Born in Hunan Province, China on 27. May 1941, artist He Shan has loved painting since childhood. In 1959 he went to the Beijing Central college of Arts and Crafts, and graduated in 1964 with murals as his specialty. In the same year, he traveled west along the Silk road to far away Dunhuang, where he stayed for twelve years, devoted to the copying, researching and creating of traditional art forms. In 1975 he transferred to the Gansu branch of the China Artist's Association to engage in professional artistic creation. For a period after 1985, he was in charge of the editing and publishing of the avant-garde artistic magazine "The Painter," engaging also in artistic creation and criticism. In 1990 he left for the United States to hold personal exhibitions and lectures, making a name for himself in the international arts world for his profound knowledge and fertile creativity.

Early on, He Shan attracted popular attention by the exhibition and publication of his graduation works "Song of the Fishman" and "Coming Home with a Bumper Harvest", and of his elaborate, thickly coloured drawing-with the Silk road as its theme -- "Traditional Friendship" and other works.

Requested by various institutions. He Shan has created a great many renowned works. He was invited by the Central Ministry of Culture in Beijing and by the Capital Airport's Head office to create the mural "The Yellow River Flows From Heaven" for the latter's VIP lounge. Requested by the Culture Department of Hunan Province, he produced the giant ceramic mural "The Chu Spirit" for the newly-built Hunan Library. For the Children's library he created "The Cradle of Wisdom," which won him prizes for excellence at Sixth and Seventh National Art Exhibitions. He also created the large-scale mural "the Magical Land" for the Ronghu National Guest House in Guilin, Guangxi Province: the large-scale elaborate thick-coloured drawings and oil paintings "Banana Forest," " Thousand-mile Rivers and Hills," "The Call" and others for Japan's Hirose Company in Tokyo: the large-scale elaborate thick-coloured drawing "Spring Tunes" and Silk road Nostalgia" for Robert Su of Los Angeles; and the finely-drawn murals "The Transformation of Samantabhadra-- Compassion (Karuna) and Joyous Sharing (Dana) Fills the Dharma World" and "The Transformation of Monastery of Buddha Light Mountain. Among his publications of academic works, albums and calendars. Moreover, "The Culture of the Western Regions and The Art of Dunhuang," "An album of Chinese and Western Decorative Pictures," "Dance, Music and the Soul of Flowers," and "Selected Works of He Shan" are most well-known.

His art works have been shown many times at home and abroad in both general and personal exhibitions, won numerous awards, and have been collected by art museums and private collectors, praised by Chinese senior leader Deng Xiaoping, Li Xiannain, etc. His works have also been included in such reference books as "Encyclopedia of China," 'Encyclopedia of New Chinese Art and Culture," "The Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese Painters" and the "Selected Works of Famous contemporary Artists of the World."