Zhang Ruitu was in the turbulent times of the Late Ming Dynasty, and the “History
of Ming Dynasty” list him as one of the four great calligraphers of the Late Ming
Dynasty and places him as a member of the eunuchs as a clique. While Zhang Ruitu is
known for his strong and unique style of calligraphy, few people know that he was great
at painting, let alone studying his whole life. This paper intends to make a
comprehensive examination of Zhang Ruitu’s life and to explore his calligraphic and
painting and the aesthetic concepts that influenced his creations. First, the author
explores the political and economic background of Zhang Ruitu’s time of growth, as
well as the evolution of the psychology and social trends of the Late Ming Dynasty.
Second, the author explores Zhang Ruitu’s life through the records of his two fields
visits to Jingjiang, China, through the Ming Records, histories, local records, epitaphs,
local inscriptions, family trees and genealogies, the “Gojeong Mo Han” engraved
posters, inscriptions on calligraphy and monuments, and the “Bai Hao An” poetry
collection and the related notes and poems of the Late Ming Dynasty, and comparison,
and re-examinations the chronology of Zhang Ruitu’s life and political, artistic and
literary, and social events was complied in order. Furthermore, the chronology of Zhang
Ruitu’s life and the supplementary evidence of his calligraphy and painting, marks and
seals were used to identify forgeries and analyze the stylistic development of Zhang
Ruitu’s calligraphy and painting works. Finally, the content of Zhang Ruitu’s
calligraphy and painting inscriptions and related poems were used as the basis for
analyzing the influence of Zhang Ruitu’s aesthetic concepts, further understand the
aesthetic ideology behind Zhang Ruitu’s creations.