Gong Xian: The Silent Master of Nanjing Landscape Gong Xian (1618–1689; some sources give his birth year as early as 1617 or as late as 1620; born in kunshan, jiangsu) stands as one of the eight masters of nanjing – a lineage of painters who profoundly shaped Chinese art during the Ming Dynasty’s twilight years and immediately following its fall to the Qing. While his life was marked by political upheaval and exile, Gong Xian's artist…