1919
On September 20, he was born into a poor farmer family in Guanyin Town, Dazhu County, Sichuan Province, and formerly known as Li Xinyuan.
1934-1938
In 1934, he was enrolled at Sichuan Provincial Chengdu Normal School, majoring in Fine Arts of the Arts and Sports Unit of the General Subjects, and graduated in 1938. He named himself “Zhufeng” and later changed to “Bofeng”.
1938-1941
He lived an independent life and served as a primary and secondary school teacher in Wanxian and other places.
1942-1946
He was admitted to the Department of Fine Arts in the Normal College of Central University. There were 13 people in his class, such as Dai Ze, Wei Qimei, Zhang Daguo, and were guided by Mr. Xu Beihong and other teachers. On December 1942, his works, including “Refugees in the War”, were exhibited at the Third National Fine Arts Exhibition that was organized by the Ministry of Education.
Due to poverty, he had to work part-time, but his professional performance was always at the top of the class.
In 1945, his father Li Tianxiang died of illness.
In 1946, he graduated from the Department of Fine Arts in the Normal College of Central University. Upon graduation, he had set up a Painting Association of “Plum Art Group” with Dai Ze, Zhang Daguo, and other classmates. He created “Boat Trackers on the Jialing River Bank” and other works. Xu Beihong signed inscriptions twice on his paintings for encouragement. After graduation, he taught in a middle school in Beibei.
In August 1946, Xu Beihong was appointed as the Director of the National Beiping Art School.
1948
Summoned by Xu Beihong, his senior fellow apprentice was ordered to pick him up from Sichuan to Beiping, where he served as teaching assistant in the Department of Western Paintings of the National Beiping Art School, thus really into the rankers of painters.
By the introduction of Li Zongjin, he was appointed as a teaching assistant at the Department of Construction, Tsinghua University.
He created “Drive a Cart” and other works.
1949
In Spring, his mother Shao Meiyun passed away.
In July, his work “Investigation” participated in the Art Exhibition of the National Congress of Literary and Artistic Workers held by the National Beiping Art School.
1951
In June, he was recalled to the Department of Painting of CAFA.
1952
He was a lecturer of the Department of Painting, responsible for the teaching work of the Teaching and Research Group of Watercolor
He asked his sister Li Jie and younger brother Li Bin to come to Beijing from Sichuan and live with him together.
1953
In February, the Department of Painting of CAFA set up three branches of oil painting, ink painting, and printmaking, and he taught colored ink painting.
In the Summer vacation, while experiencing the life in the Guanting reservoir, he painted “Visiting the Working Site”, “Praises of Us on the Broadcasters”, etc.
On September 26, Xu Beihong died of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage when attending the Second National Congress of Literary and Artistic Workers.
1954
In the Summer holiday, he experienced life in the construction site of Yangtze River Bridge in Wuhan and made works such as “The Bridge Is Built From Here”.
From 1954 to 1956, he joined the extracurricular painting training activities for teachers in Wu Zuoren’s home. (During the Cultural Revolution, it was criticized by the Red Guards as “Ten-Piece Paper Room”)
1957
In May, he led students to practice in the Datong Coal.
In June and July, he went to Guangzhou to collect materials for the creation of “Guangzhou Uprising” for one Military Museum.
In the same year, he compiled the book Syllabus for Sketching Ink and Color Painting, and created “The Young Pioneer”, “Where Art You Bound For”, and so on.
1958
In January, the Department of Ink and Color Painting was renamed as the Department of Chinese Painting, and he continued to teach at the department.
In May, he participated in the “A Group Exhibition of Xiao Shufang, Wang Henei, Zong Qixiang and Li Hu” held by Chinese Artists Association in Beijing. He also took part in labor work at the construction site of the Ming Tombs Reservoir with all the teachers and students of the college and produced “The Night View of the Ming Tombs Reservoir”, which was selected to be displayed in the “Exhibition of Fine Arts from the Socialist Countries”.
