Zuo Yi, also known as Chen Zhenguo (陈振国) was born in Xuan'en, Hubei Province, in 1944. In 1956, he entered the middle school attached to the Zhongnan Academy of Fine Arts. He graduated from the Chinese Painting Department of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts in 1967. In 1978, he rejoined the Chinese Painting Department of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts to study for a master's degree in figure painting. He was trained by Professor Yang Zhiguang. In 1981, he received a master's degree and stayed on as a teacher.