Wang Meng (王蒙, Wáng Méng; ''Zi'': Shūmíng 叔明, ''Hao'': Xiāngguāng Jūshì 香光居士) (c. 1308 – 1385) was a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

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 ...

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 fifth ...

Biography

Wang Meng was born in Wuxing (吴兴), now known as Huzhou (湖州),

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 Jiang ...

. He was a maternal grandson of

Zhao Mengfu Zhao Mengfu (; courtesy name Zi'ang (子昂); pseudonyms 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, pa ...

, thus making him 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 rest ...

's royal bloodline on his mother's side. Wang Meng was erroneously accused of conspiring against the

Ming 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 ...

Emperor Taizu and spent the last five years of his life in jail.

Painting style

Wang Meng is considered to be one of the

Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty The Four Masters of the Yuan dynasty () is a name used to collectively describe the four Chinese painters: Huang Gongwang, Wu Zhen, Ni Zan, and Wang Meng, who were active during the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). They were revered during the Mi ...

, along with

Huang Gongwang Huang Gongwang (1269–1354), birth name Lu Jian (), was Chinese painter, poet, and writer born at the end of the Song dynasty in Changshu, Jiangsu. He was the oldest of the " Four Masters of the Yuan dynasty". Biography At the age of 10, the ...

, Wu Zhen, and

Ni Zan Ni Zan (; 1301–1374) was a Chinese painter during the Yuan and early Ming periods. Along with Huang Gongwang, Wu Zhen, and Wang Meng, he is considered to be one of the Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty. Life Ni Zan was born into a wealth ...

. They famously refused to serve the

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

ian rulers of their country. In contrast to many renowned painters in previous history, these artists mostly worked on paper instead of silk, an indication of the importance they gave to the

calligraphic Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as ...

touch of the brush on paper. They exclusively painted landscapes, which they believed to be the visible key to the invisible reality. They restricted their acquaintanceship to each other, and like-minded "wen ren" (gentleman-scholars). Wang Meng was the youngest of the group, and the least famous in his own time. Nevertheless, his style greatly influenced later Chinese painting. In contrast to the relatively spare style of his compatriots, his ropy brushstrokes piled one on the other to produce masses of texture combined in dense and involved patterns. Many artists were influenced by the works of Wang Meng centuries after his death, most notably

Dong Qichang Dong Qichang (; courtesy name Xuanzai (玄宰); 1555–1636), was a Chinese painter, calligrapher, politician, and art theorist of the later period of the Ming dynasty. Life as a scholar and calligrapher Dong Qichang was a native of Hua Ting (l ...

. His most famous works are the ''Ge Zhichuan Relocating'', ''Forest Grotto at Juqu'', ''Writing Books under the Pine Trees'', ''The Simple Retreat'', and ''Dwelling in the Qingbian Mountains''. Most of his masterpieces are now located in notable museums around the world, such as the

Palace Museum The Palace Museum () is a huge national museum complex housed in the Forbidden City at the core of Beijing, China. With , the museum inherited the imperial royal palaces from the Ming and Qing dynasties of China and opened to the public in 192 ...

National Palace Museum The National Palace Museum (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Kwet-li̍p kù-kiung pok-vu̍t-yèn), is a museum in Taipei, Republic of China (Taiwan). It has a permanent collection of nearly 700,000 pieces of Chinese artifacts and artworks, many of which wer ...

Shanghai Museum The Shanghai Museum is a museum of ancient Chinese art, situated on the People's Square in the Huangpu District, Shanghai, Huangpu District of Shanghai, China. Rebuilt at its current location in 1996, it is considered one of China's first world-c ...

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...

and the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

. In 2011, a lesser known work of his from a private collection, titled ''Zhichuan Resettlement'', was sold for 402.5 million yuan (US$62.1 million) at art auction.http://en.artron.net/news/news.php?newid=171277 File:Wang Meng Writing Books under the Pine Trees 1279-1368 Кливленд МИ.jpg, ''Writing Books under the Pine Trees'',

File:Wang Meng. Forest Grotto in Juqu. 1378. 68,8x42,5 National Palace Museum Taipei.jpg, ''Forest Grotto in Juqu'',

File:Wang Meng Dwelling in the Qingbian Mountains. ink on paper. 1366. 141x42,2 cm. Shanghai Museum.jpg, ''Dwelling in the Qingbian Mountains'',

File:Wang Meng The Simple Retreat Yuan dynasty 136x45 cm, ca 1370 Metmuseum N-Y.jpg, ''The Simple Retreat'',

Footnotes

References

*Lee, Sherman E. (1994), ''A History of Far Eastern Art, (5th ed.)'', Harry N. Abrams Inc., New York, NY

External links

Wang Meng and his painting gallery
at China Online Museum
Landscapes Clear and Radiant: The Art of Wang Hui (1632-1717)
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Wang Meng (see index)
Sung and Yuan paintings
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Wang Meng (see list of paintings) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Meng Yuan dynasty landscape painters Ming dynasty landscape painters 1308 births 1385 deaths Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown Place of birth missing Place of death missing Politicians from Huzhou Painters from Zhejiang Ming dynasty politicians