Gong Xian

Gong Xian (simplified Chinese: 龚贤; traditional Chinese: 龔賢; pinyin: Gōng Xián; Wade–Giles: Kung Hsien; 1618–1689; the specific year of birth is disputed as early as 1617 or as late as 1620; born in Kunshan, Jiangsu) was a Chinese painter in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, one of the Eight Masters of Nanjing (Jinling) and the leading painter of the Nanjing school.^[1]

He was also known as Qixian(岂贤), Banqian(半千), Banmu(半亩) and Yeyi(野遗); Chaizhangren(柴丈人) and Zhongshanyelao(钟山野老). He enjoyed equal popularity with the poet and calligrapher Lu Qian in the early Qing Dynasty. They were called "Two Ban of the World" (天下二半), (Gong Xian: Banqian; Lu Qian, Banyin).^[2]