Xu Yugong
Meester inkt pruim-bamboe Song
Xu Yugong(徐禹功) (1141–?), styled Xinyouren(辛酉人), was a commoner painter from Jiangxi during the Southern Song Dynasty. He studied under Yang Wujou and was skilled in painting plum and bamboo, capturing the grace and ease of his teacher's style. His only surviving work is a scroll called "Plum and Bamboo in the Snow." On the scroll, Zhao Mengjian's inscription notes that it "best captures the style of eschewing worldly matters," confirming his apprenticeship under Yang. "Plum and Bamboo in the Snow" is a silk scroll painted with ink, now housed at the Liaoning Provincial Museum. In the painting, he uses dark ink for branches and fine lines for blossoms, signing the scroll at the bamboo nodes as "Xinyouren Yugong made this." He also uses the 'reversed ink method' to convey the snowy moonlit scene. At the end of the scroll, there's an outstanding plum painting by a Yuan-era artist. The scroll passed through the hands of Ming collector Yuan Tai and Qing collector An Qi, and it is listed in books such as *Shigu Tang Shuhua Huikao*. It is also included in the *Masterpieces of Chinese Painting* series, showcasing the Southern Song Jiangxi plum school ink style.