Born in the Songjiang district of Shanghai in 1921, Cheng Shi-fa studied in Shanghai Academy of Fine Art. He definitely was one of China's greatest traditional art masters, famed for his landscape paintings, calligraphy, comic strips, depictions human figures and scenes of minority tribes from the southwestern province of Yunnan. Cheng was strongly influenced by masters like Ren Bo-Nian and Chen Hong-Shou, then he developed a strong personal style combined traditional elements through his rustic art. Cheng quickly mastered the traditional skills of creating figures, flowers and birds and expanded a style recognized for its effective use of thick lines, traditional colors, transparent washes and a suggestive use of space. His landscape paintings with conceptual technique that he applied to the creation of ink and water pieces in his later years were also very significant with an artistic quality.

Cheng Shifa, also known as Tong, was a Chinese painter and calligrapher from Songjiang, Shanghai. He served as the president of the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy, a member of the All-China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the vice president of the Xi Leng Press, a member of the Academy of Chinese Painting, and a director of the China Artists Association. Cheng was a master of Chinese painting and calligraphy of Shanghai School, with unique expression methods that brought meaningful interest to beauty. He was influenced by Chen Laolian in the early years, and later, the painting styles of Qingteng, Bada Shanren, Shi Tao, and Xinluo Shanren also inspired him. In his later years, Cheng made more flower and bird paintings, with more flexible brushwork and ink, bright colors, and novel composition.