Dimensions: 51.8 × 24 cm

Artist: Yu Shaosong (China, 1882–1949)

Inscription: Presented to Lin Huiyin

Known by the studio namesYueyuan and Hanke, Yu Shaosong was a native of Longyou, Zhejiang, from a family renowned for painting and calligraphy over seven generations. Immersed in this tradition and inspired by travels through China’s famed landscapes, he developed a distinctive, spirited style.

Celebrated for his elegant ink bamboo, Yu’s brushwork is praised as free yet disciplined—“graceful, never chaotic.” His calligraphy, especially in the cursive zhangcao style, is equally admired. In 1931, one of his bamboo paintings shown in Japan was purchased by the mother of Emperor Hirohito, who conveyed her congratulations to the Chinese government.

This fan painting of bamboo beside rock, gifted to the celebrated architect and writer Lin Huiyin, exemplifies Yu’s refined literati artistry and the enduring cultural symbolism of bamboo in Chinese art.