Dong Yu

CHINA, Jiangsu, Changzhou; Southern Tang Kingdom to Northern Song dynasty (937–1127)

Dong Yu was a painter born in Piling (present day Changzhou, Jiangsu). He served as painter-in-attendance at the Hanlin Academy and later an art scholar in the Imperial Painting Academy. Vividly portraying fish, dragons, and turbulent ocean waves were Dong’s specialties. His achievements were documented and praised in the Xuanhe Catalog of Paintings, and his paintings are recorded in Overview of Painting, Evaluation of Painters, and Evaluation of Famous Painters of the Song Dynasty.
Three renowned murals by Dong appear in the ancestral temple of Prime Minister Chen Rengao. In addition, his painting entitled Ocean Water, together with inscriptions by Emperor Houzhu (reigned 961–975) of the Southern Tang Kingdom, and Li Suyuan’s works of calligraphy in cursive script, are known as the Three Wonders of Qingliang Temple in Jiangsu.
Emperor Taizong (reigned 976–997) of the Song dynasty once requested Dong to paint vibrant murals of dragons and oceans on the four walls of the Duangong Tower, a task that took him six months to complete. He also created another ocean mural on the north wall of the Yutang House in Henan, as well as the mural of Dragon Playing with a Pearl at Kaibao Temple.