Yu Zhi - Huanhua Butterfly - 18th-century

Yu Zhi (, 18th century),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Nanzhou (), was a Chinese court painter in the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. A native of

Changshu Changshu (; Suzhounese: /d͡ʐan¹³ ʐoʔ²³/) is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, and is part of the Yangtze River Delta. It borders the prefecture-level city of Nantong to the northeast across the Yangt ...

and the younger son of Yu Xun (), he and his brother

Yu Sheng Yu Sheng or Yu Xing (, 1692–after 1767), courtesy name Zengsan () and art name Luting (), was a Chinese court painter in the Qing dynasty. A native of Changshu, he studied with Jiang Tingxi and entered the Imperial Academy afterwards. Many of h ...

were in the residence of the politician Haiwang for two decades, and studied with the court painter

Jiang Tingxi Jiang Tingxi (, 1669–1732Barnhart: Page 379.), courtesy name Yangsun (), was a Chinese painter, and an editor of the encyclopedia ''Complete Classics Collection of Ancient China''. Jiang was born in Changshu, Jiangsu. Besides the name Yang ...

. In 1737, as a result of Haiwang and Jiang's recommendations, the Yu brothers were summoned to the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, personal name Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China pr ...

's court along with Zhou Kun. In 1741, Yu Zhi was granted the second rank by the Qianlong Emperor which entitled him to nine taels of silver per month; Yu Sheng was granted the top rank with a monthly income of eleven taels. Yu Zhi was famous for his paintings of flowers, birds, insects, and fish.

References

18th-century Chinese painters People from Changshu Painters from Jiangsu Chinese bird artists Chinese male painters Year of death unknown Year of birth missing {{China-painter-stub