Makers › Master Craftsmen
Zhu Sansong
Late Ming bamboo carver of Jiading, grandson of Zhu He and son of Zhu Ying, the third of the Three Zhus of Jiading
A craft workshop centres on a potter's wheel holding a tall celadon vase, amid racks of red lacquer boxes, an embroidery frame with a floral design, shelves of celadon ware, carved wooden panels and stacked logs, while one craftsman works at a table and another stands at a glowing kiln.
Also known as Ming Zhizheng · Hao Sansong
Zhu Sansong, personal name Zhizheng, came from Jiading near present-day Shanghai. His grandfather Zhu He (Songlin) and father Zhu Ying (Xiaosong) founded the Jiading school of bamboo carving, and the Qing Jiading writer Lu Tingcan, in his Nancun suibi, said the craft reached its height with the grandson. He was a quiet man who also painted landscapes, donkeys above all, and worked so slowly that a single piece could take years. The National Palace Museum in Taipei holds his brush holder showing the letter-peeping scene from The Western Chamber, and the Palace Museum in Beijing has pieces signed Sansong, among them the Hehe Twins and a fisherman.
Life and times
Dates Dates unknown; active in the Tianqi and Chongzhen reigns (1621–1644)