Wu Yuanzhi
Master of Jin Dynasty ink landscapes
Wu Yuanzhi(武元直) (12th century, exact birth and death years unknown), styled Shanfu (recorded as Shantian in *Tuhui Baojian*), and also known by the pseudonym Guangmo Daoren, was from Beiping in the Jin Dynasty (modern-day Beijing). During the Mingchang era of Jin Zhangzong (1190-1196), he was a famous scholar who passed the imperial examination and was friends with Zhao Bingwen. He was known for his landscape paintings, and his surviving works include *Red Cliff*, *Early Snow After Snowstorm*, *Cloud Nest in Clear Snow*, *Returning Boat in Wind and Rain*, *Idle Talks of Fishermen and Woodcutters*, *Peach Garden*, *Peach Creek*, and *Fishing Ceases on the Autumn River*, though most have been lost over time. Additionally, *Huashi Huiyao* also records his *Morning Clouds* and *Dawn Snow*. Wu Yuanzhi’s *Red Cliff* is an ink painting on paper, measuring 50.8 cm in height and 136.4 cm in width, depicting the scene of Su Shi boating at Red Cliff. It is now housed in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. This painting was once mistakenly attributed to Zhu Rui by Ming Dynasty scholar Xiang Yuanbian, but based on the record in Yuan Haowen's *Collection of Yi Shan Xiansheng* stating "Red Cliff was painted by Wu Yuanzhi," it has been verified as Wu Yuanzhi’s work. His paintings embody the spirit of Song Dynasty art and, along with the Red Cliff-themed works by Ming artists such as Qiu Ying and Huang Daozhou, form a sequence of artwork on this theme.