Yun was born to an artistic family in Wujin District of
Changzhou, the granddaughter of the famed painter
Yun Shouping. Her niece
Yun Zhu was also a talented artists. Though her birth and death dates are unknown, one of her paintings in the
Shanghai Museum is dated to 1750. She married Mao Hongtiao, also from Wujin, and the two sold paintings and wrote poetry to support their family. One of Yun's granddaughters, named Zhou (), was recorded in the Yun family
genealogy book, which has been used to suggest that her artistic skills were worthy of the Yun clan. ==Art==