Du Dacheng
Master of delicate ink insect paintings
Du Dacheng(杜大成), courtesy name Yunxiu(允修), also known as Shankuang(山狂) or Shankuangsheng(山狂生) , was from Jinling (now Nanjing) during the Ming Dynasty. The book *Tuhui Baojian Xubian* lists him as being from Suzhou. He lived in the late 16th to early 17th century. He loved sound poetry, was skilled in music, and excelled in painting birds, insects, flowers, and plants. His technique was simple and delicate. Surviving works include the *Album of Flowers, Grass, and Insects* (ink on paper, now in the Liaoning Provincial Museum). His artistic activity was mainly between the Jiajing and Wanli periods (late 16th to early 17th century). In the fourth year of Longqing (1570), he created the scroll *Autumn Flowers and Insects*, which bears seals reading “Shankuang Lechu,” “Bitan Qiu Yue,” “Du Dacheng yin,” and “Heyu Tiankuan,” as well as the signature “Du Yunxiu.” This work is included in *Seals and Inscriptions of Chinese Painters*. According to *Ming Hua Lu*, there was another Suzhou painter, Du Shankuang, who was skilled in painting grass and insects and might be the same person as Du Dacheng, but this is uncertain and requires further study. Among the Wu School painters, Du Dacheng was known for his light-ink paintings of insects and plants. His works are considered part of the school’s observational painting tradition, and he is also recognized as a master of detailed insect and plant painting.