Natural gift

He chose fine brush bird-and-flower painting as his major because it features highly detailed brushwork and bold colors appropriate for nature lovers.

His talent and diligence won praise from his teachers and alsothe opportunity to help establish the province's traditional Chinese painting institute two years after his graduation in 1955.

Yu said one of his most memorable events was when his teachers Fu and Chen promoted their protg at a party attended by many heavyweight artists in 1959.

They asked Yu to create a painting in collaboration with them. It helped the young Yu rise to fame.

Despite his reputation as a prodigy, Yu still worked on improving his brushwork as a bird-and-flower painter and exploring other schools of traditional Chinese painting.

Compared with figure and landscape painting, bird-and-flower painting is a latecomer. Its development peaked in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and has since been in decline.

Although the school has made some progress in modern China, few bird-and-flower painters have developed distinctive and acclaimed styles.

Yu is an exception. During decades of tireless work he developed his own style.