early life and education cheng shifa, a renowned chinese painter, was born in 1921 in songjiang, china. he graduated from the shanghai school of fine arts in 1941, marking the beginning of his artistic journey. career highlights cheng shifa's work is characterized by its eclectic style, blending traditional chinese wash techniques with western drawing aesthetics. he was employed by the east china people’s art publishing house in shanghai from 1950, producing book serial illustrations that won him a silver medal at the leipzig international book fair in 1959. cheng's brush paintings of ethnic…