Hua Sanchuan

Who is Hua Sanchuan?

Hua Sanchuan was a Chinese painter and illustrator. His career spanned six decades.

Hua was born in Zhejiang, China, to a poor family and is said to have discovered painting at age 8, being considered a "child prodigy" . He began his career illustrating and writing comic strips and children's books in the 1950s. He worked in Children's Publishing House in Shanghai. He was a member of the Chinese Artists Association and won national awards for his comics.

He is best known for his detailed figure paintings published in his Book of 100 Beauties. His paintings of graceful ladies are based on many fairy tales, legends, poetry and historical figures. His style is an elegant line drawing outline around on figures with delicate or deep color and suggested backgrounds. The ink brushwork is from the traditional Chinese technique, with a mix of Western watercolor technique. These paintings are popular in China due to their wide appeal of idealized female beauty, vitality and historic nostalgia. They have appeared in many books and calendars.