Hua Yan

Hua Yan came from a poor family in Shanghang, Fujian province. He apprenticed in the family trade at the age of twenty but was forced to seek a living elsewhere. He eventually settled in the wealthy city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, and later that of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province; in both places he made a living as a professional painter. Hua was generally regarded as ôSuperb in Threeö (poetry, painting, and calligraphy).

In painting he mastered the genres of birds and flowers; animals; and human figures. In calligraphy he studied Tang masters.