Zhu Yu
Master of Buddhist figure painting
Zhu Yu(朱玉) (1293-1365), styled Junbi(君壁), also written as Junbi(均壁), was from Kunshan (now Kunshan, Jiangsu). Zhu Yu loved painting, and whenever he heard of beautiful landscapes, he would often go alone to see them. He lived a simple and pure life, indifferent to fame and profit, and remained vigorous even in old age. He passed away at the age of seventy-three. Zhu Yu once created and copied Buddhist-themed paintings on the orders of the Empress Dowager. His representative work is "The Offering of the Bowl." There are two existing original copies of this work: one is kept at the Zhejiang Provincial Museum and is a national first-class cultural relic, while the other once ended up in the United States and was acquired by the Shanghai Museum in 2012. Zhu Yu’s other works include "Two Sketches from Liuyan Studio," "Record of Famous Works by Zhu Gui," "Kunxin Gazetteer," "Ou Hai Yuwen," "Inscription on Paintings by Famous People Through the Ages," and "Record of Summer Burning in the Xin Chou Year."