8 facts about Dài Jìn

Dai Jin (simplified Chinese: 戴进; traditional Chinese: 戴進; pinyin: Dài Jìn; 1388-1462) was a Chinese landscape painter best known for bodily the founder of the Zhe School during the Ming dynasty.

An account by Lang Ying (b. 1487) provides the most extensive further on biography of Dai Jin. As a pubescent man, probably in the 1410s, Dai traveled to the capital, Nanjing, with his father, who presumably worked there in some qualified capacity. Dai unsuccessful to make a declare for himself in the capital and returned to Qiantang to resume his examination of painting, which he had probably begun considering a local Zhejiang artisan. His reputation grew such that c. 1425 he was recommended to Xuande Emperor (r. 1425–35), and he went to Beijing in the wish of securing an academy appointment. His plans were thwarted, however, by the envy of expected painters, in particular Xie Huan (fl c. 1368–1435), a favorite artiste and assistant to the Xuande Emperor, who claimed to detect anti-government bias in Dai’s works. Unrolling a series of Dai’s landscapes representing the four seasons, Xie remarked approvingly on the spring and summer scenes but took gruff exception to the autumn scene, in which the artiste had depicted a fisherman wearing a red coat, attire thought customary for gentlemen–officials but not for commoners. Yuan dynasty (1279–1368) artists had sometimes painted scholars dressed as fishermen, implying thereby that the educated classes with intent avoided service under their Mongol rulers. Xie adduced as evidence unconventional of Dai’s works, Seven Worthies Passing the Barrier (c. 1425–35; untraced), which was based upon an passй tale (gushi) recounting the flight of seven men from a tumultuous and badly ruled state. The Xuande Emperor utterly with Xie, and according to scholar Lang Ying, the eunuch liable for recommending Dai was executed. Dai, however, escaped at night to Hangzhou. Dai returned to the Zhe academy afterward.