Cheng Shifa, 86; painter won political favor for stressing ethnic unity

Cheng Shifa, 86, a Chinese painter, cartoonist and calligrapher, died Tuesday at a hospital in Shanghai, his hometown, after an undisclosed illness, according to the Shanghai Daily newspaper.

Although known early on as a cartoonist and illustrator, Cheng became best known for his traditional brush paintings of minority tribes from the southwestern province of Yunnan.

Those works won both artistic praise and political favor for stressing the unity of all Chinese ethnic groups, garnering Cheng numerous official awards and titles.

Born in a village outside Shanghai in 1921, Cheng studied medicine before graduating from the Shanghai Art College in 1941.

He staged his first showing a year later, then gained fame for illustrating an edition of short stories by Lu Xun, one of the best-known Chinese writers and satirists of the 20th century.