This article examines the work of Shen Zhou (1427-1529), a prominent Chinese artist of the Ming era. He was the founder of the Wu School in Suzhou, which brought together artists free from the rigid canons of the official Academy of Painting. However, they also tried to imitate the artists of previous eras, the past, because it was a common trend for China, freed from the Mongol conquerors (Yuan dynasty). To understand the nature of Shen Zhou s work, the article analyzes the artistic processes that took place during the Song and Yuan periods, as well as the principles of Chinese painting. The author focuses on the most famous painting of the Poet on a Mountain Top, which reflected the artistic and social processes of the era with the greatest completeness. The conclusions are as follows: the work of Shen Zhou reflected the desire of amateur Chinese artists to convey to everyone the accessible truth of life, but this truth was not visible. Art for Shen Zhou was a continuation of life, but another life, sublime and intensely experienced.