P'u-ju (1896-18 November 1963), painter, calligrapher, and poet.

Born in the town of Wanp'ing, near Peking, P'u-ju was the second son of Tsai-jung, a brother of Tsai-feng (Prince Ch'un). Thus he and his two brothers, P'u-wei and P'u-hui, were cousins of P'u-yi (q.v.), the last Manchu emperor. After receiving a traditional education in Peking, P'u-ju went to Germany about 1914 and enrolled at the University of Berlin. He returned from Europe about 1917 with a Ph.D. in astronomy and a bit more pride in his accomplishment than his mother thought proper. He soon discovered that astronomers were not in demand in China. At his mother's behest, he retired to the Buddhist temple Chieh-t'ai-ssu in the Western Hills near Peking. He remained apart from the world for several years, filling his days with poetry and painting. During this time he referred to himself as the Hsi-shan i-shih [retired scholar of the Western Hills].

In 1926 P'u-ju exhibited some of his paintings at Peking and established a fine reputation as a painter. Because he was a traditionalist, he held that the writing of poetry, painting, and calligraphy should be developed equally. P'u-ju was an ardent student of poetry and an accomplished calligrapher, following the chuan-li style of Yen Liu until he became a master calligrapher in his own right. P'u-ju's other interests included chess, music, and good food. Because of his extravagance, improvidence, and impracticality, his inheritance gradually melted away. To maintain his standard of living, he taught painting at Peking Normal University and at the Peking Institute of Fine Arts. He also accepted private pupils.

P'u-ju reportedly remained in Peiping throughout the Sino-Japanese war. In 1947 he abandoned his apolitical role to the extent of accepting election to the National Assembly as a Manchu delegate. Later in 1947 he left Peiping and went to Hangchow, where he resided with a friend. He made preparations for a trip to the sacred mountains of China, but had to abandon his plans because of the Kuomintang-Communist struggle for control of the mainland. In May 1949 Mao Tse-tung reportedly invited P'u-ju to return to Peiping. P'u-ju responded by boarding a ship and sailing to the Chusan Islands, then still in Nationalist hands.

In 1950 P'u-ju went to Taiwan, where he supported himself by teaching at Taiwan Normal University and by selling his paintings and examples of his calligraphy. He also became a director of the China Spinning Construction Company. In Taiwan, as on the mainland, he wore the traditional long gown of the Confucian scholar, insisted that his students pay him proper Confucian deference (including ritual prostration), and smoked cigarettes constantly. In March 1963 P'u-ju underwent a medical examination and learned that he had cancer of the throat. Because he had little faith in Western medicine he refused to undergo an operation. He consulted various practitioners of native medicine, but to no avail. P'u-ju died on 18 November 1963. He was survived by his wife, Li Mo-yun, and by their two sons. Hsiao-hua and Yü-ch'i.

The publication of P'u-ju's Han-yu-t'ang Lun-chi [collected essays] in 1963 was subsidized by the ministry of education in Taiwan. Just before his death, he published the two-volume collection Hua-lin Yun-yeh. After his death, the National Museum of History in Taiwan set up a permanent exhibition of his paintings and his painter's tools.