Born in Jiangsu, XU Beihong was a respected modern Chinese painter and a prominent art educator in China. Xu was trained by his father in poems, calligraphy and paintings, and studied overseas in Japan and France. Xu excelled in Western oil paintings, Chinese ink paintings and live drawings. Xu promoted a combination of both Western and Chinese techniques in art, with dominant genres including horse, flower and bird, landscape and animals, focusing on capturing their vibrant moves. Xu took up major roles in art education and had important contributions to art development.