Wu was born in Putian in the Fujian province . Wu's style was unique, and he primarily painted landscapes and human figures.

Initially we was a high civil servant, his status was Emperor's secretary dealing with public works. Later he became a Zen monk (that is, Ch´an Buddhism) at the Qixia Temple in Nanjing and often he depicted Buddhist monks and priest behaving as magicians, performing superstitious rituals and healing practices to satisfy requests made by religious men and women. These are colourful portraits where irony and sarcasm prevails.

His social name was "Wenzhong" and his nickname "Zhiyin Toutuo" means "Mendicant monk at the temple hidden by tree branches".

Some sources indicate that he died in 1627.

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