Xu Wei

Xu Wei was a descendant of the Song dynasty's imperial family and a scholar-official who served under the Ming dynasty. He was a versatile artist who excelled in calligraphy, painting, and poetry. He was especially renowned for his paintings of flowers, which he depicted with expressive brushwork and vivid realism. He also painted landscapes, animals, and insects, often incorporating inscriptions of his own poems or those of his friends. He was influenced by the ancient masters of the Tang and Song dynasties, and he sought to revive their styles and techniques. He rejected the refined and elegant style of his contemporaries and advocated for a more simple and natural approach. He is considered to have brought about a revolution in Chinese flower painting, paving the way for the later masters of the literati tradition. He was also a leader of the Academy of Worthies, a group of scholar-artists who shared his aesthetic ideals and cultural values. He had one daughter, Yun Bing, who also became a famous painter and calligrapher. Xu Wei was highly respected and influential in his lifetime and beyond, and his works are regarded as treasures of Chinese art history.