Puru

Puru (; August 30, 1896 – November 18, 1963), also known as Pu Xinyu 溥心畬, Xinyu being his courtesy name, and Xishan Yishi 西山逸士 (Hermit of West Mountain), which is his sobriquet, was a traditional Chinese painter, calligrapher and nobleman. A member of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan, the ruling house of the Qing dynasty, he was a cousin to Puyi, the last Emperor of China. It was speculated that Puru would have succeeded to the Chinese throne if Puyi and the Qing government were not overthrown after the 1911 Xinhai Revolution. Puru was reputed to be as talented as the famous southern artist Zhang Daqian (Chang Ta-ch'ien). Together, they became known as "P'u of the North and Chang of the South." Puru fled to Taiwan after the Chinese Communist Party came to power, and was appointed by Chiang Kai-shek as a Manchu representative at the Constitutional National Assembly. In Taiwan, he made a living selling paintings and calligraphy, teaching as a professor of fine arts at the National Taiwan Normal University, and eventually dying in Taipei. Biography Puru was born in the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan as the second son of Zaiying (載瀅), a son of Prince Gong. His mother was Lady Xiang (項氏), a secondary spouse of Zaiying. Puru received "a strictly traditional education" and spent much of his early years at Jietai Monastery, in Xishan (Western Hills), near Beijing. Being a member of the ruling imperial elite, his family owned a large collection of art works which Puru was able to study as he developed his artistic skills.