The artist Xu Bin was not prolific, and little is known about his life and work. In typical scholarly fashion, Xu referred to a past literati (scholar-artist) master in his signature colophon, , or stamp, which reads, “In the brush manner of Su Shi (1031–1101).” To the right of the composition, he also composed a rather enigmatic poem about bamboo:
Flute-making material; cut it, and give it to the dragon’s son.
New shoots, stored up to nourish the phoenix’s grandson.
When the Yugong [a book] described Yangzhou [a city] and its products
It was only appropriate that it regarded its bamboo as beautiful as jade.
Text: Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia), CC BY 4.0.
