Four Scholars in Wuzhong

Born in 1461 in Changzhou County, modern Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, Zhu came from a prestigious family of scholars and officials spanning seven generations.

In 1521, Zhu was promoted to Controller-General of Yingtian Prefecture (modern Nanjing), but he resigned within a year due to illness.

[11] Together with Tang Yin, Wen Zhengming and Xu Zhenqing, Zhu was one of the "Four Talents of Wu (Suzhou)" (吴中四才子), his calligraphy is the most noted in the quartet.

[20] Tang emerged from the vital merchant class of Suzhou, at a very low economic level of the son of a restaurant operator.

His friends in the Suzhou scholarly circles included Shen Zhou, Wu kuan [zh] (1436–1504) and Zhu Yunming.

All parties were jailed, and Tang Yin returned to Suzhou in disgrace, his high hopes for a distinguished civil service career dashed forever.

That mode of living brought him into disrepute with a later generation of artist-critics (for example, Dong Qichang) who felt that financial independence was vital to enable an artist to follow his own style and inspiration.

When Zhengming was two years old, his father, Wen Lin, passed the imperial examination with the highest possible rank, jinshi.

Wen Lin was assigned a government position as a magistrate in Yongjia County in Zhejiang province, and left for his job, leaving his two sons in the care of his wife, Qi Shenning.

[27] Wen Zhengming's family was originally from a line of military men who lived in Hengshan County, Hunan province.

After she died in 1542, Wen painted Wintry Trees after Li Cheng for a guest who arrived with a gift to mourn her death.

"[36] Xu Zhenqing (1479–1511), courtesy names Changgu(昌榖) and Changguo(昌国), was a renowned Ming dynasty literary figure from Meili Town in Changshu, later relocating to Wuxian (modern Suzhou).

Even when he was still a student, he was proficient in poetry and had a good relationship with his fellow townsman, Tang Yin, who introduced him to Shen Zhou and Yang Xunji, leading to his reputation.

He was appointed as the vice director of the Left Division of the Dali Court, but after being implicated in a prisoner case, he was demoted to a doctorate at the Imperial Academy.