Zhao Mengfu (1254 – 1322) born during the latter part of the Song dynasty and died just shy of the half point of the Yuan dynasty. He attained a very high position in the Mongolian court. This was a major aspect that his critics focused on because as the 11th generation descendant of Zhao Kuang Yin (趙匡胤), founder of the Sung dynasty (宋朝) many felt he shouldn’t served the Mongolians who ended the Song dynasty.

Zhao Kuang Yin had four sons and Zhao Mengfu belonged to the branch of Prince Qin (秦王德芳), Zhao Kuang Yin’s fourth and youngest son. The ancestor, Baqut (伯圭), four generations before Zhao Mengfu, was the olderer brother of the Song emperor, Xiao Zhong. It was at this time that his family settled in Huzhou, Zhejiang (浙江湖州).

Zhao Mengfu’s biaozi (表字) is Ziang (子昂). A common practice of the time was for scholars to take up pseudonyms or hao (號). Zhao Mengfu had many. Here are some of better known works:

• Songxue (松雪, “Pine Snow”)
• Oubo (歐波, “Gull Waves”)
• and Shuijing Gongdao Ren (水精宫道人, “Crystal Palace Taoist”)

By all accounts he was multi-talented. We were told that he had a photographic memory. He was poet, painter, callicgrapher, craver, and musician. However, he is best known for his paintings and calligrphy.

He painted a very broad variety of subjects: landscape, people, plants, birds and horses. His style was just as diversed, ranging from detailed (工筆), free form (寫意), full colours (青綠), and ink (水墨).

His wife, Guan Daosheng (管道生 1262-1319), was a poet and accompanished painter. Her specialty was bamboo and plum. Their son, Zhao Yong (趙雍) was also a painter in his own right and an art collector.

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