In October, he went to a suburb of Beijing, Mentougou with all the teachers and students of the Department of Chinese Painting, and created “Mother”, “Policewoman”, etc.
At the same year, he completed “Portrait of Guan Hanqing”, which was collected by the National Museum of China.
1959
In March, he went to paint from nature in Pingjiang, Xiangxi Jishou and Fenghuang of Hunan Province and Sichuan Province, where he created “A Woman of the Miao Nationality”, “A Singer of the Miao Nationality”.
He participated in CAFA’s project of opening a school in the Shijingshan Moshikou village.
1960
In April, he led students to practice in the rural area of the Beijing Suburbs.
In July, Shanghai People's Fine Arts Publishing House published A Painting Collection of Xiao Shufang, Li Hu and Zong Qixiang, and it commented: “Li Hu’s figure paintings vividly depict the thoughts and feelings of each character, giving off an attractive charm.”
In September, he took students to draw at the Shijingshan Steel Plant.
At the same year, he finished “On the Eve of the National Day”, “Woman Driver”, “Present an Embroidery”, and others.
1961
In the first half of the year, he also taught sketch at the Arts and Crafts Department of Academy of Arts and Design.
From July to October, he led students to Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang via Mount Hua to copy mural paintings, and then went to Inner Mongolia for sketching. He completed “Woman and Child”, “A New City on the Prairie”, “Lake Wuliangsuhai”, “A Mongolian Singer”, and so on.
1962
In May, he brought students to Hebei Province for practice. He gave lessons at the Beijing Teachers Training School. His work “Bridge Worker” was exhibited at “The National Arts Exhibition for Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Chairman Mao’s ‘Talks at the Yan’an Forum on Art and Literature’”.
In June, he gave a lecture at the Academy of Arts and Design.
In the summer vacation, he went to sketch in the Bolizhong Stud-Farm in Heilongjiang Province.
In December, he took part in the “Reading Painting Group of Figure Paintings” organized by Chinese Artists Association in Beijing.
From the early 1960s, he had served as the Director of the Subject of Figure Painting belonging to the Department of Chinese Painting.
1963
In February, he went to give lectures at Harbin Institute of Art.
He participated in the project of the Central Cultural Work Team to carry out cultural work in rural areas of Anhui Province. Due to hard work, he caught the “Hepatic Coma”.
At the same year, he summarised the book An Outline of Creation Methods.
1964
He took students to experience life in the Shijingshan Steel Plant and the village of the Beijing Suburbs, where he created “Shijingshan Steel Plant”.
He created “Portrait of the Old Qi Baishi”, “Peking Opera Character” and works on animals.
1965
He created “Portraits of Marx and Lenin” for the Sixth Socialist State Conference of Ministers of Posts and Telecommunications, and it was adopted for the commemorative stamp.
In September, he, together with the faculty and all the students of the college, went to Xingtai, Hebei Province to participate in the “Four Cleans Movement” of the general regiment of cultural work.
1970
In May, he followed the faculty of CAFA to go to Ci County in Hebei Province for labor training, and he joined the young teachers’ commando.
1971
In July, he was temporarily transferred back to Beijing, and despite ill health, he created Chinese paintings for Minzu Hotel, such as “Night Navigation on the Three Gorges”, “Spirit In – Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge” as well as oil paintings, like “The Great Wall”, “Tianshan Pasture”, and so on.
1972
In the second half of the year, at the guesthouse of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he created Chinese paintings for embassies and the permanent mission to the United Nations, including “Night Navigation on the Three Gorges”. China Central Newsreel and Documentary Studios filmed the clips of him painting the “Night Navigation on the Three Gorges” and it was edited into the news film “Today’s China”.
1973
He created works for Bejing Hotel while he was ill, including “Jialing Riverbank”, “Houseboat”.
1974
In February, the movement of criticizing “Black Arts” aggravated his mental depression and the deterioration of his liver disease. He wrote himself a motto, “have aspiration in mind and be not afraid of approaching difficulties” and created the work “Self-portrait”.
1975
On November 10, he died in the early morning at the age of 56.
