Ren Renfa

Ren Renfa (simplified Chinese: 任仁发; traditional Chinese: 任仁發; pinyin: Rén Rénfā; Wade–Giles: Jen Jen-fa) (1254–1327), courtesy name Ziming (子明), pseudonym Yueshan Daoren (月山道人; lit. "Taoist on the Moon Mountain"), was an expert of irrigation works, artist, and a government official of the Yuan dynasty. He was born in Qinglong Town, Songjiang (松江青龙镇 – present day Qingpu District, Shanghai). Ren drew some outstanding paintings of horses, people, flowers and birds. His style is similar to the artists of the Tang dynasty (608–907) and he is considered a direct successor to Li Gonglin (1049–1106) of the Northern Song dynasty. His paintings of horses are comparable to those by Zhao Mengfu. Despite his position under alien Mongol emperors, Ren did not shy from producing works with a political subtext. His inscription on Fat and Lean Horses explains that the "fat horse represents the self-satisfied, wealthy official and the lean one the humble, poor, self-deprecating official." Ren's hydrological works include dredging the area in what is now Beijing to improve the water supply and leading a team to build embankments after the Yellow River burst its banks.