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Chen Hongshou (1598-1652) was from Zhuji County. He donated money and enrolled himself into the imperial college in Beijing. Emperor Chongzhen appreciated his talents very much. Working as a drafter at the court, he took the advantage of his position and studied the court collection of painting masterpieces. He achieved artistic excellence this way. Before the downfall of the Ming Dynasty, he came back to the south and lived at the Qingteng Study in Shanyin. In 1946, the troopers of the Qing Dynasty conquered Shanyin. Chen was thrown into jail because he refused to paint for the Qing rulers. After he was released from the jail, he became a monk at the Yunmen Buddhist Temple. He made his living by selling paintings. He abandoned himself to drinking. He wept after he got drunk, but he never surrendered himself to the Qing rulers. His tomb, located in Hengpeng Mountain, Shaoxing County, is a cultural relic site under the protection of the county government.
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