Ye's works were drawn from his personal experiences of living in Shanghai and socializing with people from different backgrounds. These drawings are on public view for the first time since being donated to the China National Academy of Painting, according to Lu Yushun, the academy's director.

Xie Zhigao, a resident artist at the China National Academy of Painting and a former student of Ye, says the drawings on show stand as fine pieces of art themselves, demonstrating Ye's decades of cultural accumulation and serious attitude toward his work.

"He paid great attention to every sketch, no matter how small. Such patience with art, and his unyielding spirit, are what people should learn in order to carry on the cultural lineage of our country," Xie says.