Dong Qichang was one of the leading art theorists, connoisseurs and artists of the late Ming period. Although he was born in Shanghai to a rather poor family, beginning with lessons in the classics from his father, Dong gained an extensive education in literature and the arts. A highly ambitious man, he began studying calligraphy and painting in earnest in his late teens, hoping to become a master of the southern artistic tradition. In his early years Dong Qichang's career as an official showed great promise; in 1589 he attained the jinshi degree with noted success and was appointed to the Hanlin Academy. He was then named tutor of the future emperor Guangzong (r. 1620). However, during most of his life his fortunes vacillated between receiving important appointments and years spent away from court in retirement, when he was free to pursue his artistic interests.

Both in theory and practice, Dong Qichang advocated using the works of such ancient masters as Mi Fu, whose misty landscapes influenced the atmospheric and brushwork techniques of artists for generations, to create new styles and compositions. While denouncing slavish imitations of earlier works, Dong felt that the production of fang paintings, works which used the style and technique of an earlier master in a creative manner, was part of an evolutionary process that would lead to new developments in the painting tradition.