Wei Ziqiang (1942) was a native of Huixian, Gansu Province. He graduated from the Fine Arts Department of Northwest Normal University in 1966, graduated with a master's degree in 1982, and stayed on to teach after graduation. In the 1970s, he created Chinese paintings, New Year paintings, propaganda posters (including "The People's Liberation Army comes to our village for camp and field training") and comic strips. Later, he turned to the creation of flower-and-bird paintings.