A Research Of Ghost Authorship In The Late Ming Dynasty:a Case Study Of Dong Qichang

Ghost authorship exists since ancient times and is especially outstanding in the late Ming Dynasty.As a great master in the art circle in the late Ming Dynasty,ghostwriters of Dong Qichang are nearly unequalled in both scale and in number of ghostwriting among painters of all dynasties.This paper is an in-depth analysis of ghost authorship in the late Ming Dynasty by taking Dong Qichang as an example.This paper mainly revolves around four parts: part one selects Zhao Zuo,Shen Shichong,Yang Jipeng and Seng Kexue,four ghostwriters of Dong Qichang,by sorting out historical data,and then analyzes their status,position and relationships with Dong as well as the time of ghostwriting;part two discusses Dong Qichang and the landscape of ghostwriter and ghostwriting by contrasting and observing their works;part three analyzes the causes of ghost authorship in the late Ming Dynasty from two angles—personal reasons and social factors;part four starts with the stance and attitude of the Ming people towards faking and summarizes the rationality of ghost authorship in this period.This article hopes to provide viewers with a whole new perspective to study Dong Qichang by researching on the ghost authorship regarding Dong Qichang and meanwhile reveals the developmental laws of ghost authorship in the late Ming Dynasty and interaction between ghost authority and the society,striving to restore the context of ghost authority in the late Ming Dynasty to help viewers better understand and evaluate it.