Therefore, people usually summarize Gu Jingzhou's life with the phrase "imitation in early years, creation in middle years, transformation in late years." However, through our research, we have found that such wording often leads to considerable misunderstanding among researchers. In fact, from the perspective of his works' style and craftsmanship, after Gu Jingzhou formed his own style in his youth, there were no significant changes from middle age through his later years. If we mechanically use these nine characters to summarize Gu Jingzhou's life, it may bring many misconceptions to everyone. Therefore, we believe that Gu Jingzhou's life also has a trilogy, but it is not about changes in personal style related to the author's works, but rather changes in era and experience. From this perspective, Gu Jingzhou experienced the violent turbulence of the Anti-Japanese War and the War of Liberation, the desolation and depression of the early days of New China's founding and the icy cold winds of the "Cultural Revolution," as well as the artistic spring of "letting a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend" after order was restored, and the explosive rapid rise of the purple clay industry after reform and opening up. It can be said that the trajectory of Gu Jingzhou's artistic life developed and progressed alongside the tortuous course of modern and contemporary Chinese society. The formation of his work style and artistic characteristics, as well as the extension of his artistic life, are a microcosm of the development of modern and contemporary Chinese society. "Learning the craft to make a living," "passing on knowledge and teaching," and "founding a school of thought" can roughly be summarized as the three parts of Gu Jingzhou's artistic life. ## Learning the Craft to Make a Living: The Budding of Youth At the end of the year Gu Jingzhou was born, Yuan Shikai attempted to restore the imperial system, but his eighty-three-day emperor's dream was immediately shattered. In 1919, the "May Fourth Movement" broke out, marking the beginning of China's New Democratic Revolution. In October 1949, New China was established, declaring the end of China's semi-feudal and semi-colonial society. The great upheavals and transformations in modern Chinese history not only influenced the entire country's ideological, cultural, and political development direction, but also affected the trends of China's socioeconomic currents. Gu Jingzhou, born in a small town in Jiangnan, grew up in such a social environment. His entire youth coincided with an important transitional period in modern Chinese society, and the social turmoil and