Born in July 1938, Fan Zeng, a native of Nantong, Jiangsu Province, studied history, literature and painting at a young age. In 1958 Fan enrolled at Nankai University in the history department; two years later he transferred to study art history at the Central Academy of Fine Arts where he learned Chinese painting. Fan's teachers included Wu Zuoren, Li Keran, Jiang Zhaohe, Li Kuchan, and Liu Licang 　 all famous painters.

Since 1962 Fan has worked at the National Museum of Chinese History. In the late 1970s, he taught at the Central Academy of Arts and Design. Later, Fan founded the Oriental Art Department at Nankai University and became the dean of the department. Fan is a member of the Chinese Artists Association is especially skilled in Chinese figure painting, as well as poetry, prose and calligraphy. His works are featured in museums both at home and abroad. In 1982 and 1986 Fan was recognized for his extraordinary contribution to Sino-Japan cultural communications by being named by Japan as one of the Top Ten Chinese Modern Painters. He held exhibitions in Hong Kong, Japan and other places. After 1989 Fan lived in France and later returned to China to teach at Nankai University.

Fan is a master of the "pure-line-drawing" technique. He believes that "sounds of nature" can only be captured by a spontaneous reaction to what is being observed, not by redrawing or outlining. Fan also specializes in "splashed ink" and figure painting. He followed in the footsteps of the great painters of the Song Dynasty (960-1279) in his use of simple and vigorous brush strokes and dynamic delineation of form. Fan is also an expert in baimiao (traditional ink and brush style line drawing) and is very fond of xieyi (freehand brushwork) figure painting. Fan did a great deal of research on history to express the exact manner of historical figures. He holds Chen Laolian's and Ren Bonian's paintings in high esteem.

Fan is the first Chinese middle-aged painter whose works have entered two of the world's largest auction houses. Since 1999, when Beijing began to auction paintings and calligraphic works, Fan's paintings attracted the attention of many Beijing dealers.

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