Tang Yin (1470-1524) The Main and His Art by Doris Chu This study investigates into Tang Yin's youthful achievements, the examination scandal surrounding him, his selling of art for livelihood that might have brought infliction to his reputation as a scholar-gentleman painter and his position in- and major contributions to the history of Chinese painting. What was his social status after all? Was he considered a professional painter by his contemporaries? Does posterity so consider him? A thorough research was done to address those questions. Materials examined included among others local gazetteers, the artist's epitaph, commemoratory essays, prefaces of his collected literary works of different periods, and various notes and causeries by Ming and Qing chroniclers, colophons inscribed on his paintings by his contemporaries and later followers and comments and criticisms by collectors and connoisseurs of Ming and Qing periods In discussing his oeuvre, the problems of this borrowings from others, his source and various influences on his as well as the influence he had on other master have been studied. Many of the paintings attributed to him are spurious. The most important and difficult task was to separate the genuine from the false, and the to attempt a reconstruction of the stages in his stylistic development and to establish a chronological sequence for those paintings amongst his works that are indisputably his own. Careful comparison was made of styles, composition, motifs, and structure. Most important of all, the techniques of brushwork and ink was examined. Records and documentation of Tang's paintings have been used as aids for authentication. Other Books by Doris Chu Chinese in Massachusetts; Their Experiences and Contributions That Gentleman From China Fallen Casia