Born in Anji Zhejiang Province, Wu Changshou was a central figure in Chinese painting during the early years of the 20th century. He taught himself poetry, calligraphy and seal cutting, and later founded the Xiling Seal-cutting Society. By the time Wu Changshou reached his 30s, he learned to paint. As an artist in living in Shanghai in the late 19th and early 20th century, Changshou was exposed to foreign cultures and new styles of painting. After the Opium War ended in 1842, Shanghai was designated a treaty port in which foreign powers were able to establish self-governing concessions.

Born in Anji Zhejiang Province, Wu Changshou was a central figure in Chinese painting during the early years of the 20th century. He taught himself poetry, calligraphy and seal cutting, and later founded the Xiling Seal-cutting Society. By the time Wu Changshou reached his 30s, he learned to paint. As an artist in living in Shanghai in the late 19th and early 20th century, Changshou was exposed to foreign cultures and new styles of painting. After the Opium War ended in 1842, Shanghai was designated a treaty port in which foreign powers were able to establish self-governing concessions.

New economic opportunities attracted Chinese entrepreneurs who helped transform Shanghai into a bustling, cosmopolitan city. This also attracted great painters from throughout China that eventually formed a loose association known today as the Shanghai School. The Shanghai School had a romantic character and stressed the idea of "art for art's sake", combining eastern and western aesthetics and reflecting the cultural changes that cities such as Shanghai were experiencing.

Shanghai painters, catering to a newly wealthy clientele, painted with a boldness that imbued past traditions with new vitality. Wu Changshou introduced the technique of using burin and calligraphy to his painting, creating a distinct style. He was known for helping to rejuvenate the art of painting flowers and birds, and considered carving seals and painting to be integrated to one another. He believed that the expressiveness of Chinese painting could be heightened by reviving freehand brushwork in Chinese ink painting of flowers and by integrating techniques in western painting.