Born in Jiangsu, China. Pang Xunqin went to France to study Western painting at the Julian Academy of Arts in 1925. During his stay in Paris, he frequented an Académie de la Grande Chaumière with his friend Sanyu (1901-1966). In 1930, he returned to Shanghai where he established the Tai Mon Art Association and co-founded the Juelan Society the following year, with a group of young artists, including Ni Yide (1901-1970). Pang was initially drawn to modern style with an emphasis on figural outlining. In his later years, he became fascinated with decorative works of art and devoted his time mainly to researching the history of decorative paintings. He has a number of publications on the subject.