Yang Liezhang (1940) hails from Tengxian, Shandong Province. He joined the People's Liberation Army in 1955, and taught himself drawing. In 1958, he showed his first works of art in public, and in 1961, he entered the Beijing Chinese Painting Academy. He joined the art section of the PLAN East China Sea Navy Task Force, where he still works today.

Yang excels in Chinese painting.