Poem on the Hall of Pines and Wind

Jia Sidao (1213-1275) was able to rise to high office in the Southern Song because his elder sister was the consort of Emperor Lizong. At one point, he was entrusted by the Song court to defend Ezhou from the Mongols, but he secretly sought peace from Kublai Khan instead. He consequently claimed victory and was rewarded at court, rising to a domineering status. Later, when the Yuan Mongol troops headed south to the Southern Song capital, he repeatedly lost in battles. For this, he was sentenced to exile and was executed on the way. Jia Sidao, nonetheless, was an avid collector of art objects, including painting and calligraphy. He scoured imperial and private collections for masterpieces, which numbered over a thousand.

Yuan Jue (1266-1327), after the fall of the Song dynasty, became the president of the Lize Academy and later went on to serve as a Hanlin Academician-in-waiting. Coming from a family with an extensive library, Yuan Jue was of broad learning and gifted in the connoisseurship of painting and calligraphy. His writings were also praised by contemporary scholars. Many of his records in his collected writings describe the literary activities and collection of painting and calligraphy at the court.

Li Jiong's writings were praised by Yao Sui, and Li went on to serve in such positions as Editor in the Hanlin and Historiography Academy. In the Tianli era (1329-1330), he served as a Hanlin Academician under Emperor Wenzong (Tegtemur) and Academician-in-waiting in the Kuizhang Pavilion. He submitted "Essay on Assisting Rule" to Wenzong and took part in editing "Rules of Statecraft," passing away not long after its completion. Wenzong also ordered Yu Ji to compose a record of Li's pavilion in the scenic area of Jinan. Li was gifted at prose and excelled at calligraphy, including seal, clerical, cursive, and standard scripts.

Zhang Gui was a painter of the Jin dynasty active from 1156 to 1161. He was gifted at fine-style figures with crisp brushwork for the drapery and solemn manners, much in the style of the great figure painter Zhou Fang. Zhang's lively brushwork was derived from the "trembling" brush manner.

In the early Yuan dynasty, Feng Zizhen (1257-1314) served as Gentleman for Managing Affairs and Attendant in the Jixian Hall. Learned in the classics and history, he became famous for his studies and writings.

Teng Wenyuan served up to the post of academician in the Jixian Hall and Zhejiang Supervisor of Confucian Schools. His surviving calligraphy is mostly in the ancient Jin and Tang manners. His small standard, medium standard, and running scripts were similar in style to those of his famous contemporary Zhao Mengfu. Achieving fame, Teng along with Xian Yushu and Zhao Mengfu were known as the "Three Masters of the Early Yuan." In the early Yuan dynasty, Feng Zizhen (1257-1314) served as Gentleman for Managing Affairs and Attendant in the Jixian Hall. Learned in the classics and history, he became famous for his studies and writings.

Liu Guan (1270-1342) was a famous Confucian scholar, literary master, educator, and calligrapher of the Yuan dynasty. He rose to the rank of Attendant in the Hanlin Academy and Editor in the Historiography Institute and was learned in the classics and history. He was as famous as such figures as Yu Ji and had such famous students as Song Lian Lien and Wei Su. He was gifted at commentary and promoted Confucianism in his prose, in which he propagated feudal ethics and morality while eulogizing the rule of the Yuan court.

The term "semu (ethnic groups)" translates in Chinese literally as "colored eyes," indicating minorities and being used at the Yuan court for political purposes of differentiating social status. Those who were not Mongols or Chinese were classified as "ethnic groups," which thus encompassed numerous minorities.

Qiu Ying was originally a lacquer artisan who painted figural decorations. Later, he went to Suzhou to further his career in painting, eventually winning the praise of such luminaries as Zhou Chen, Wen Zhengming, and Tang Yin. Achieving fame, he became a professional painter specializing in figures and landscapes as well as various techniques such as monochrome ink and fine colors. Consequently, although his works have the classical elegance of scholar painting, they retain the precise brushwork and fine coloring associated with professional paintings. In the late Ming dynasty, he lived at the residence of the great collector Xiang Yuanbian and copied his masterpieces. He was revered by later generations along with Shen Zhou, Wen Zhengming, and Tang Yin as one of the "Four Masters of the Ming."