Born in Fanyu, Guangdong Province, Guan Liang, whose pseudonym was Liang Gong, went to Japan for study in 1917. He entered Kawabata Institute and then Pacific Art School for further education, during which he dedicated himself completely to the works of modern and contemporary European artists including Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Matisse and Picasso. After returning home, Guan Liang taught in Shanghai Art College, Shanghai Art University and National College of Art in Hangzhou. Since 1949, he has served as the trustee of Chinese Artists Association, vice president of Shanghai Artists Association, a member of Shanghai Culture and History Museum, a painter and teacher in Chinese Painting Academy in Shanghai, a professor in Zhejiang Art Academy, director and adviser in Art Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, as well as a committee member of Shanghai Literary Federation. Like the first batch of artists studying abroad at the early stage, Guan Liang started his learning with western paintings. He incorporated Gauguin’s exaggerated forms, Van Gogh’s large-scale contrast colors and Matisse’s uncomplicated lines into his own works, establishing a distinctive style embodying the feature of the times. Influenced by Wu Changshuo, Qi Baishi, Huang Binhong, Liu Haisu, and Pan Tianshou, and inspired by Zhu Da (whose pseudonym was Badashanren), Guan Liang brought about a unique style integrating Chinese and Western painting techniques and conveying the spirit of Chinese art, which ushered a new era of painting expression. As Cheng Shifa (a master of Chinese traditional paintings) said, Mr. Guan Liang is an indispensable master in the contemporary Chinese painting community. It is Guan Liang who introduced the painting conceptions of Western modernist into Chinese ink painting, creating an ingenious style of Chinese opera figures painting.