Cheng Tang

CHINA, Sichuan, Meishan; Northern Song dynasty

Cheng Tang was a painter from the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127). During the rule of Emperor Renzong (reigned 1022–1063), he passed the imperial examination, became an Imperial Scholar, and was appointed an official. He was particularly skilled in painting fern leaf hedge bamboo.
It is said that once while climbing Emeishan (Fine Eyebrow Mountain), he saw a bamboo plant in bloom. So inspired by the sight, he created a lively depiction of it on the screen wall of the monastic quarters at Qianming Temple. On another painting of bamboo in Guanyin Yuan Temple in Chengdu, he composed a poem that read, “Without knowing the name at night, I asked a monk and tried to guess. He then carried a lamp and pointed at the bamboo, smiling and saying it was planted by him.”