It is likely that Qiu Ying was a child prodigy who, by his teen years, was already active as a painter. Given the challenge of clarifying his overall chronological development, it is not surprising that there have been few attempts to identify the artist’s earliest surviving paintings and reconstruct the arc of his early career. A section on the artist’s early works from c. 1504–25 includes key paintings by Qiu Ying, such as the handscroll Saying Farewell at Xunyang, the artist’s interpretation of Song of the Lute (Pipa xing), a famous narrative poem by the early-9th-century poet Bai Juyi. Also included in this section are the artist’s experiments with a wide diversity of landscape styles, among them, the lyrical modes associated with Song-dynasty court artists. Rare examples of Qiu Ying’s copies of famous earlier compositions include his paintings The Gathering of the Lotus Society (after the 11th-century painter Li Gonglin), Mahaprajapati Nursing the Infant Buddha (after the 14th-century painter Wang Zhenpeng), and Portrait of Ni Zan (copying a famous portrait of the Yuan dynasty painter, calligrapher, musician, and collector Ni Zan).

A group of Qiu Ying paintings contains inscriptions and colophons by the scholar and calligrapher Wang Chong (1494–1533), and thus can be dated to no later than 1533, the time of Wang’s death. Wang inscribed poems on at least six surviving paintings by Qiu Ying, including Pavilion among Wutong Trees and Bamboo. Dating these works prior to 1533 situates them amongst Qiu Ying’s midcareer works. Elements of their signatures and seals enable us to relate them directly to other paintings by him of that period. The evolution of Qiu Ying’s work during the latter phase of his midcareer years can be documented by a group of paintings created close to the year 1540, particularly those painted for two of his most important patrons, Zhou Fenglai and Chen Guan. During this period, many of Qiu Ying’s paintings were inscribed by Wen Zhengming, who had become his mentor, and other literati artists in Wen’s immediate circle. They clearly valued Qiu Ying’s art, as they inscribed his paintings with their calligraphy. The artist’s social and professional proximity to the leading Suzhou literati of his day further demonstrates the porous nature of class structure in the middle-Ming dynasty. Through his gifts as a painter, Qiu Ying was able to transcend the limitations of class boundaries.

Qiu Ying was a rare artist whose skill continued to improve late in life up until the time of his death. A section on the artist’s late works from 1542 to 1552 surveys the paintings he created in his final decade, the period that yielded the largest percentage of his dated and datable works. During these years, Qiu Ying is said to have spent considerable time as a guest in the home of the great collector Xiang Yuanbian in nearby Jiaxing, where he created many of his best-known paintings. According to recent research, by the time of his death in 1590, Xiang owned nearly 50 works by Qiu Ying. Many of the works presented in this section, as in earlier periods of his career, can be grouped together on the basis of their superb and meticulous technique, the calligraphy of Qiu Ying’s signatures, and the consistent use of particular personal seals.

Qiu Ying’s reputation and appeal grew only stronger after his death. The section Qiu Ying’s Legacy focuses on works by his daughter, Qiu Zhu, his close follower and possible son-in-law, You Qiu, and a broad range of artists whose works were either copies of or inspired by Qiu Ying. Among these later artists are Gu Jianlong (1606– c. 1687), Jin Cheng (1878–1926), and Zhang Daqian (1899–1983). Included too are examples of Ming- and Qing-dynasty forgeries of Qiu Ying’s work: the handscrolls Spring Morning in the Gardens of the Han Palace and The Peach Blossom Spring, both of a type known generically as Suzhou fakes (Suzhou pian), which proliferated from the 16th century onward. Many of these copies and forgeries continue to flood the art market, causing endless confusion regarding authenticity. It is nonetheless a tribute to Qiu Ying’s enduring legacy that his works were emulated in China, Korea, and Japan, and that he is still widely copied today.