(b Xiongyue, Liaoning Province, 1151; d Beijing, 1202). Chinese painter, calligrapher and poet. A scholar–painter who perpetuated the ideals of Su Shi and his circle, he was the most prominent artist of the Jin period (1115–1234), the alien Jürchen (Ruzhen) regime in northern China. He and his circle flourished during the reign of Zhangzong (reg 1190–1208), the cultural high point of the Jin period. Best known for his paintings after WEN TONG of bamboo, the quintessential scholar’s subject (see CHINA, §V, 3(vi)(c)), Wang also painted monochrome landscapes and old trees. In calligraphy, he modelled his style after MI FU and was most skilled in running script (xingshu). His contemporaries acclaimed him as excelling in the Three Perfections (sanjue) of poetry, calligraphy and painting.

• Wang Tingyun
  • works
    • China, §IV, 2(iv)(b): Calligraphy: Jin and Southern Song literati and imperial
    • China, §V, 3(vi)(c): Painting: Bamboo, plum and ink-flowers
    • China, §V, 5(ii): Painting theory and criticism: Literati concepts and writings