Suzhou,whichisalsomyhometown,hascultivatedmanyfamousscholarsandpaintersoverits2000yearhistory.Today,Iwouldliketointroducetoyoufourofthemostfa鄄moustraditionalChinesepainterswholivedinSuzhou.TheyareShenZhou (沈周),WenZhengming(文征明),TangBohu(唐伯虎)andQiuYing(仇英)andtheyarereferredtoasMingsijia (明四家)inChi鄄nese.
　　ThevariouslegendsaboutTangBohu(1470-1523)whichstillexisttestifygreatlytohisunrestrictedpersonalityandcharacter鄄istics.Tangisoftenportrayedasaveryro鄄manticfigureinsometraditionalhistoricoperanovels,movieorTVdramas.Inreality,however,hewasquitehaplessandexperi鄄encedaveryturbulentlife.Tangwaswronglyaccusedofcheatingintheimperialexamina鄄tionandhishopesofwinninganofficialrankweredashed.Inaddition,helostfourfamilymembersinsuccessionatagetwenty-five.Hedrownedhissorrowsinliquorforawhilebe鄄foredecidinguponanewstartbytravellingacrossthecountry.ThesetravelexperiencesenabledTangtobroadenhishorizonandde鄄liveredfurtherauthenticitytohispaintings.Afterwards,hecamebacktoSuzhouandcommencedhisstudyofpaintinginordertoearnaliving.Inhisearlyperiod,TangBohudevelopedhisstyleofpaintingfromZhouChen (周臣),apainteroftheSouthernSongYuantiHua(南宋院體畫)orChineseAcademicpaintingstyleoftheSouthernSongDynasty.However,Tang’spaintingsareof鄄tenconsideredtobeWenrenhua（文人畫）,oratypeofscholar’spaintingwhichaccen鄄tuatesthemanifestationofindividualthoughtsandspirits.OnereasonisbecauseTangBohuwasalsoacquaintedwithShenZhouandWenZhengmingwhohadalotofinfluenceonhim.Hecombinedpainting,calligraphy,andpoet鄄rywellinhisartworksthroughwhichhede鄄pictedhisoutlookonlife.
　　ShenZhou(1427-1509)wasbornintoarichyetculturedfamily.Thevolumeofbooks,paintings,calligraphyandantiqueshishouseholdpossessedwasunsurpassedintheentireSuzhouregion.ShenZhou’sgrandfa鄄therwasalsogoodfriendswithWangMeng,oneofthefourrepresentativepaintersoftheYuanDynasty.AllofthesefactspointtowhyShenZhouwasabletoachievesuccessinhisartworksandbecometheleaderoftheWu鄄menpaintingschool.Shenmainlypossessedtwodistinctpaintingstyles-carefulandpre鄄ciseinhisearlylifeandboldandunre鄄strainedaftermid-age.
　　ShenZhou’sstudentWenZhengming(1470-1559),whowasalsoaclosefriendofTangBohu,hadalwayslentTangabighandduringdifficulttimes.UnlikeTangBohu,WenZhengmingdisplayedlittletalentasachild,suchasbeingunabletospeaknormallyuntilhewaseleven.However,heoutlivedtheotherthreerepresentativepaintersanddiedattheripeageofeighty-nine.HisdiligenceandlongevityenabledhimtobetheleaderofWumenpaintingschoolfordecades.Underhisleadership,Wumenpaintingschoolbe鄄camethearchetypeofmainstreampaintingsintheMingDynastyandinfluencedcominggenerations.
　　Unliketheotherthreepainters,whoweregoodnotonlyatpaintingsbutalsocalligraphyandpoetry,QiuYing(1494-1552)receivedlittleeducationinthesetwoareas.QiuYingstartedasalacquerwareworkerataroundeleven.Hispaintingswereusuallyconsideredtobescholar’spaintings.Hewasalsoastu鄄dentofZhouChenandwasespeciallygoodattwopaintingstyles:carefullydrawnandheav鄄ilycoloredpainting,blue-and-greenland鄄scape.HealsoabsorbedsomebrushandinkusagesusedinWenrenhuafrompainterssuchasShenZhouandWenZhengming.Hisout鄄standingandskilfulartworkshaveearnedhimunusualaccoladesevenfromthemostpedan鄄ticartcritics.
　　Theaforementionedpaintershavetheirownuniquepaintingstylesanddifferentper鄄sonalities.TheyareoftenperceivedasthemostprominentpaintersoftheMingDynastyaccordingtosomeoldbooksonthehistoryofart.Theyarelovedbymanymainlybecauseoftheirartisticachievementsandattitudetolife.TheirexistenceundoubtedlyaddedtothecultureandheritageofSuzhou.