Yang Wenren (1941-2020) was born in Jiaozhou, Shandong Province. He entered the Art Department of the Shandong Normal University in 1957, and graduated in 1962. Jiao taught at numerous institutes in Shandong Province. In 1977, he transferred to the Shandong Art Museum, where he was employed as an artist.

Yang's specialities were Chinese painting, cartoon strips and New Year prints. He participated in a number of exhibitions. Several publications have been devoted to his art work.