Zhao Wenwei (1924-deceased) was born in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. In his youth, he labored in Shanghai and joined the revolution in 1945; he also started studying designing pictorial stories. In 1949, he joined the Labor Daily (Laodong bao, 劳动报), published by the Shanghai chapter of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions; and he enrolled in the Cadre Training Course of the Central Art Academy in 1951. When he returned to Shanghai in 1953, he became main art editor at the Labor Daily. In 1958, he transferred to the Hainan Tibetan Autonomous District in Qinghai Province to work in the propaganda section of its District Committee. After he fell ill in 1962, he returned to Shanghai to recuperate. He returned to work in 1980 as art editor of the editorial board of Party Life (Zhibu shenghuo, 支部生活), published by the Liberation Daily (Jiefang ribao, 解放日报). Zhao retired in 1985.

Zhao was known for his cartoons and his comics.