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"The gentleman's conduct is like orchids, and the heart of ancient people is like pine and cypress" was written by Wang Shimin, a painter in the Qing Dynasty

Wang Shimin (1592-1680), courtesy name Xunzhi, also known as Yanke and later as Xilu Laoren, was born in Taicang, Jiangsu Province. He was the leader of the "Four Wangs" in the early Qing Dynasty. He is not highly regarded in the current art history. I have always been arguing for him, but it is actually unnecessary. As the saying goes, one time is different from another.

In recent years, the "Four Wangs" have become popular again, and their prices at auctions have also risen sharply, which has made me feel very fair. It seems that history and the market are fair scales. Wang Shimin's grandfather, Wang Xijue, was the chief minister of the cabinet during the Wanli period, known as Wensugong. His father, Wang Heng, was a Jinshi in the 29th year of the Wanli period and served as an editor in the Hanlin Academy.

Therefore, Wang Shimin lived in a scholar-official family, where there were all kinds of books, ancient books, calligraphy and famous paintings, and the learning conditions were very good. According to the "Records of Paintings in the Qing Dynasty", Wang Shimin "had a unique temperament, was knowledgeable and well-informed, was good at poetry and prose, was good at calligraphy, especially at the eight-point style, and had a special talent for painting". From this record, it can be seen that his calligraphy was best in the official script.

The early Qing Dynasty was a period of revival of official script, represented by Zheng Fu, Zhu Yizun and Wang Shimin. From this five-character couplet, we can see that although his calligraphy was learned from the Han people, the structure was vertical; although the brush was heavy, it was no longer ancient, and it was a relatively fresh style at the time. Like Zheng Fu, he was a pioneer of epigraphy. Because he was famous for his paintings for a long time, his calligraphy achievements were often overlooked. The author has seen Wang Shimin's cursive fan, which was very wonderful. It was a reflection of his learning from Dong's calligraphy, and he had his own style. In comparison, his official script was better, and this couplet can give us a glimpse of the whole picture.

At the age of 24, Wang Shimin was appointed as Shangbao Cheng by "Enyin". Soon after, he was ordered to inspect Shandong, Henan, Huguang and Guangxi, and later he was promoted to Shaoqing of Taichang Temple. However, because Wang Shimin "was indifferent to official career and enjoyed writing", he resigned due to illness in the fifth year of Chongzhen, and was deeply in love with calligraphy and painting.

However, Wang Shimin, a scholar who had held an important position in the Ming Dynasty, "left the city with his father and elders to welcome the surrender" before the Qing army arrived in Taicang, saving his life, his family business, and his descendants' succession to high positions in the Qing Dynasty. This also provided him with more energy to devote himself to writing, and he has been living in seclusion in his Xitian villa, engaged in calligraphy and painting research and creation.

In his later years, Wang Shimin devoted himself to training young painters such as Wang Hui and provided financial support. He also carefully trained his grandson Wang Yuanqi. He had nine sons, all of whom served as officials in the Qing Dynasty. The eighth son, Wang Xuan, also served as prime minister of the Qing Dynasty. Wang Shimin was leisurely in writing and painting, and his life was stable and wealthy. He lived to be 89 years old, making him a long-lived calligrapher and painter.

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