A descendant of the Song imperial house, he took office under the Yuan at the invitation of
忽必烈 and rose to high rank in the Hanlin Academy. His regular script, the
赵体, is one of the four great styles of
楷书, with those of
欧阳询,
颜真卿 and
柳公权. His wife
管道升 was also a painter and calligrapher.