(b Wuxing, Zhejiang Province, 1254; d 1322). Chinese painter and calligrapher. A descendant of the first Song emperor, Taizu (reg AD 960-76), Zhao was born into a privileged class towards the end of the Song period (960-1279). His father was a high official in the court at Hangzhou, the capital of the Southern Song (1127-1279). Zhao was educated in the classics and inherited a broad interest in artistic pursuits. At the age of 14 he was appointed a staff member of the Office of Revenue at Chenzhou (near modern Yangzhou). When he was 23 the Mongols overran Hangzhou and established the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), moving the capital to Dadu (modern Beijing). Zhao returned to his home town, Wuxing, to concentrate on his studies and soon achieved distinction as a scholar. In 1286, in response to the invitation sent by the Mongol emperor Kublai Khan to recruit southern scholars to serve in his regime, Zhao went to Beijing to begin his career as a civil servant under the Yuan dynasty, sometimes at the court and sometimes in the provinces, eventually attaining the first rank and serving under five emperors. He showed himself to be an able administrator and a very shrewd politician as well as an economist, an expert in Confucian studies and an official historian. He was also a poet, an essayist and an accomplished musician, especially of the qin (zither). He was the dominant calligrapher of the Yuan period and was highly influential in later periods. His greatness as a painter has been recognized only recently, as a result of the discovery of some of his most important works. In his biography, written by one of his prot?g?s, Yang Cai (1271-1323), it was said that: 'Other people painting landscape, bamboos and rocks, men and horses, and birds and flowers, often excel in some but are weak in others. But he achieved the utmost in all of them, fathoming their heavenly qualities. His masterpieces do not rank below those of the ancient masters.' Among Yuan painters, he shows much the broadest range of subjects, techniques and expressions.
Part of the Zhao family
See the Abbreviations for further details.
