Pu Xinyu

Calligraphy and painting by Pu Xinyu depicting Zhong Kui (J: Shôki), the Demon Queller. As a demon queller, Zhong Kui was often invoked in an expression of desire for demons (in the form of Japanese invaders, or Communists) to be subdued, and China to be freed.

• Born: 1896
• Died: 1963
• Other Names: 愛新覺羅 溥儒 (Aisin-gioro Pǔrú)
• Chinese: 溥心畬 (Pǔ Xīnyú)

Pu Xinyu was a prominent 20th century Chinese painter and calligrapher, his fame indicated by the fact that around mid-century the contemporary art world in China was often summarized as "Pu in the north, Zhang in the south," with Zhang referring to Zhang Daqian.

Pu was a cousin of Pu Yi, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty. After receiving a PhD from Berlin University in 1922, he retired to a monastery in the west of Beijing, and maintained a low profile until relocating to Taiwan in 1949, where he became a teacher of painting and calligraphy.

References

• Gallery labels, The Reformer's Brush: Tradition and Modernity in China, University of Hawaii Art Gallery, 2011.