Yu Zhiding - Portrait of Zhu Yizun - 2014

Yu Zhiding (Yü Chih-ting, traditional: 禹之鼎, simplified: 禹之鼎); ca. (1647–1709) was a Chinese painter during 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 ...

(1644–1912). Yu was a native of Jiangdu (present-day

Yangzhou Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou, Jiangsu, ...

) in

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

province. His style name was 'Shangji' (上吉) and his

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ) is a descriptive nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym in that it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name without the need for explanation; it may beco ...

was 'Shenzai' (慎齋). He served in the Imperial Painting Academy (廷畫院) during the reign of the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 165420 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, personal name Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign of 61 ...

, and his skills were valued by many noted contemporaries, including Chen Tingjing, Xu Qianxue, and Gao Shiqi, all of whom ordered portraits and other paintings from him. Yu was taught by Lan Ying and painted landscapes, human figures, and

bird-and-flower painting Bird-and-flower painting, called () in chinese language, Chinese, is a kind of Chinese painting with a long tradition in China and is considered one of the treasures of Chinese culture. The was named after its subject matter. It originated in t ...

s. He retired from office in 1690 and settled in Taihu,

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