Yang Shutao (1938) was born in Baoding, Hebei Province. In the 1950s, Ms. Yang was influenced by her father and loved Chinese painting. She was admitted to the Fine Arts Department of Tianjin Hebei Normal University in 1956. After graduating in 1961, she worked in the Tianjin Fine Arts Publishing House and the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts. In 1987, she transferred to the Department of Oriental Art of Nankai University to teach; there she was promoted to associate professor.

Ms. Yang has embarked on the art process for more than 30 years. She has devoted herself to the research and creation of Chinese "meticulous" (gongbi, 工笔) figure painting. Over time, she has successively gone to Shaanxi, Shanxi, Gansu, Shandong and other places, including Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, to conduct art research.