Born to a literati family in Shanghai, China, Huang Yao (1914-1987) received his formative education from his father in classical literati traditions and calligraphy, particularly in the archaic scripts of oracle bone and bronze inscription. In the 1930s, he gained recognition as a talented cartoonist for creating the comic character “Niu Bi Zi” which was widely used as an educational resource in schools. Huang travelled to Southeast Asia after the end of World War II in 1945, and resided in different countries before settling permanently in Malaysia in 1956. He worked primarily as an art educator until his retirement in 1973. A prolific artist, he had held 23 solo and group exhibitions and six retrospective exhibitions.Huang, who was often inspired by Tang and Song poems and idioms, depicts a poem by Song dynasty poet Su Shi, which describes his fishing trip with two friends at Chibi, a cliff famous for the Battle of Red Cliff in the Three Kingdoms (220-280). The fragility of man is especially acute as the swirling waves threaten to engulf the three.
