Wen Zhengming

Wen Zhengming (Wade Giles: Wen Cheng-ming)(文徵明, 1470–1559), leading Ming dynasty painter, calligrapher, and scholar. Born in Wuxian (present-day Suzhou), he was a descendant of the Song dynasty prime minister and patriot Wen Tianxiang. Wen Zhengming’s family was originally from the Hengyang/Hengshan area of Hukuang (present-day Hunan), where the Wen family had established itself shortly after the year AD 1000. Not until the time of Wen Zhengming's great-grandfather, Wen Hui, a military officer, did the family move to the Suzhou area.