Shen Zhou (1427-1509), whose courtesy name was Qinan, alias Shitian, and late alias Bai Shiweng, was from Changzhou (now Wuxian County, Jiangsu Province). When he was eleven years old, he traveled to the southern capital and wrote a hundred-rhyme poem for Cui Gong, the governor's minister. He was interviewed for "Phoenix Terrace Ode" and he finished it quickly after picking up the pen. When he grew up, the county magistrate planned to recommend him as a virtuous person. Shen Zhou used "Book of Changes" to divine and got ninety-five clues, so he decided to hide it. Governor Wang Shu and Peng Li successively paid tribute to him and wanted to keep him under the curtain, but he refused on the grounds that his mother was old and needed service.
Shen Zhou was a famous calligrapher and painter in the Ming Dynasty. Huang Tingjian studied calligraphy; he was good at painting landscapes and also worked with flowers and birds. Together with Wen Zhengming, Tang Yin and Qiu Ying, he was known as one of the "Four Ming Calligraphers". His poetry is influenced by Bai Juyi, Su Shi, and Lu You, and his literature "Zuo Shi Zhuan" is valued by the world. His poetry works include "Selected Poems of Ishida" and "Collected Poems of Mr. Shen Shitian".