Wen Zhiming (1470- 1559) was born in Changzhou, Jiangsu. He was a famous painter and calligrapher in the middle of Ming Dynasty. He, Shen Zhou, Tang Yin and Chou Ying are also called "Four Masters of Wumen". Together with Tang Bohu, Zhu Zhishan and Xu Zhenqing, they are called "Four Great Talents in Jiangnan". In his later years, he kept pace with his mentor Shen Zhou and became the leader of Wumen after Shen Zhou. During the period from Zheng De to Jiajing, according to the book History of Wumen Painting, there were 876 talented painters in Wu Pai, but only Shen Zhou and others were outstanding and famous at that time.

Wen Zhiming's early fame and fortune career was not smooth. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, people who passed the examinations at all levels and passed the examinations in Shangguan, Zhou and County schools were generally called "students" or "Jinshi". Wen Zhiming took the exam at the age of a student, and passed it at the age of 53 in the first year of Jiajing (A.D. 1522), but failed to pass it, so he was a teenager. At the age of 54, he was recommended to the court in Beijing by Li Chongsi, the minister of the Ministry of Industry. After examination by the official department, he was awarded a low-paid post in imperial academy. At this time, his calligraphy and painting have gained a good reputation, and there are many requirements for his calligraphy and painting. As a result, he was jealous and excluded by his colleagues in imperial academy. Wen Zhiming was very unhappy. Since he came to Beijing in the second year, he has written a letter asking to resign and go home. His resignation report was approved three times in three years. At the age of 57, he left Beijing, sailed south and settled in Suzhou. From then on, he devoted himself to poetry and painting, stopped seeking an official position and took a show. Famous in his later years, he is known as "writing all over the world". People who bought his calligraphy and painting called him "envious of the sea and mountains" as soon as they stepped on the threshold. Wen Zhiming, who died at the age of 90, is the oldest among the "four gifted scholars in Wumen". Nearly 90 years old, he still worked tirelessly and wrote an epitaph for people. Before he finished writing, he "put down his pen and sat down and died."

Wen Zhiming's calligraphy and painting attainments are extremely comprehensive, and his poems, essays and paintings are excellent. People call it the "four unique" generalist. Although he imitated Shen Zhou, he still has his own style. He is versatile, green ink and wash, and meticulous brushwork. Mountains and rivers, people, flowers, orchids, etc.

Learn Chinese characters from Sue. Later, Wen Zhiming learned calligraphy from Young-jin Lee, who lived in Ou Yangxun. Young-jin Lee was a fair, gentle and clean person. Although he is not a master of calligraphy, he is a calligraphy educator. He is Zhu Zhishan's father-in-law and Wen Zhiming's first teacher. He not only passed on all his learning experience to Wen Zhiming, but also encouraged him to break through the tradition and be brave in innovation. When Wen Zhiming was 22 years old, Li Yingzhen read his Su Shu and said to Wen Zhiming, "How can we follow in the footsteps of others?" ? Let's learn to be Wang Xizhi, just someone else's ears! "These words affected Wen Zhiming.

Wen Zhiming is famous for being good at all kinds of calligraphy in history, especially at running script and small letters. Wang Shizhen commented in Yi Yan Yuan: "Wen Zhiming, who is about to make an imperial edict, is famous for his lower case letters, and his followers are familiar with it. His unique seal script writing is not inferior to others, but he himself has become a useful product. The book "Thousand Articles" has four styles, and the script is absolutely exquisite. There are "Huang Ting" and "legacy education" brushwork, and the style is light and moist. It can be called the jade version of "holy coke", and the official script is also wonderful in "Zen". Seal script is the style of Jin, Jin and Yang Bing, and regular script has a small method, which is commendable. "

Wen Zhiming's calligraphy is warm and graceful, steady and mature, rigorous in statutes and vivid in conception. Although there is no vigorous momentum, it has the charm of calligraphy in Jin and Tang Dynasties. His book style is less angry, and in his freehand brushwork, he often reveals a gentle and elegant atmosphere. Perhaps the ups and downs of his official career have killed his spirit of death, but he is a late bloomer and his style is becoming more and more calm. His masterpieces handed down from generation to generation include The Drunken Man's Meaning, Preface to the Royal Pavilion, Fu on the Red Wall, Poems of Fisherman, Li Sao, Biography of Beishan Literature, etc.