Bamboo and Rocks

Zhu Sheng was born in the modern city of Hangzhou in the Zhejiang province. He studied under Lu Dezhi (1585-1660), a specialist in bamboo and orchid paintings who in turn was inspired by the great Song dynasty masters of bamboo paintings, Su Shi (1036-1101) and Wen Dong (1019-1079). This background rooted Zhu Sheng in a rather pictorial approach to painting. The second edition of the famous Mustard Seed Garden Painting Manual featured Zhu Sheng's designs for bamboo and orchid painting and he enjoyed professional success while working in Nanjing during his later years. The inscription reads: During the late spring of the year 1688, done after the brush-mode of the plum-blossom Daoist Wu Chen (1280-1354) by the seventy-one year old Zhu Sheng.