If calligraphy and painting in the Eastern Jin Dynasty are divided into two major schools, then the chief and deputy heads of the calligraphy school are Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, and the chief and deputy heads of the painting school are Gu Kaizhi and Dai Kui.
Gu Kaizhi was very famous in later generations. Many people have not heard of Dai Kui. In fact, he served as Wang Huizhi's "supporting role". That is the story of Wang Huizhi's "Visiting Dai Andao on a snowy night". "Andao" is His words. He is good at Buddhist sculpture and is known as the "Father of Chinese Buddhist Statues".
Dai Kui (about 326-395 AD) was a native of Zhi County, Qiao County (now Suixi County, Anhui Province). His grandfather and father both served as high officials. He liked painting since he was a child, but his father hoped that he would follow the right path and become a scholar, and not engage in sideways such as art. He found a private teacher for him, Fan Xuan, a famous scholar at the time. Fan Xuan was a proud man. The imperial court invited him to be a high-ranking official many times, but he was declined all times. Dai Kui respected his teacher very much and studied diligently with him. Fan Xuan also had high hopes for this disciple. But Dai Kui could never let go of his hobbies. In his spare time, he liked to go out into the wild, sit among mountains and rivers, and sketch and paint. When Fan Xuan learned about it, he disapproved of it and said: This is a trivial trick and very impractical; you should still seize the golden time of youth and read the scriptures seriously. Dai Kui didn't say anything. When he returned, he hid at home alone and drew a "Nandu Fu Picture" based on the "Nandu Fu" written by Zhang Heng of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and then respectfully presented it to Fan Xuan. Fan Xuan was shocked when he saw it. Holding it in hand and admiring it over and over again, it becomes more and more memorable, like a dream. He called Dai Kui over and said: I will study painting with you from now on. From then on, the two became each other's masters and apprentices, reading and painting. Fan Xuan acted as a matchmaker again and married his niece to him.