In 1954, Rev. Wong Ching Ch’ing, the Acting Dean of the Tao Fong Shan Christian Centre, invited the renowned Chinese painting master Chou Yi-hung to serve as the resident artist at Tao Fong Shan, where he engaged in teaching and producing paintings for seven years. Chou Yi-hung was born in 1921 into a family of distinguished artistic lineage. His maternal grandfather, Tan Zuyun, was a celebrated calligrapher whose mastery of running script so impressed Tan Yankai that he addressed him respectfully as “Elder Brother Tan.” Chou’s maternal grandfather and two uncles, Tan Shaoyun and Tan Xiaoyun, were collectively renowned as the “Three Tans of Shanghai.” Chou’s father, Master Jing’an (lay Buddhist name),was a prominent figure in Shanghai’s art and business circles. He maintained a deep friendship of overtwenty years with Master Hongyi (Li Shutong), with whom he exchanged poetry and calligraphy.

In 1943, at just twenty years of age, Chou held his first solo exhibition at the Ningbo Native Associationin Shanghai, receiving extremely high acclaim. The event was an unprecedented success, causing asensation throughout Shanghai and astonishing the great Chinese painting master Chang Dai-chien, who was exhibiting at the Chinese Painting Gallery at the same time. Chang made a special visit to Chou, and they became close friends — a story that became legendary in art circles. Thereafter, Chou held eight solo exhibitions in Shanghai, his fame spreading throughout China.

In 1949, after arriving in Hong Kong, he became acquainted with renowned calligraphers and painters such as Chao Shao-an, Situ Qi, Huang Linshu, and Wong Wai Cheong. He was invited to hold an exhibition at the Hong Kong City Hall, winning acclaim throughout Hong Kong. He was also commissioned to work on his art and teach apprentices at Tao Fong Shan; at that time, there were more than twenty students specialising in painting porcelain.

In 1967, he held several exhibitions across Taiwan and served as a member of the review and acquisitions committees of various art museums. Whilst in Taiwan, he was commissioned to produce seventeen paintings for the Jade Gallery at the National Palace Museum (Taipei), including two depictions of the attire of Qing dynasty emperors and empresses, two depictions of the hair ornaments worn by women of the Qing court, and one depiction of imperial consorts with headdresses. Among these, twelve works illustrating the jade-carving process were published as a textbook by the Taipei National Palace Museum, earning him an education award. He also painted a work for the Bronze Artefacts Gallery of the Taipei National Museum of History, depicting the bronze armour and equipment used by ancient Chinese warriors in battle. The National Museum of History reproduced four of Chou’s bird-and-flower paintings (Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter) as prints that were sold for several years.

For over thirty years, Master Fung has dedicated himself to refining his skills in plaster moulding, clay sculpture, polychrome painting and calligraphy. He has participated in various architectural restoration projects, collaborating with numerous building contractors and providing technical support. Earlier, he restored Shanghai plaster finishes on pre-war tenement buildings (tong lau) in Tai Hang, righted the Liu Man Shek Tong Ancestral Hall which had tilted by more than four inches, and restored buildings that had collapsed by eighty per cent. Recognising the necessity of education and heritage transmission, in 2017, he founded the Hong Kong Historic Building Conservation Association together with other senior master craftsmen. Besides undertaking restoration projects on historical buildings, the Association also promotes traditional architectural crafts, teaching young people about the conservation of historic buildings through various activities.