A Life Forged in Brushstrokes: The World of Qiu Ying Born into humble circumstances in 1494, in the town of Taicang near present-day Jiangsu province, Qiu Ying rose to become one of the most celebrated painters of the Ming Dynasty. Unlike many artists of his era who benefited from scholarly upbringing and formal education within established artistic circles, Qiu Ying’s path was remarkably self-made. He began his artistic journey not t…