Makers › Master Craftsmen
Wu Quchen
Late Ming ink maker of Xiuning in Huizhou, also a painter and zither connoisseur, whose Nine Dragon-Sons ink cake is in the Palace Museum
A craft workshop centres on a potter's wheel holding a tall celadon vase, amid racks of red lacquer boxes, an embroidery frame with a floral design, shelves of celadon ware, carved wooden panels and stacked logs, while one craftsman works at a table and another stands at a glowing kiln.
Also known as Personal name Shi · Hao Bu Daoren
Wu Quchen, personal name Shi, art name Bu Daoren, studio name Yuyanzhai, came from Shangshan in Xiuning, Huizhou, and was active in the Tianqi and Chongzhen reigns. A painter, calligrapher and poet who understood the zither, he was above all an ink maker whose refined cakes were prized by scholars; more than sixty ink designs are credited to him, and he belongs to the Xiuning school of Hui ink. The Palace Museum holds his Nine Dragon-Sons ink, with nine coiled dragons in relief on the face, 'made under the supervision of Wu Quchen' on the side and a seal-script wish for long life and many descendants on the back.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; active in the Tianqi and Chongzhen reigns