Li Zai
Ming court painter, Zhe school landscape master
Li Zai(李在) (1400–1487), courtesy name Yizheng(以政), given name Chungu(春谷), also known as Longbo Jushi(龙波居士), was from Zhengban Village, Jiangkou, Putian, Fujian, and was a court painter during the Ming dynasty. He was skilled in landscape painting, following Guo Xi in meticulous areas and adopting the bold style of Ma Yuan and Xia Gui in freer parts. He was also good at painting figures. His brushwork was simple, robust, and smooth. His painting style belonged to the Zhe school and he was also an important painter of the Minzhong school. Some of his surviving works include "Qingao Riding a Carp," "Returning Home," "Clear Peaks over Wide Shoal," "Pavilion amid Hills and Clouds," "Mountain Village," and "Elegant Residence in the Mountains." Among them, "Qingao Riding a Carp" is now in the Shanghai Museum and has been included in authoritative historical references like *History of Chinese Painting* by Wang Bomin, recognized as an important and precious painting. He was born on the ninth day of the third lunar month in 1400 in Putian and started studying at Meifeng Academy at the age of 12. During the Xuande period (1426–1435), he was summoned to the capital to serve in the Renzhi Hall, working alongside Dai Jin, Xie Huan, Zhou Wenjing, and others in the imperial painting academy. In 1433, while serving as a county magistrate in Yunnan, he was called back to the capital. In 1467 (the third year of the Chenghua era), the Japanese painter monk Sesshū came to China with a diplomatic mission to learn from him techniques like coloring and ink-breaking. He passed away from illness in Beijing in 1487 at the age of 88 and was buried back in Caotang Mountain, Zhengban Village, Putian. His tombstone still exists today.