Cheng Ssu-hsiao (1241-1318) was a famous painter and calligrapher who belonged to the group of "leftover citizens" in the Yuan dynasty. In the Sung dynasty, he was a student at the National University but later sought reclusion in a Buddhist temple in Soochow after the Mongol establishment of the Yuan. His rejection of Mongol Yuan rule was unambiguous and straightforward. For example, he painted orchid plants without roots or the ground to symbolize the scholar having lost his "native" soil. His calligraphy was also rebellious in that he purposely avoided traditional techniques in favor of a simple personal manner, much like that of Zen monks in the Sung and Yuan dynasties.