Playing Chess

Born in Shanghai in 1914, Huang Yao was educated in Chinese classics, literature, studies of folklore, calligraphy and painting. In 1934, Huang worked at a Shanghai news agency as a senior journalist responsible for current events. Shanghai in the 1930s witnessed the outset of the splendid cartoon era in modern Chinese history. Thus began Huang's artistic career, with a diverse range of working ranging from paintings of folk tales, to children at play, to calligraphic paintings. At the time Huang was a leading cartoonist in China, creating works under the name of Niu Bi Zi, before moving to Malaysia in 1956.