Chiu Ying

Chiu Ying (15th to 16th century. A.D.), a native of Taitsang, Kiangsu, was an artist who won his success the hard way. In his early days he was a workman who had apparently had no formal education. His genius was first recognized by Chou Chen, a contemporary artist, from whom he received his first lessons in art. His talent was many-sided. In landscape painting, his style reminds one rather of Liu Sung-nien, but he excelled also in human figures and “architectural paintings.” He was famed for his delicate brushwork, but was also capable of producing fine landscapes and figures in bold strokes and a free style. There were, remarked a Ming critic, certain types of painting with which Chiu Ying was thoroughly conversant, the technique of which, however, was beyond the reach of even his most prominent contemporaries such as Wen Cheng-ming and Shen Chou.

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