Yao Shou
Ming literati painter continuing Yuan traditions
Yao Shou(姚綬) (1422–1495), styled Gongshou(公綬), also known by the pseudonyms Gu'an(谷庵), Xianchi(仙痴), and Yundong Yishi(雲東逸史), was commonly referred to as Mr. Danqiu(丹丘先生). He was from Dayun Temple in Jiashan County, Jiaxing Prefecture, Zhejiang, and was an official, calligrapher, and painter during the Ming Dynasty. He showed talent from a young age, specializing in classical prose, and his poetry and essays were elegant and fluent. In the eighth year of the Tianshun era (1464), he passed the imperial examination and became a Censor. Later, he was demoted to prefect of Yongning. While supervising the salt trade in the Lianghuai region, he eliminated longstanding abuses, but his strictness angered the powerful and he was further demoted. Eventually, due to his mother’s old age, he resigned and lived in seclusion, building a residence called Danqiu and sailing in the Wu-Yue area on a boat named 'Cangjiang Hongyue'. In calligraphy, Yao Shou first studied Song Ke, then followed the styles of Zhong Yao and Wang Xizhi, with a style similar to Zhang Yu. In painting, he followed the followers of Wu Zhen, Zhao Mengfu, and Wang Meng, excelling in ink landscapes and bamboo-and-stone paintings. His representative works include 'Autumn River Fisherman’s Retreat', 'Bamboo and Rock', and 'Literary Banquet'. These are now housed in the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Shanghai Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the U.S., among others. Together with Du Qiong, Liu Jue, and others, he continued the tradition of the four Yuan masters and helped develop the Wu School of painting in the Ming Dynasty. He also authored works such as 'Gu'an Collection', 'Yundong Collection', 'Harmony of Heaven and Man', and 'Yao Censor’s Poetry and Prose'.