Qian Gu
Gelehrtenmaler, Landschaften und Buchkopien
Qian Gu(钱穀) (1508—1572?), courtesy name Shubao(叔宝), also known as the Master of Xuànqìng Room(悬罄室主人), was from Wuxian (now Suzhou, Jiangsu) and was a painter, calligrapher, and book collector during the Ming dynasty. He studied under Wen Zhengming(文徵明) and was good at landscape painting as well as orchids and bamboo themes. His calligraphy blended the styles of Su Shi and Yu Shinan. Born into a poor family but passionate about books, he borrowed and copied the rare books collected by Wen Zhengming, hand-copying tens of thousands of volumes of ancient texts and inscriptions, all considered excellent copies at the time. His library, Xuànqìng Room, was named by his teacher. It contained many rare editions, stamped with seals like “Xuànqìng Room,” “Hand-copied by Qian Gu,” “Ju Wu Yimin,” and “Sanwu Manshi.” He compiled the “Continued Anthology of Wu Capital Literature” and authored works such as “Poems of Xuànqìng Room,” “Miscellaneous Notes on Northern and Southern Histories,” “Classified Copies of the Three Kingdoms,” and “Collected Works of Recluse.” His surviving paintings include “View of Qiuzhi Garden” and “View of the Front Hills of Tiger Hill.” Qian Gu grew up poor and without formal education, only learning to read as an adult. Later he became a student of Wen Zhengming. He lived a life of poverty, making a living through copying books, collecting books, and painting. He socialized with scholars like Wang Shizhen and even painted the “Travel Record” for him. His son, Qian Yunzhi, continued the book-collecting tradition, but after Qian Gu’s death, the Xuànqìng Room collection was eventually dispersed.