Dong Qichang (1555-1636), courtesy name Xuanzai, also known as Sibai and Xiangguang Jushi, was a native of Songjiang, Shanghai. Dong Qichang was born in a poor family, but he was very successful in his official career and rose to great heights. In 1589 AD (the seventeenth year of Wanli), the 34-year-old Dong Qichang was promoted to Jinshi and began his official career in the following decades. He worked as an editor and lecturer, and later he held positions such as Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing and Taibao of the Crown Prince. He was extremely sensitive to politics. Whenever there was a disturbance, he would resolutely resign and return home, and he was appointed again and again.

Dong Qichang was gifted with great literary acumen. He was proficient in Zen theory, good at connoisseurship, poetry and prose, and good at calligraphy, painting and theory. He was a domestic scholar and a leader in the art world for decades. He was the most outstanding and influential calligrapher and painter in the late Ming Dynasty. Dong Qichang specializes in landscape painting. He pays attention to traditional techniques, pursues a plain and innocent style, and pays attention to the charm of brushwork and ink. The ink colors are clearly layered, clumsy yet graceful, clear, meaningful and elegant. "History of Painting" commented: "Dong Qichang's landscapes, trees and rocks, flowing smoke and clouds, full of spirit, and his elegant brushwork, elegant and elegant, are the best in this dynasty." Dong's paintings have a great influence on the painting world in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. It had a great influence and spread to the modern painting world. Dong Qichang's works have always been sought after by major collectors at home and abroad.

Dong Qichang’s exquisite collection once collected 4 landscape paintings by Dong Yuan: "Xiaoxiang Picture", "Traveling in Streams and Mountains", "Longsu Suburban People Picture", and "Xiashan Picture", and named them "Siyuantang" Zhai also has a selection of Li Sixun's "Shu River Picture" and "Autumn River Waiting for Ferry", Dong Yuan's "Shanghai Picture", "Cloud Mountain Picture", "Autumn Mountain Travel Picture", Ju Ran's "Landscape Picture", and Fan Kuan's "Snow Mountain Picture" , "Dwelling in the Mountains in Wangchuan" by Li Cheng, "Dwelling in the Mountains in Wangchuan" by Li Cheng, "Dwelling in the Mountains in Wangchuan" by Guo Zhongshu, "Dwelling in the River" by Jiang Guandao, "Summer Mountains" by Zhao Danian, "Two Pictures of Dongting" by Zhao Zi'ang, "Pictures of Mountains and Flowing Water", Wang Meng's "Autumn Mountain Picture", "Song Album" and other 18 paintings. It can be seen from this that Dong Qichang's collection is enough to make him proud of contemporary art.

Dong Qichang's calligraphy achievements are also very high. Dong's calligraphy is the most accomplished in cursive script. He is also quite proud of his regular script, especially small regular script. Although Dong Qichang lived in an era when calligraphy by Zhao Mengfu and Wen Zhengming was popular, his calligraphy was not blindly influenced by these two calligraphy masters. His calligraphy combines the calligraphy styles of Jin, Tang, Song and Yuan schools and is self-contained. His calligraphy style is elegant, ethereal and self-sufficient. The garden of strokes is vigorous and elegant, plain and simple. The brushwork is meticulous and always maintains a straight edge, with few clumsy or clumsy strokes. In terms of composition, the layout of each word, line and line is divided into lines, sparse and well-proportioned, striving to follow the ancient method. The use of ink is also very particular, using dry, wet, thick and light to achieve the best results. Calligraphy reached Dong Qichang, which can be said to be the culmination of ancient methods. The "Six Styles" and "Eight Methods" were mastered by him. At that time, he was already "famous in foreign countries. His short calligraphy with short rulers was circulated in the world, and people competed for it." "("History of Ming Dynasty·Biography of Wenyuan"). Until the middle of the Qing Dynasty, Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong regarded Dong's calligraphy as their patriarchal system. They highly praised and favored Dong's calligraphy. They even copied Dong's calligraphy in person and often placed it on the right side of their seats for viewing morning and evening. Kangxi once wrote a long postscript to praise his calligraphy: "Dong Qichang's calligraphy in Huating is completely different. Its elegance and roundness are popular among Chu calligraphers and are beyond the reach of other calligraphers. Every time you don't notice it, The place is full of unique features, like the breeze blowing and the gentle clouds rolling around, which makes it quite interesting to look at its structure and fonts, which are all from the Jin Dynasty. "Holy Teachings", you can get the method of movement, and the ancient strength and edge are hidden in the turning of the pen, which seems to be clumsy but clever... Yan Zhenqing, Su Shi, and Mi Fu are all good at it, but the key points are all from the Jin Dynasty. Especially the two kings of scale. Their prosperous origins are unified, so they can easily imitate their meanings, and the original color can be seen in the cursive script. I really appreciate the wonderful use of ink, and the thickness. It is even more outstanding. The most imitated, each one is said to have excellent skills, and it is not easy to do so." It is said that Kangxi also wrote Dong's book in person, which made Dong's book popular, and there was a craze among the whole dynasty to learn from Dong's book. Almost all scholars who were chasing fame for a while took Dong Shu as a shortcut to obtain official positions. During the reigns of Kangxi and Yongzheng, his calligraphy had a profound influence that was unmatched by other calligraphers.

