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He has no school, no teacher, no academic qualifications, and is completely self-taught. He only takes the ancients and nature as his teachers. He is a pure diligent genius. In the 1930s, he had become a famous flower and bird painter in the Chinese painting world. He also trained a large number of art talents. His disciples include Zhang Qiyi, Sun Qifeng, Cao Guojian, Pan Su, etc., all of whom can pass on his brush and ink painting skills.

Wang Rong:(January 1896 - November 1972) courtesy name Shensheng, alias Manchuancunren, native of Shexian County, Anhui Province. From 1934 onwards, he taught at Jinghua Art College, the Department of Fine Arts of Beijing Fu Jen Catholic University, and Beijing Normal University. Member of the Chinese Artists Association.

He lost his father at the age of three. Due to his poor family background, he dropped out of school after only three years of private school in Lanxi. At the age of 12, he worked as an apprentice in Hecheng Money House in Quzhou for five years. At the age of 17, he went to Shanghai to make a living, painting portraits during the day and taking cram schools at night. Later, he worked as a drawing teacher in Quzhou High School and also did clerical work.

In 1923, Wang Shensheng was helped by Mr. Xu Xin'an to go to Beijing to sell paintings for a living. Xu Xin'an also entrusted his good friend Mr. Yu Shaosong (a senior government official at the time) to help him. Yu Shaosong introduced Wang Shensheng to the First Prison of Hebei Province as a drawing teacher.

Wang Shensheng worked as a drawing teacher in Hebei No. 1 Prison for 8 years, which basically guaranteed his life. It was also these 8 years that made Wang Shensheng's artistic exploration a success.

During these eight years, he also observed a lot of ancient calligraphy, which was also a coincidence. In 1914, the Beijing Antiquities Exhibition Hall was opened, and in 1925, the Palace Museum was established, opening the secret collections of the Qing Palace to the public. Those who studied painting could observe and study ancient authentic works. Wang Shensheng naturally benefited greatly from this, without any teacher or restrictions, and directly learned from the ancients.

He often went to the Palace Museum to observe famous paintings of past dynasties. He learned landscape painting from Shi Tao and Shi Xi, and flower and bird painting from Chen Chun, Hua Yan, Sun Long, etc. Wang Shensheng imitated Chen Baiyang with his heart and hands, and worked hard without stopping, forgetting to eat and sleep. His painting skills improved, and he could even imitate Chen Baiyang so well that he could make it look real.

During his self-study, he could not borrow many famous calligraphy and paintings, so he could only see them and remember them in his heart. This process actually made him have an extraordinary memory. Whether he went to the Forbidden City to see ancient paintings and ceramics, or went to parks and zoos to see flowers, birds and animals, he did not bring paper and pen, but observed attentively, remembered them in his heart, and drew them when he got home.

Hard work pays off. In 1934, Wang Shensheng was hired to teach in colleges and universities, where he trained a large number of art talents. From 1934, he taught at Jinghua Art College, the Department of Fine Arts at Beijing Fu Jen Catholic University, and Peking Normal College.

In 1935, he participated in the "Third Joint Exhibition of Sino-Japanese Paintings" for the first time. His representative work "Large Painting of Ancient Cypress and Macaque" became famous overnight for its novel composition, lively and vivid picture and high appeal.

He had a close relationship with Zhang Daqian, who stayed at Wang's house several times when he visited Beijing. When Zhang Daqian visited Wang Shensheng's house, he was followed by a large group of students. Wang Shensheng and Zhang Daqian talked in the main room, while Wang Xuetao, Li Kuchan and others listened in the side room with Zhang Daqian's students. This shows the clear hierarchy in the painting world at that time and Wang Shensheng's status in the painting world at that time.

In 1936, during a conversation between Zhang Daqian and Xu Beihong, Xu Beihong called Zhang Daqian "the first person in the painting world in the past 500 years". Upon hearing this, Mr. Daqian waved his hands and said in panic: "I can't paint landscapes better than Pu Xinyue and Wu Hufan; I can't paint flowers and feathers better than Yu Fei'an and Wang Shensheng; I can't paint figures and ladies better than Xu Yansun." Mr. Daqian's words were not self-deprecating, but Mr. Xu's words were too flattering. Mr. Daqian's words are enough to prove Wang Shen's artistic status in the painting world.

He is good at painting flowers, birds and landscapes, especially flowers and birds. He can do both meticulous and freehand painting, and his small freehand flower and bird painting is the most influential. He learned from Chen Baiyang, Hua Xinluo, Ren Bonian and others, and his brushwork is vivid, simple and implicit. The "Tomato Harvest" painted by Wang Rong at the beginning of the liberation showed superb realistic ability and is considered an example of expressing new ideas and new feelings with traditional painting methods.

Lotus is a subject that Wang Shensheng particularly loves. His lotus is elegant, peaceful and quiet, presenting to the viewer a leisurely lotus pond with a gentle breeze, which is consistent with his humble, non-confrontational and simple character. It is precisely because of this that few people know his name in the modern painting world.