Red bamboo, from an album of flower and rock arrangements in pots

Sun Kehong, a scholar-official who painted as a pastime, often created works employing an intentionally plain and simple style that was associated with concepts of antique elegance in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Sometimes he also used rich colors to add decorative appeal. The theme of this painting pertains to Sun’s hobby of cultivating miniature plants, which many Ming scholars considered an art form.

This is the last painting in an album of eight images of potted plants. The artist’s inscription dates Red Bamboo to “winter in the Wanli reign [1573–1619]." Ordinarily, artists provided the reign date plus an indication of the precise year they painted a work, but here Sun forgot. Judging by style, it is fairly late. One twentieth-century owner of this album believed Sun may have written such a vague date because he was tipsy when he painted the album.