Pu Ru is a native of Beijing and a member of the Manchu Imperial Family. Following the overthrowing of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, he changed his name to Pu Ju, style Hsin-yu. He spent seven years at the Chien Tai Monastery on Mount Hsi, and took the studio name Hsi-shan I-shih or "Retired official of Mount Hsi." He lived in Taiwan after 1949.