Xu Xi (1940-2015) was born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. He entered the middle school attached to the Zhejiang Art Academy in 1956, went on to the Academy proper in 1960, and graduated from its Block Printing Faculty in 1965. Subsequently, he joined the People’s Fine Arts Publishing House as an editor, and from 1978 onwards, he created art works for the same publisher. Xu has exhibited widely in China and abroad.

Despite his earlier training, Xu was known for his Chinese paintings. His work has been included in the collection of the China Art Gallery.