wen zhenheng

Wen Zhenheng (Chinese: 文震亨 ) (1585-1645 AD) was a Ming dynasty scholar, painter, landscape garden designer, and great grandson of Wen Zhengming, a famous Ming dynasty painter. Wen Zhenheng was born in Suzhou in 1585

In 1621, Wen Zhenheng graduated from the Imperial Academy, obtained the degree of Zhusheng

In 1637, Wen Zhenheng was the assistant magistrate of Longzhou county in Shanxi prefacture.

In 1637, he was appointed Secretariat Drafter2 by Emperor Chungzhen 1

Wen Zhenheng was famous for his caligraphy, poetry and essay. He was also an expert in landscape garden design, the Sweetgrass Garden he built in Suzhou was famous at his time.

长物志 Treatise on Superfluous Things

Wen Zhenheng's best known work 长物志 Zhang Wu Zhi (Treatise on Superfluous Things)1 written between 1620-1627 1 was an encyclopedic book about garden architecture and interior design. Zhang Wu Zhi was divided into twelve volumes:

* Vol 1. House and Dwelling-- 17 chapters.

* Vol 2. Flowers and Trees-- 43 chapters.

* Vol 3. Water and Stones - 18 chapters

* Vol 4. Fowl and Fish -- 11 chapters

* Vol 5. Books and Paintings - 26 chapters

* Vol 6. Chairs and Beds-- 20 chapters

* Vol 7. Utensils -- 58 chapters

* Vol 8. Cloths and acceories -- 10 chapters

* Vol 9. Boat and carriage -- 4 chapters

* Vol 10. Arrangement -- 11 chapters

* Vol 11. Vegetable and Fruits-- 27 chapters

* Vol 12. Incense and Tea -- 24 chapters

Reference

1 长物志图说 Zhang Wu Zhi Tu Shuo (Treatise on Superfluous Things Pictorial Edition), Shandong Pictorial Publishing House 2005 ISBN 7-8603-779-9

An excellent edition, with detailed annotations, abundant pictures and photographs of various objects discussed in the book. There is no complete translation of this book in any other language. Some sections were translated in the Clunas book below and in some books on gardening and furniture.

2 Craig Clunas: Superfluous Things, Material Culture and Social Status in Early Modern China, University of Hawaii Press 2004, ISBN 0-8248-2820-8

In this book Craig Clunas discusses several Ming dynasty scholars, including Gao Lian, Tu Long and Wen Zhenheng. He has translated the first chapter of each of the twelve volumes and there is a detailed biography of Wen Zhenheng on pages 20 to 25.

External Links

Zhang Wu Zhi-- Treatise on Superfluous Things, Chapter 12, Incense and Tea

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