Wen Zhengming (November 28, 1470–1559), born Wen Bi, was a Chinese painter, calligrapher, and poet during the Ming dynasty. He was regarded as one of the Four Masters of Ming painting. Wen Zhengming was born Wen Bi near present-day Suzhou on November 28, 1470. He would later be known by his courtesy name, Zhengming. In 1489, Wen Zhengming began studying under Shen Zhou, the eldest of the Four Masters and founder of the Wu school of painting, of which Wen himself later became a leading figure. Wen Zhengming was one of a number of Ming dynasty literati artists who set themselves in opposition to the professional, academy-influenced style favored in the region of Zhejiang. Wen and other amateur artists of the Wu school (named after the region around Suzhou, where many of them were based) carried on the wenren, scholar-artist tradition of the preceding dynasties. In addition to his poetry and painting, Wen Zhengming was also known for his calligraphy. As a young man, Zhengming was introduced by his father Wen Lin to a leading calligrapher of the Suzhou area. By 1541, he was thought to be the greatest calligrapher in China, particularly in the kaishu (regular script) and xingshu (semi-cursive script) styles.