Pu Hua

• Pu Hua (蒲華), courtesy name Zuo Ying (作英), also known as Zhu Ying (竹英) or Zhu Yun (竹雲), was born in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province. He was a renowned calligrapher and painter during the late Qing Dynasty and is often associated with the "Shanghai School" of painting. Along with Xu Gu (虛谷), Wu Changshuo (吳昌碩), and Ren Bonian (任伯年), he is referred to as one of the "Four Masters of the Shanghai School" (海派四傑). Pu Hua was known for his reluctance to pursue an official career and instead devoted himself entirely to the arts. He traveled extensively, often carrying his brush and inkstone, and eventually settled in Shanghai, where he supported himself by selling his paintings. His work focused on flowers, landscapes, and particularly bamboo, which became known as "Pu Bamboo" (蒲竹). His distinctive style was characterized by his adept use of brushwork, employing techniques such as bleeding and fading ink to create unique effects in his paintings.

• relevant artists

  • Fang Ming

    Fang Ming (方洺), courtesy name Zi Yi (字: 子易), was born in Tongcheng, Anhui Province. He was the seventh-generation grandson of the famous scholar Fang Bao (方苞). Fang Ming was a poet and a skilled calligrapher and painter.

  • Hu Ruosi

    Hu Ruosi, courtesy name was Xia Si, art name was Qin Ren, born in Zhenjiang Jiangsu. He had been involved in painting and calligraphy since he was a child. He entered “Da Feng Tang School of Painting” at the age of 9, and respected Zhang Daqian as a teacher. At the age of 14, he went to Japan and held a solo exhibition. His work “Kuanglu Waterfall” at the age of 15 won the gold medal at the World Expo in Belgium. He served as a creative executive of the Shanghai East China Artists Association. In 1955, he established Shanghai National Painting Institute, and became a painter. In 1957, he served as a professor at the Shanghai Theater Academy, served concurrently as a head of the National Painting Institute, a member of the China Artists Association, and a librarian of the Shanghai Museum of Literature and History. He specialized in landscape painting, and especially painting Huangshan Mountain. His work “Guilin Shanshui” was collected in the National Art Museum of China, “Huangshan Songyu Tu” was collected in the Jiangsu Provincial Museum, “Wangu Changqing Tu” was displayed in the Great Hall of the People, and “Wanhe Songfeng Tu” was displayed in the Tower of Violet Light “Zi Guang Ge” in Zhongnanhai. He painted landscape for China’s first color film “Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai” (English name: Butterfly Lovers) and “Stage Art of Mei Lanfang”.

  • Jin Nong

    Jin Nong, courtesy name was Shou Men, Si Nong and Ji Jin, art name was Dongxin Xiansheng, Jiliu Shanmin, Qujiang Waishi, Shou Daoshi, etc. He was born in Qiantang (now Hangzhou Zhejiang) later moved to Yangzhou, a painter and calligrapher of the Qing Dynasty, and one of the eight eccentrics of Yangzhou “Yangzhou Ba Guai”. He was living by selling his art works. His paintings had a unique style and were often painted flowers with light ink, but he was especially good at painting plum blossoms.

  • Shi Yun