Mid-Míng painter, calligrapher, poet, and bibliophile of Sūzhōu 蘇州 (Jiāngsū), one of the Four Masters of the Wú school 吳派 (alongside Shěn Zhōu 沈周, Táng Yín 唐寅, and Qiú Yīng 仇英). Born Wén Bì 文壁; later styled Zhēngmíng 徵明 from his zì; hào Héngshān 衡山. From a Sūzhōu literati family (father Wén Lín 文林 a jìnshì). Did not pass the xiāngshì despite nine attempts; recommended to the Hànlín Academy in 1523 as a dàizhào 待詔, but resigned after only three years in the capital and returned to Sūzhōu, where he lived another three decades as the leading figure of the regional cultural elite. Famous for his small-script calligraphy (xiǎokǎi 小楷) and his landscape painting in the Yuán-master idiom. His family library was one of the finest in Jiāngnán and preserved the original Hóngwǔ-era cutting of Sòng Lián’s collected works that Jiǎng Chāo 蔣超 used in 1655 to compile the Sòng Jǐnglián wèikè jí KR4e0003. Standard biography: Míng shǐ j. 287 (Wényuàn zhuàn). No confident CBDB match required (universally well-documented).