Wen Huzhou zhupai 文湖州竹派

Wen Huzhou zhupai 文湖州竹派 "Wen Huzhou's school of bamboo [painters]", briefly called Zhupai 竹派, is an essay on painting written during the Yuan period 元 (1279-1368) by Wu Zhen 吳鎮 (1280-1354), courtesy name Zhonggui 仲圭, style Meihua Daoren 梅花道人, Meishami 梅沙彌 or Meihua Anzhu 梅花庵主, from Jiaxing 嘉興 (in today's Zhejiang province). In some editions, the book is attributed to a certain Monk Lianru 釋蓮儒 from the Ming period 明 (1368-1644).

Wu Zhen once taught at a village school and travelled to places like Hangzhou 杭州 and Jiaxing 嘉興, where he earned a living through fortune-telling. His life was marked by poverty, yet he planted plum trees wherever he lived, relishing the sight of the blossoms and composing poems and paintings to find solace within himself. It is said that Wu Zhen once lived next to the renowned painter Sheng Mao 盛懋（1310?-1361?). While the latter's fame spread far and wide, attracting many who "brought gold and silk" to request his paintings, Wu Zhen's doorstep remained empty. His wife couldn't help but mock him, but Wu Zhen remained undeterred. After several decades, his reputation eventually soared.

Wu Zhen was skilled in landscape painting and ink bamboo, and he was also proficient in poetry, prose, and calligraphy. Whenever he painted, he enjoyed inscribing poetry or calligraphy, achieving a remarkable fusion of the three arts—poetry, calligraphy, and painting—known as the "Three Perfections" (sanjue 三絕). Some of his surviving works include Qiujiang yuyin tu 秋江漁隱圖 (Fisherman's retreat at an autumn river), Yufu tu 漁父圖 (Fisherman), and Jiahe bajing tu 嘉禾八景圖 (Eight views of Jiahe). His written works include the bamboo painting manual Mozupu 墨竹譜, which consists of one volume with a small amount of text and 20 illustrations, and the collected writings Meihua Daoren yimo 梅花道人遺墨.

Wen Huzhou is the epiteht of the renowned Northern-Song-period calligrapher and painter Wen Tong 文同 (1018-1079), who was exceptionally skilled in bamboo painting and became a model for future generations. This book collects the biographies of twenty-five painters from the Song 宋 (960-1279) and Yuan periods who studied under Wen Tong and achieved remarkable success in bamboo painting. These individuals are presented in brief biographies and collectively called the "Bamboo School" (zhupai 竹派). The records in this book are relatively concise, often listing only the names, courtesy names, native places, and official titles of the individuals. Details about their artistic lineage, style, and accomplishments are provided with varying levels of depth, depending on relevance. For instance, Su Shi 蘇軾 (Su Dongpo 蘇東坡; 1037-1101) is mentioned briefly, likely due to his well-known familial connection to Wen Tong and his widely recognised life story.

In contrast, lesser-known disciples such as Cheng Tang 程堂, who was Wen Tong's direct pupil, are given more extensive accounts. Perhaps because Wu Zhen himself was a folk painter, the book emphasises lesser-known artists, such as Huang Yi 黄彝, the Wen 文 family, the Li 李 family, and Cheng Tang, who have often been overlooked in historical painting records. Compared to the more famous masters, the accounts of these artists are more detailed and vivid, offering insight into the author's preference for lesser-known painters. The book provides little description of the painting styles and characteristics of the subjects, generally indicating only their origins. Only a few exceptional figures are introduced with details about their personal traits or stylistic features. However, in some instances, Wu’s book offers more detail on artworks and their creators than more popular works, such as Xia Wenyan's 夏文彦 (fl. 1365) Tuhui baojian 圖繪寶鑑.

The text is found in the series Baoyantang miji 寶顔堂秘笈 and Xuehai leibian 學海類編.