Publisher's Synopsis
The story of the Four Masters tells of a time when fierce warriors swept across the steppes and mountains of Eurasia, when the innocent--women, children, the old, the infirm--fled from slashing swords, from violence and death. It was a time when borders between nations shifted according to fortune, when might carved territory and right was irrelevant. This was a time, in other words, much like our own. China's story is long but not unique. It was written by human ambition and greed, but also dedication. There were those who plundered, murdered and destroyed. But always there were some who, with quiet fortitude, redeemed, some who preserved a sense of decency and culture. Such were the Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty. These men, under the yoke of a fearsome conqueror, held fast to an ideal. They kept themselves apart from the corrupt practices of their era and worked to preserve the traditions of China. Though the Four Masters all painted landscapes, each developed a distinct, recognizable style. Today, these paintings hang in museums across the globe. The pieces are valued in the millions of dollars, but are in fact priceless, for in them is the story of China, its traditions, and its enduring civilization. In the pages of this book the Four Masters will share space with dramatic personalities. Around the quiet center of the artists will swirl wars, conquests and the collapse of empires. Although these epochal events stand bold in the annals of history, it is the artists' work that remains, a full 800 years after the last Master put his brush to paper and inked his final stroke
