Ni Zan

(1301-1374)

The painter in the Yuan Dynasty,a native of Wuxi,Jiangsu province.His style name was Yuan Jing and his sobriquets were Yun Lin,etc.He was addicted to drink.He was born in a rich family,but later his family fell into reduced circumstances,he sold off his property and roamed in the area of Lake Tai.Following the style of Dong Yuan and Zhao Mengfu,he created a new technique of painting.He was talented in painting landscape and ink bamboo which executed elegant and simple strokes with free atmosphere.He advocated that painting should not seek being similar to shape,but should execute in free atmosphere.He was honored as the Four Great Masters in the Yuan Dynasty with Huang Gongwang,Wu Zhen and Wang Meng.He was also excelled in calli-graphy which executed elegant strokes.