Yang Chunrui

      Yang Chunrui, male, was born in Hebei Province in 1954. He is a Chinese National Gift Artist, currently serving as a council member of the China Calligraphers and Painters Association, a member of the China Calligraphers Association, and a member of the Hebei Artists Association. He is also a committee member of the Calligraphy Art Committee of the China Couplet Society, and Vice President of the China Five-Style Calligraphy Research Society, as well as Standing Committee Member of the Seal Script Specialized Committee.

       Yang began studying calligraphy in 1965, learning various styles including clerical script, running script, and small seal script. He started learning traditional Chinese painting in 1969. He has achieved numerous outstanding accomplishments in calligraphy and fine arts, demonstrating profound expertise in artistic criticism and creative practice across calligraphy, painting, and seal carving, earning high praise from contemporary masters in the art world. He has been honored with the Hebei Province title of "Our Village's Good Youth" and the Baoding City title of "Outstanding Individual in Rural Culture." His artworks have been exhibited more than hundreds of times in major exhibitions organized by authoritative national institutions such as China Calligraphy and Painting Daily, the Ministry of Culture, the Communist Youth League Central Committee, the China Writers Association, the China Artists Association, the China Calligraphers Association, and the China Chan Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting Academy. His works are collected by over 500 cultural and museum institutions both domestically and internationally, including the Hong Kong General Charity Foundation, the Belgium-Europe-China Cultural Exchange Center, the Alumni Association of Overseas Students, and the Fine Arts Foundation.

       He specializes in figure and landscape painting, particularly renowned for his depictions of Zhong Kui. He has thoroughly studied traditional techniques, legends, and culture surrounding Zhong Kui, developing a unique personal style of Zhong Kui imagery that is widely beloved by the public and frequently collected by friends both at home and abroad. For many years, he has engaged in calligraphy education, guiding students who have won awards in competitions at various levels. His own works have also received awards in provincial and municipal calligraphy exhibitions. In 1987, he won an Excellence Award at the Second China Calligraphy and Painting Art Festival; in 1996, he received an Excellence Award at the First "Art Cup" National Calligraphy and Painting Competition; in 2001, he won the Gold Award at the Fifth National "Taihang Cup" Calligraphy and Painting Competition; in 2003, he received a Special Honor Award in the Senior Category at the Ninth National "Qingya Cup" Calligraphy and Painting Competition; and in 2011, he won the Couplet and Ink Art Award at the Second National Invitational Exhibition of Couplet Calligraphy and Painting.

In 2009, "A Glimpse of the Vast Mountains" won an Excellence Award at the Baoding New Year Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition.

In 2011, "Yellow Flowers and Green Vines Laden with Fruit, Depicting a Fence Amidst Western Rain" won the First Prize at the Shuyuan Cup and was collected by the organizing committee.

In 2013, "Horse Painting" won the Third Prize at the National Hanmo Cup.

In 2016, "Nostalgia for Hometown" participated in the National Touring Exhibition of Artworks by Chinese Art Teachers, organized by the Development Center of the Ministry of Culture, winning the Second Prize. His works have been included in the "Complete Collection of Chinese Calligraphy and Art," "Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Art," "History of Chinese Calligraphy," and "Selected Collection of Chinese Calligraphy Works," and are permanently archived.

His award-winning works have been exhibited at the Military Museum, Baoding Shenzhou Art Gallery, and Dingxing Huanyan Art Gallery. His seal script works have toured Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore. Since childhood, he has loved calligraphy and painting, diligently studying without interruption, examining ancient and modern masterpieces, integrating the styles of numerous historical calligraphers and painters into his own, earning widespread acclaim and praise from experts in the art community. He has frequently received guidance and assistance from Master Sun Zhanxiang, a renowned painter employed at the county cultural center, gradually maturing his path in calligraphy and painting and dedicating himself to serving society.

      Yang Chunrui's personal works have repeatedly won awards in exhibitions hosted by county, prefectural, provincial, and national cultural departments, and he has honorably been named an "Outstanding Individual in Culture" and an "Advanced Cultural Household" at county, prefectural, and provincial levels. He attended the provincial Department of Culture's commendation meeting and took photographs with leaders from the provincial Department of Culture and the Provincial Party Committee. The provincial radio station has repeatedly reported on his arduous journey of self-improvement, and the Baoding Daily has published his works and reports on his membership in the County Literary and Art Federation and the County Artists Association. The County Youth League Committee designated him a "Model of Self-Made Talent." He was admitted as a member of the China Farmers' Calligraphy and Painting Research Association. He graduated from the China Calligraphy and Painting Correspondence University in 1989. He has won the Gold Award at the Second and Third National "China Dream Cup" Calligraphy and Painting Competitions. Since childhood, he has been passionate about calligraphy and painting, diligently practicing for over fifty years, studying ancient steles and rubbings, mastering the styles of Yan, Liu, Ouyang, Zhao, and other masters, continuously refining his skills, absorbing the strengths of diverse schools, and making them his own. He has repeatedly won awards in national competitions and earned the titles of "One of the Hundred Outstanding Contemporary Chinese Calligraphers and Painters" and "One of the Hundred Masters of Calligraphy and Art in the New Century." His works have been included in over sixty anthologies, including the "Collection of Chinese Calligraphers' Works," "Great Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Masters," "National Treasures: Dictionary of Renowned Calligraphy and Painting Masters," "Fourth and Fifth Editions of Selected Masterpieces of Contemporary Chinese Calligraphy and Couplets," and others. His works have been presented as national gifts to foreign friends. Currently, he is a member of the China Calligraphers Association, Honorary Chairman of the China Calligraphy and Painting Masters Research Institute, Lifetime Art Consultant of the Eastern Art Research Institute, Class I Painter of the Hebei Artists Association, Chairman of the Hebei Qingyatang Calligraphy and Painting Academy, Council Member of the Qingfeng Art Gallery, and Honorary President of the Wanjia Calligraphy and Painting Academy. His works are frequently exhibited nationwide and have been selected for numerous domestic and international calligraphy and painting exhibitions, winning gold, silver, and bronze medals. His works are collected by domestic enthusiasts and international friends. Chinese characters evolved from pictographs and symbols into standardized forms, progressing from ancient large seal script to small seal script, then to clerical, regular, running, and cursive scripts, gradually forming various styles. In the process of writing and applying Chinese characters, a unique form of art emerged—the only one among all world languages that can stand independently as a distinct discipline: calligraphy. With the development of the times, calligraphy art has become even richer and more diverse, among which he excels most in seal script, clerical script, and regular script.

       Calligraphy works: 8,000 RMB per square foot; Fine art works: 10,000 RMB per square foot.