"Outside Mountain" by Wen Zhengming
Full Poem
Outside Mountain
Wen Zhengming
The hundred-foot Cangshan Mountain leans against the cold dusk , there is no way to get through the fairyland;
When it rains in the evening, the waterfall falls, and only lonely people can watch it from the other side.
(Praising the scenery of Pan'an Baizhang Lake)
Wen Zhengming
Wen Zhengming (1470.11.28-1559.3.28), formerly known as Bi (or Zuobi) ), named Zhengming. From the age of forty-two, he began to use the word "xing" and the word "zhengzhong". Because he was born in Hengshan, he was named "Hengshan Jushi" and was known as "Wenhengshan" in the world. He was Han nationality and a native of Changzhou (now Suzhou, Jiangsu). He was a painter, calligrapher and writer in the Ming Dynasty. Because he went to the Imperial Academy to wait for the imperial edict, he was given the posthumous title of Mr. Zhenxian, so he was called "Wen daizhao" or "Wen Zhenxian". He was modest and upright. King Ning Zhu Chenhao hired him because he admired his virtues, but Wen Zhengming refused to go because he was ill. In the last years of Zhengde's reign, due to the recommendation of Sui Gong students to examine the Ministry of Civil Affairs, he was awarded the title of Hanlin and waited for imperial edicts. He did not serve the powerful, especially he was unwilling to paint for vassal kings or middle-ranking officials. He resigned and returned to his hometown soon after he became an official. There is still "Futian Collection".
Wen Zhengming's calligraphy and painting attainments are extremely comprehensive. He is excellent in poetry, essays, calligraphy and painting. He is known as an all-rounder of the "Four Wonders". He is a poet of Bai Juyi and Su Shi, a literary scholar of Wu Kuan, and a calligrapher. He studied painting with Li Yingzhen and Shen Zhou. Together with Shen Zhou, he founded the "Wu School". In the history of painting, together with Shen Zhou, Tang Bohu and Qiu Ying, they are known as the "Four Ming Schools" ("Four Wu Schools"). In poetry, together with Zhu Yunming, Tang Yin and Xu Zhenqing, he is known as one of the "Four Talents in Wuzhong".