Tang Yin (1470—1523), styled Bo Hu and Master of the Peach Blossom Hut, was a native of Changzhou in Suzhou (today’s Suzhou in Jiangsu Province). In his later years, Tang Yin converted to Buddhism and adopted such courtesy names as Buddhist Liuru (“Liu Ru” is a set of six Buddhist concepts used to describe the unpredictable and illusory nature of human life). The 11th year of Emperor Hongzhi’s reign (1498) witnessed his academic success of ranking first in the provincial imperial examination. Later, the incrimination of a cheating case in the imperial exam bluntly affected his political career and academic life. Family tragedies gave the man extra blow in life. Generally, Tang Yin’s journey of life proved to be a bumpy one. Tang spent the latter half of his life at Peach Blossom Hut he built himself in the northwest of Suzhou. He made his name by selling his essays and paintings. Tang Yin often exchanged ideas about art and literature with Xu Zhenqing, Zhu Yunming and Wen Zhengming. The four of them were called “Four Talents in Wuzhong,” all of whom were free and bold. Tang Yin once engraved an autograph seal referring himself as “The Best Gifted and Romantic Scholar in Jiangnan”. When pursuing the art of painting, he first studied under Zhou Chen and later under Shen Zhou, which enabled him to achieve excellence in painting portraits and landscape as well as flowers and birds. Being one of the “Four Masters of Ming Dynasty”, Tang Yin was equally famous with the other three in the group, namely Shen Zhou, Wen Zhengming and Qiu Ying. Tang Yin’s exquisite calligraphy was overshadowed by his name as a great painter. Though the artist followed Zhao Mengfu’s style, Li Beihai had an even greater influence on him. Tang’s calligraphical works and paintings featured elegant brushwork with tightness and strength in structure. The man was also a master of poetry. Many of his poems were about travel and expression of feelings, while still others were inscriptions for paintings. The works not only conveyed unrestrained passion and boldness as well as profound loneliness, but also lamented over the snobbery and hypocrisy of the world. The poet used slang and vulgarism in his poems, which made them simple in language yet profound in meaning while easy to understand. His representative works included Liu Ru Ju Shi Ji (The Works of Buddhist Liuru). In the Qing Dynasty, Liu Ru Ju Shi Quan Ji (The Complete Works of Buddhist Liuru) was compiled and published.
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