Chen Pu

Chen Pu (1820–1887), courtesy name Ziyu, pseudonyms Guqiao and, in later years, Xiweng, was a native of Panyu, Guangdong (present-day Guangzhou). A provincial graduate of the first year of the Xianfeng reign of the Qing dynasty, he served as magistrate of Anfu County in Jiangxi and later as a senior scholar of the Xuehaitang academy for several decades. He was skilled in poetry, calligraphy, and painting, and was known together with Li Jian and Xie Lansheng as the "Three Great Painters" of Lingnan. His works include the surviving poems of Chigang Caotang and a supplement to the rhyme categories of seal script. Beyond poetry and painting, he also left writings on medical scholarship and inspirational personal growth, covering topics such as textual research in medicine, the Great Wall, water conservancy, and legendary temples. His subjects range from scholarly textual criticism to accessible humanistic writing, combining rigor with clarity. Public information is limited, and details of his life are difficult to verify fully; nevertheless, his extant works reveal broad learning and solid scholarship, giving him a exemplary role in Lingnan cultural circles.