Artists

Zhang Huaqing was born in Feicheng, Shandong, in May 1932. In August 1945, he joined the anti-Japanese propaganda team of the Ji-Lu-Yu region and later became a member of the Tai-Xi Branch of the Communist Party of China’s Cultural and Artistic Troupe, participating in war propaganda work during the Jinan Campaign and the Huaihai Campaign. In 1950, he went to university for further study and after graduating from Shandong University in 1952, he became an assistant lecturer at the East China Art College. From 1953 to 1955, he pursued further studies in painting at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied Chinese calligraphy and painting under Qi Baishi. In 1955, he was accepted as a foreign student and specialized in Russian at the Beijing Foreign Languages Institute. In August 1956, he went to study at the Russian State Institute of Cinematography, Sculpture and Architecture, where he served as the secretary of the Leninist Communist Youth League of Leningrad, making contributions to the training of foreign students for China. He graduated with honors in 1962 and was awarded the title of “Artist and Painter” as well as a master’s degree.