Zhou Wenju
Delicate trembling brush court figures
Zhou Wenju(周文矩) (c. 907–975) was a court painter of the Southern Tang during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, from Jurong (present-day Jurong City, Jiangsu). By the first year of Emperor Liezuo of Southern Tang, Li Bian(李昪) (937–943), he was already painting in the palace. During the reign of the later emperor Li Yu(李煜) (961–975), he served at the Hanlin Academy, excelling in painting people, especially court ladies and officials, often depicting the lives of nobles or scholars. He also painted landscapes, buildings, and Buddhist and Daoist subjects. His painting style was close to that of the Tang Dynasty painter Zhou Fang(周昉) but more delicate. He often used a trembling brush technique for clothing lines, producing lines that were strong yet slightly shaky and interrupted. Song Dynasty critics said of him, ‘His brushwork is profound; in rich, intricate designs he is especially skillful.’ Some of his works include *Palace Scenes*, *Meeting of Su Wu and Li Ling*, *Chess Gathering on a Double Screen*, *Figures in the Glazed Hall*, and *Princess Taizhen Mounting a Horse*. Most surviving pieces are copies.