Born in Guangdong, China, Chen Wen Hsi received training in both Chinese ink painting and Western oil painting. Leaving China in 1974 he traveled through Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia before arriving and settling in Singapore in 1948. He became a prominent educator in Singapore, teaching at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and several Chinese middle schools during the 1950s, where he influenced many aspiring artists. He continued to shape Singapore’s art scene until his passing in 1991. Among his most recognizable works are his ink paintings of gibbons, a subject he frequently revisited.  He was awarded the Meritorious Public Service Gold by the Singapore government in 1992.