In 1977, Luo Zhongli was enrolled in the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, a time in which China was undergoing significant economic and social reforms, transitioning into a more open-minded society. Trauma, a short story by Lu Xinhua published in a Shanghai newspaper Wenhui, caused a considerable stir, exposing the miseries and disasters of the Cultural Revolution. His literature encouraged people to revisit the values of humanism, rationality and truth that had largely been forsaken during the frenzy of the Cultural Revolution. In this new cultural atmosphere, a spirit of independence prevailed in art academies. Students found new courage to confront and re-examine the misfortunes of history and reflected it in their works. In 1980, Luo Zhongli created his seminal painting, Father (Fig. 1). This photo-realistic painting instigated the "Scar Art" movement in painting, and aroused a wave of realistic portrayals seeking to reveal the truth of experience and the nation's forgotten folk life. Created in 1988, Yi Lady with Green Head Cloth (Lot 2222) and Yi Man (Lot 2223) reflect the artist's thorough observation of peasants and China's ethnic minorities. Figures in traditional Yi costume are depicted with skillful realistic painting techniques, and he uses the vibrancy of their costume to celebrate the enduring strength of China's diversity and cultural traditions. Luo Zhongli believes the unique face represents the most truthful and most affecting aspect of representation, one that stands in stark contrast to the values of a rapidly urbanizing and modernizing society.