Li Xiongcai received his earliest artistic training from his father before studying with Gao Jianfu (1879-1951), founder of the Lingnan school of painting. Li practiced the two major themes of traditional Chinese painting, shanshui ('mountain and water') and huaniao ('flowers and birds'), his works characterised by bold, fluid brushstrokes, the compositions infused with a sense of melancholic beauty.

After studying fine art at the Tokyo Art Institute on a scholarship in 1932, Li returned to China and took up teaching positions at the Guangzhou Art Institute, the Guangzhou Art Academy, and the National Art Academy in Chongqing. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Li traveled extensively in the western part o...