|
Ma.
Chinese family of painters. The Ma family was from Hezhong (modern Yongqi) in Shanxi Province. They established an unbroken line of five generations of artists: Ma Fen (b 1080–90); Ma Xingzu (b 1105–15); Ma Gongxian and Ma Shirong (b 1130–40); (1) Ma Yuan (d after 1225); Ma Kui (b 1155–65); and (2) Ma Lin (d after 1256). This continuity appears to have resulted from a decree (1056) of the emperor Renzong (reg 1023–63) to the effect that court painters were forbidden to transfer into the regular system of civil service and the advancement this implied, ‘so that their arts can be handed down and specialized for generations to come’ (see 1980–81 exh. cat., p. xxviii). The following members have entries:
|
