Tang Yin Dichotomy

Tang Yin (1470-1523), also known as Tang Bohu or Tang Ziwei, was a famous artist of the middle Ming dynasty. Interestingly, his names are not only associated with the historical figure of a recognized painter and poet, but also with numerous fictions that feature him as the protagonist, ranging from Ming dynasty novels to modern television shows. Within the Tang Yin scholarship, studies are therefore sometimes divided into the ones on his biography and oeuvre and those on the fictional or semi-fictional texts about him. From a practical point of view, scholars suggest this kind of dichotomy mostly to facilitate their literature review. On that account, I do not intend to question the validity of such dichotomy. Instead, my question would rather concern its viability: when we try to situate his biography in the history of literature, is it really helpful to consider Tang Yin the artist and …show more content…
In his essay, Cahill astutely points out that "the 'biographies' of artists are themselves cultural artifacts: the artists, in collaboration with their contemporaries, create personae for themselves, and later critics further fashion these into 'biographical accounts' that tend to follow established patterns and conventions". He then goes on to suggest a detailed "biographical pattern" of a certain type of Ming artists that he has termed the "educated professional". According to Cahill, this type of artists usually starts as a "precocious child" and receives classical education in order to pass the examinations for a career in civil service. However, this project of becoming an official is usually interrupted and eventually aborted for different reasons. The artist then starts to earn a living by painting or writing professionally, and becomes famous for his "colorful personality and unorthodox behavior, along with his artistic