He Duoling was born in 1948 in Chengdu and graduated from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. He is one of the most significant painters associated with China’s “Scar Art” and “Rural Realism” movements. His artistic career spans the evolution of contemporary Chinese art, transitioning from narratives of historical trauma to a more poetic realism. In the early 1980s, He rose to prominence with works such as The Spring Breeze Has Awoken, which vividly depicted the psychological wounds of the sent-down youth generation following the Cultural Revolution. In 1985, he was invited to teach at the Massachusetts College of Art in the United States, expanding his artistic perspective. By the 1990s, his work became more introspective and lyrical, moving away from literary narratives and explicit historical references.

Yi Woman in White is rendered with delicate brushwork and a soft colour palette, depicting a young Yi woman dressed in traditional attire, draped in a flowing white garment. Her expression is calm and serene, her gaze gently lowered, exuding an inner shyness and resilience. The background is minimalistic, painted in muted gray tones to create a hazy representation of the plateau landscape—vast and ethereal. A white horse stands still behind the young woman, its presence complementing her white clothing, further accentuating her tranquil aura. The entire composition carries the serenity of morning mist over the plateau, evoking a sense of sacred beauty. Having lived in China’s southwestern region, He was familiar with the daily life of ethnic minorities such as the Bai and Yi peoples. The Yi girl in this painting is both a real-life figure and an embodiment of the artist’s idealized vision—someone transcendent and untouched by modernity. At a time when China was rapidly transitioning into a market-driven economy, He remained devoted to quiet portraiture, focusing on the beauty of traditional purity. Yi Woman in White offers viewers a sense of peace, as if momentarily escaping the noise of urban life and stepping into a world of quiet grace and harmony.