* The Water and Moon of the Bureau's Farm (署田水月 Shǔtián Shuǐ Yuè). Born in Shanying District (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province), Xu was raised by a single mother who died when he was 14. At 21, he married Pan-shi (潘氏), who died five years later. Xu attempted to pass the civil service examinations eight times, although he never succeeded. Nevertheless, Xu was employed by Hu Zongxian (胡宗憲).
After Hu was arrested for being related to Yan Song and committed suicide, Xu also attempted to commit suicide nine times, such as by axeing himself in the skull and drilling both of his ears. He also tried to kill his wife Zhang-shi (張氏) after becoming paranoid that she was having an affair. For his attempted murder, he was jailed for seven years until his friend Zhang Yuanbian (張元忭) from the Hanlin Imperial Academy managed to get him out at the age of 53.
Xu spent the rest of his life painting, but with little financial success. However, his paintings have been highly sought after in modern times.
In addition to being a painter, Xu was a relatively unknown playwright, writing the following plays:
