Cheng Shifa was one of China's greatest traditional art masters, famed for landscape painting, calligraphy, comic strips, human figures and scenes of minority life in Yunnan Province. His friends remember him for his heart, writes Zhang Qian.He was an "old kid," an avid soccer fan and Kunqu Opera lover. But far beyond this, Cheng Shifa was a legend in the Chinese art world, one of China's most famous traditional art masters.Cheng died in Shanghai Huadong Hospital on Tuesday night at the age of 86.In the eyes of Che Pengfei, vice president of the Hangzhou-based China Academy of Fine Arts, Shanghai native Cheng was "a pioneer and leader in Chinese art scene."In his earlier years, Cheng mainly focused on landscape painting, and then moved on to draw comic strips, establishing his own distinctive style, according to Che. His representative works include "The True Story of Ah Q" and "The Story of Brave Sword." His figure paintings in his late years were also significant.Cheng's work was strongly influenced by the painting of Ren Bonian, Chen Hongshou and other masters. His techniques combine the traditional with his own personal style. Many of his paintings reflect the daily life of the minority groups in Yunnan Province.Cheng, also an expert in calligraphy, was particularly influenced by renowned calligrapher Lu Ji, born in 265 AD, who painted in Shanghai when it was still a small fishing village. Cheng's calligraphy earned many awards and he exhibited across the country and overseas.Cheng also published many books and art albums as well. "He is the most creative painter in the modern Chinese art world after Ren Bonian," says Chen Ming, a student of Cheng and president of the Xiang Shan Painting Academy. "His works, which incorporate history, literature and painting, are simple yet elegant, popular among most people, young or old."Unlike other artists, master Cheng never sought after money or fame. He said 'Thank you' to whomever bought his painting, no matter how much it was."In 2005, in recognition of his outstanding achievement and contribution to Chinese art, Cheng was honored as "People's Artist" by the State Ministry of Culture.Cheng Zhu and Cheng Duoduo, sons of Cheng Shifa, say their father was always optimistic no matter what happened. Cheng Shifang suffered asthma, but he joked about his shortness of breath as qiliang xiao, which in Chinese can mean "narrow-minded."Cheng's humor and friendliness won him many friends in various walks of life. Xu Genbao, former coach of the National Football Team and the headmaster of Xu Genbao Football School, is one of them.The friendship with Cheng is what Xu says he will cherish for his entire life. Xu got so upset when his team was defeated in Kuala Lumpur and he was cursed by fans. But Cheng, who was also a football fan, wrote him a letter and sent a series of comic books of Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" to encourage him.Cheng joked that their friendship should be called "hand-and-foot friendship" because he made a living by painting with his hands while Xu did it by kicking balls with his feet.Cheng also loved Kunqu Opera. He even set up the Duo Duo Opera Group at home, and had all his friends who love the opera gather and sing there. Liang Guyin, a Kunqu Opera artist, recalls that if Cheng was in a good mood, he would even sing a bit on his own.Who's Cheng ShifaCheng Shifa was born in 1921 in Shanghai's suburban Songjiang District. He graduated from the Shanghai Art School in 1941 and held his first art show a year later. Cheng excelled at figure painting, landscape painting, and flower-and-bird painting. Cheng was a council member of the China Artists' Association and president of the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy.