Shen Du was a native of Huating (modern Shanghai, also known in ancient times as Yunjian). He led the formation of the "Academic Style" of Ming dynasty calligraphy and was praised by the Ming emperor Chengzu as the "Wang Xizhi of Our Dynasty."

Tao Yuanming (ca. 365-427) wrote "The Homecoming Ode" to express his frustrations with officialdom and his longing for bucolic life in the countryside. This work is done in clerical script, perhaps to give it a sense of high antiquity. The character forms are slightly elongated and the line spacing regulated. The dots and strokes are even with a flicking of the brush, its tip pointed and sharp with the application and lifting akin to snapping needles and slicing steel. This quality from stone engravings of Wei and Jin dynasty steles became mature and precise in the hands of Shen Du, who also gave it a decorative quality, too. This may have also had something to do with his high status at court during the time while reflecting the tendencies of his period and school of calligraphy.