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.

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

[11] Wen Zhengming married the daughter of a high-ranking official and jinshi named Wu Yu around the year 1490.

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

Wen Zhengming was one of a number of Ming dynasty literati artists who set themselves in opposition to the professional, academy-influenced style favored in the region of Zhejiang.

[18] Wen and other amateur artists of the Wu school (named after the region around Suzhou, where many of them were based) carried on the wenren (Chinese: 文人) scholar-artist tradition of the preceding dynasties.

Eschewing official sponsorship and hostile to the politics of the imperial court, these artists sought private patrons and the respect of their peers, frequently painting works in the style of older masters.

[22] Wen's paintings were highly sought after by wealthy collectors throughout the 16th century, and counterfeits of his works were common during the late Ming.

As a young man, Zhengming was introduced by his father Wen Lin to a leading calligrapher of the Suzhou area.