There was no formal establishment of Hanlin Painting Academy in Ming Dynasty, but a large number of painters were organized to serve the imperial court as in previous dynasties. During the Hongwu (1368 ~ 1398) and Yongle (1403 ~ 1424) periods in the early Ming Dynasty, the country was still in its infancy, and painters entered the palace by imperial edict and gave titles at will, such as Shen Xiyuan and Chen Yuan. Some awarded Wuying Hall and Hanlin as imperial edicts, or served in the cabinet, enshrined in it, and even awarded to the battalion headquarters. In the early Ming Dynasty, the palace paintings were mainly figure paintings. For example, Hong Wu ordered the painter to write about Zhu Yuanzhang's difficult start and pioneering conquest. In Yongle, the painter was ordered to paint "On the Wall of Wenhua Temple, remonstrate with Emperor Wendi" and "Ten Sketches of Emperor Taizong and Wei Zhi". Murals of palaces and temples were painted by court painters. At that time, Zhou Wei, Zhu Sheng, Zhuo Di, Shangguan Boda and others were responsible for this painting task. It is also an important task for court painters to paint the empress dowager, such as Shen Xiyuan, Chen Yuan, Sun Wenzong and Chen. Other landscape painters include Zhao Yuan, Zhu Chu and Guo Chun, and flower and bird painters include Fan Xian and others. Most of these painters come from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, or study Yuan or Song Dynasty, and have not yet formed a unified style. Zhu Yuanzhang is very strict with painters. He was beheaded for painting "Lapras the Jellyfish" on the mural of Tianjie Temple, which is taboo. Therefore, painters are cautious, which naturally limits their creativity and creativity in ideas and techniques.

After decades of recuperation, the economy and culture have flourished from Xuande (1426 ~ 1436) to Hongzhi (1488 ~ 1505). Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji, Xianzong Zhu Jianshen and Xiaozong Zhu Min were all good at painting, so court painting reached its most prosperous period. Among the court painters in this period, there are many famous artists and talented people. Painters are mostly accommodated in Renzhi, Wuying, Wenhua, Gai Hua and other temples, and are awarded the titles of military attaché s at all levels in the Royal Guards. The highest rank is commander-in-chief, followed by commanders, thousands of households, hundreds of households and town officials, and they can be promoted according to their work. Royal Guards used to be imperial guards, in charge of guards, arrests, prisons, ceremonies, etc. The reason why the painter awarded this title is that the Royal Guards have no staff, so they can place them at will in order to get money and get close to the emperor. Judging from the surviving works, most of the palace paintings in this period are based on characters, such as Ni Duan's Pinpang Tu, Liu Jun's Visiting Putu on a Snowy Night, Shang's Guan Yu Escape and Hong Nong Du Hu, and their theme selection is full of the meaning of borrowing the past and promoting the present. The other kind describes the life and portrait of the emperor, such as Shang's Ming Xuanzong's Entering Music Map, Wu Ming's Ming Xuanzong's Entering Music Map and Ming Xuanzong's Shooting Hunting Map. The other is the stories of Buddhist and Taoist immortals, such as "Playing the Toad", "Qin Gao Riding the Carp" by Li, and "The Picture" by Huang Ji. In the Ming dynasty, there was also a kind of "salesman map" popular in the court. The characters depicted are very luxurious in clothes, cars or loads, and they are also made with exquisite craftsmanship. These goods are very valuable, and they are by no means ordinary folk vendors. Xie Huan, a court painter, painted a group portrait of nine ministers who were in the apricot garden at that time. It can be seen that the court painter also served the ministers in the DPRK. Landscape painting mainly inherits the traditions of the Southern Song Dynasty Painting Academy, especially those of Ma Yuan and Xia Gui. Its composition is simple, the pen is vigorous and the axe is big. Wang Wei treated Renzhitang and was praised by Emperor Xiaozong of Ming Dynasty as "a horse far away today". His works include Jiang Ge Yuan Guan. There are also many painters who trace the painting style of the Northern Song Dynasty on the basis of the Southern Song Dynasty. Among them, Li and Guo are famous all over the world. In addition, litmus's landscape painting is more delicate, inheriting the painting method of green landscape in the Northern Song Dynasty. These painters are all minions of Xuanzong in Ming Dynasty. After Yongle, there were more and more court flower and bird painters with the most outstanding achievements. The meticulous flower-and-bird paintings by Bian Jingzhao and Lv Ji are rich in color, which is the inheritance and development of the meticulous flower-and-bird painting tradition since the Five Dynasties. Lin Liang's freehand brushwork of flowers and birds has a great influence on this painting method in later generations. Sun Long's boneless method of using color like ink is unique, which enriches the forms and techniques of garden flower-and-bird painting.

[Liu Jun: "Liu Hai hits the toad"]

In the mature period, the court painting of Ming Dynasty mainly inherited the painting methods of Song Dynasty, and combined the delicacy and richness of Northern Song Dynasty with the simplicity and roughness of Southern Song Dynasty, forming its own style, which was called courtyard style or school by historical critics. Parallel with Zhejiang painters with similar styles, it is also known as Zhejiang School of Academy. Become the mainstream of painting at that time. After Hongzhi, with the decline of the national power of the Ming Dynasty, court painting gradually declined and died in the Ming Dynasty. In the late Ming Dynasty, there were more than 100 painters known to serve the imperial court in terms of literature and handed down works. In addition, fahai temple, built in the Ming Dynasty, recorded two painters and a list of 15 painters who participated in the mural production of the temple, but no one knew it. Only in the literature can we see that artists were used to direct Renzhi Temple during the Zheng De period in Zhu Duan (1506 ~ 152 1). Painters should be craftsmen and painters with lower status in the court of Ming Dynasty.