Ding Jing

Ding Jing was born in 1695 in Qiantang, near present-day Hangzhou, China, and died in 1765. He worked as a calligrapher, painter, and carver of seals, and later Qing and modern art-historical writing remembers him as a founding figure of the seal-carving lineage associated with Xiling; he is grouped among the so-called Eight Masters of Xiling alongside several of his students. His stature among later Qing painters is suggested by the existence of a posthumous portrait of him attributed to the painter Luo Ping, a hanging scroll referenced in Qing painting scholarship. Detailed, English-language documentation of his training, patrons, and full body of work remains limited, and no comprehensive modern biography or catalogue of his output could be confirmed in available sources.

English-language critical writing on Ding Jing is sparse relative to the volume available for contemporary Chinese artists. He is referenced mainly in scholarship on Qing-dynasty painting and seal carving connected to his relationship with the painter Luo Ping, for whom he carved seals, and in art-historical accounts of the Xiling seal-carving lineage, but no exact, quotable critical passage naming Ding Jing could be confirmed in available sources. Assessment of his significance rests mainly on his historical position within the Xiling seal-carving lineage rather than on a body of modern critical commentary.

Works attributed to Ding Jing continue to appear at auction, primarily in the Chinese works-on-paper and seal categories, though the exact number of past auction results is not confirmed in available sources. The highest recorded price for his work, per MutualArt's aggregated auction data, is approximately USD 3,586,909, for Four Works: Calligraphy, sold at China Guardian Auctions in Beijing in 2020; the exact sale date is not identified in publicly available sources and should be treated as unconfirmed pending further documentation. Prices recorded for carved seals and other sculptural objects attributed to him have been far lower, near USD 5,880, pointing to a wide spread across categories rather than a single consistent price level.

Buyers should take particular care with attribution: several other artists share the surname Ding, including the contemporary painter Ding Yi and the younger contemporary artist Ding Shilun, neither of whom should be confused with the Qing-dynasty Ding Jing (1695 to 1765). Some auction platforms also list the artist under the reversed name order "Jing Ding." There is no catalogue raisonne and no certification program for his work; authentication depends on connoisseurship, seal inscriptions, colophons, and the scholarship of specialist Chinese works-on-paper departments at major auction houses. Because the highest publicly reported auction price for this artist lacks a fully confirmed sale date, collectors should treat any headline figure with appropriate caution.