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
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