Dong Qichang’s calligraphy has always received mixed reviews. Praisers were full of praise. Wang Wenzhi, a famous scholar and calligrapher in the Qing Dynasty, called Dong Qichang's calligraphy "a masterpiece of calligraphy" in his "On Calligraphy Quatrains". Xie Zhao called it "a touch of cooperation that is often unprecedented." Scholars of Zhou Dynasty said that he had "six body and eight methods, which are not perfect in everything. They are beyond the su and into the rice, and he is rich and graceful, and he is like an immortal." But there are also many critics of Dong Qichang, with Bao Shichen and Kang Youwei the most fierce. Bao Shichen said: "It is inevitable to be timid when writing."

Kang Youwei said sarcastically in "Guang Yi Zhou Shuang Ji": "Although Xiang Guang (Dong Qichang) is famous, he is like a Taoist priest who has no food, and his demeanor is frugal. If you encounter a general who has organized an army with great force, built high barriers, and whose flags have changed colors, you will definitely be restrained. Dare to go down the mountain!”

Dong Qichang embarked on the path of calligraphy by chance. The reason was that his calligraphy was not good during the exam, so he worked hard and became famous. This is described in his "Essays on Painting the Zen Room", in which he also described his learning process: When he was seventeen years old, he took the national examination. When Zhong Zhenji, the prefect of Songjiang, was reviewing the examination papers, he could have named Dong Qichang because of his literary talent. He was ranked first, but he felt that his handwriting on the examination paper was too poor, so he changed the first place to the second place. At the same time, Dong Yuanzheng, Dong Qichang's nephew with better handwriting, was ranked first. This incident greatly stimulated Dong Qichang, and he studied calligraphy ever since. Dong Qichang recalled: "The governor of Jiangxi Zhonghongxi placed Yu Shu in second place, so he became angry and came to the pool. He first studied "Duobao Pagoda" by Yan Pingyuan (Zhenqing), and then changed to Yu Yongxing (Shinan), thinking that Tang Shu was not as good as In the Wei and Jin Dynasties, they imitated "Huang Ting Jing" and Zhong Yuanchang (Yao)'s "Declaration Table", "Li Ming Table", "Huan Shi Tie" and "Bing She Tie". For three years, they claimed to be imitating the ancient times and no longer followed them. Wen Zhengzhong (Zhengming) and Zhu Xizhe (Yunming) paid no attention to it. "It can be seen from this passage that Dong Qichang studied almost most of the famous masters in the past, from Zhong Wang to Yan and Liu, from Huaisu to Yang Ningshi. , Mi Fu, until Zhao Mengfu in the Yuan Dynasty.

Dong Qichang did not leave a monograph on calligraphy, but the insights and opinions he gained in practice and research are scattered in his large number of inscriptions and postscripts. Dong Qichang has a famous saying: "Jin people's calligraphy draws rhyme "The calligraphy of the Tang Dynasty is based on the method, and the calligraphy of the Song Dynasty is based on the meaning." This is the first time in history that calligraphy theorists have used the three concepts of rhyme, method, and meaning to delineate the aesthetic orientation of calligraphy in the Jin, Tang, and Song Dynasties. These views have played a very good role in explaining and guiding people to understand and learn classical calligraphy. Dong Qichang worked diligently in calligraphy and painting all his life and lived a long life, so there are many handed down works. His representative works include "Bai Juyi's Pipa Play", "Edicts of the Three Generations", "Cursive Poems", "Pictures and Postscripts of the Mountains of the Yanjiang River", "Ni Kuan's Praise", "Before and After" "Red Cliff Fu Book" etc.