emperor Taizu and the younger brother of Zhao Dezhao. He was the 3rd great-grandfather of Emperor Xiaozong of Song. Family *Parent ...

. He was recommended by the Censor-in-chief to pay an audience with

Kublai Khan Kublai ; Mongolian script: ; (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of ...

in 1286 at the Yuan capital of Dadu, but was not awarded an important position in office. His work was however, greatly appreciated later by the Confucian-inspired Yuan Emperor Renzong. Zhao was a member of the " Academy of Worthies". He was married to Guan Daosheng, who was also an accomplished poet, painter and calligrapher. His rejection of the refined, gentle brushwork of his era in favour of the cruder style of the eighth century is considered to have brought about a revolution that created the modern Chinese landscape painting. He was known for his paintings of

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

s. His landscapes are also considered to be done in a style that focuses more on a literal laying of ground. Rather than organizing them in a foreground, middle ground, and background pattern he layers middle grounds at various heights to create a sense of depth. This pattern of organization makes his paintings appear very simple and approachable. It was this characteristic that so many people valued about his style. One of his most celebrated landscape paintings is exhibited at the

Princeton University Art Museum The Princeton University Art Museum (PUAM) is the Princeton University gallery of art, located in Princeton, New Jersey. With a collecting history that began in 1755, the museum was formally established in 1882, and now houses over 113,000 works ...

with the title “The Mind Landscape of Xie Youyu” (幼輿丘壑), an allusion to the nature-loving scholar-official Xie Youyu (280–322). However, in 2019 Dutch scholar Lennert Gesterkamp argued that the colophon attached to the painting and mentioning Xie Youyu is a forgery, and that in fact Zhao Mengfu's intention was to honor his own spiritual master, Daoist scholar Du Daojian (1237–1318), who also celebrated nature. Zhao Mengfu had several sons with his wife Guan Daosheng. His second son, Zhao Yong, also became a famous painter and calligrapher. He was also the maternal grandfather of Wang Meng, another famous painter. Zhao Mengfu was related to the later

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

literary figure

Zhao Yiguang Zhao Yiguang (; 1559–1625) was a Chinese writer who lived during the Ming dynasty. His wife was Lu Qingzi, another famous writer, they were intellectuals and members of the gentry. Zhao patronized his wife's books with his money. Zhao Yiguang an ...

and his son Zhao Jun.

Paintings

File:Zhao Mengfu. Self Portrait. 1299, Album leaf. Palace Museum Beijing.jpg, Self portrait of Zhao Mengfu, 1299 File:Zhao Mengfu 1254 1322 A l'unisson (Tiaoliang tu) Peinture, encre sur papier feuille d'album 22,7x49cm.jpg, ''A Man and His Horse in the Wind'' File:元趙孟頫趙雍趙麟吳興趙氏三世人馬圖卷-Grooms and Horses MET DP213981 CRD.jpg, ''Horse and Groom'' Image:Zhao Meng Fu Elegant Rocks and Sparse Trees.jpg, ''Elegant Rocks and Sparse Trees'' Image:Zhao Mengfu, Sheep and Goat.jpg, ''A Sheep and Goat'' Image:OldTreeAndHorses.jpg, ''Old Tree and Horses'' File:10 ZhaoMengfu- Hoopoe on Bamboo. Shanghai mus..jpg, ''Hoopoe on Bamboo'' File:3c Zhao Mengfu Twin Pines, Level Distance, ca. 1310 (26.8 x 107.5 cm);The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.jpg, ''Twin Pines, Level Distance''

Calligraphic works

Legacy

The former residence of Zhao Mengfu in

Huzhou Huzhou (, ; Huzhounese: ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzhou to the south, and the provin ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Ji ...

province has been restored into a museum, and opened to public since 2012. A 167 kilometer diameter crater on Mercury (132.4° west, 87.3° south) was named the " Chao Meng-Fu crater" in memorial of him.

Genealogy

* Zhao Kuangyin *

* Zhao Weixian * Zhao Congyu * Zhao Shijiang * Zhao Linghua * Zhao Zicheng * Zhao Bogui * Zhao Shichui * Zhao Xiyan * Zhao Yuyin *Zhao Mengfu

References

* Mu, Yiqin
"Zhao Mengfu"
'' Encyclopedia of China'' (Arts Edition), 1st ed.
Zhao Mengfu: Calligraphy and Painting for Khubilai's China
* Wang Lianqi, ed., 王連起（主編），《師古還是求新——趙孟頫的藝術與時代（上下冊）》(Mastering the Past or Seeking the New: The Art and Times of Zhao Mengfu), Beijing: Renmin meishu chubanshe, 2019. * Li. The Autumn Colors on the Ch'iao and Hua Mountains: A Landscape by Chao Meng-Fu. 1965. * Freer Gallery of Art, and Chu-Tsing Li. The Freer Sheep and Goat and Chao Meng-Fu's Horse Paintings. Artibus Asiae Publishers, Ascona, Switzerland, 1968.

External links